Every year, I have hundreds of interactions at college fairs and high school visits with students who approach me with a nervous and apprehensive look. With sadness, they admit that their GPA isn’t as high as they would like it to be, or that they don’t do well on standardized tests like the ACT or SAT. My message to those students is always the same, and it’s the same message I give to you today:

Over the last two decades, the trend of sport specialization has hit an all-time high in youth athletics. More and more young athletes are specializing: devoting their energy, time, and ability to one singular sport. Many club sports play eleven months out of the year. School sports teams play their season and often spend the remainder of the year in extended workouts, team training camps, and skill-building sessions. In addition to team commitments, it’s not uncommon for individuals to hire private trainers to help them further develop their abilities.

Each October, the National Family Partnership (formerly the National Federation of Parents for Drug Free Youth) has a "Red Ribbon Campaign" to raise awareness about drug use amongst teens.

Addictions come in all shapes and sizes.  Some are more sinister than others, cocaine verses chocolate for example.  Some are more acceptable than others, consider addiction to work compared with addiction to pornography.  But all come from being enslaved to the wrong master.  Often we are unaware of the fact that we have been shackled until we try to break loose.