I DARE YOU. Three words that can change your life. I heard them for the first time in second grade when Bobby Jones dared me to pour hot sauce on my chicken fingers. I burned off a fourth of my taste buds that day. I heard them again when I was twelve and my friends dared me to ask out Suzie Donavan. She said no and I became the laughing stock of the sixth grade. The summer of ninth grade my best friend Danny dared me to throw a rock at John Smith’s window. I got caught. A year later my older brother dared me to have sex with my girlfriend. She got pregnant. My senior year in high school, my friends dared me to drive while drunk. Three people died and I was sent to prison for nine years. When I got out my father dared me to go to college. I graduated with a 3.7 GPA and a degree in education. Two days ago I looked out at my third grade class, their innocent faces staring up at me and I dared them. I dared them to make good choices, be kind to others and most importantly follow their dreams.