I could obviously be the opposite and go out and have a good weekend and get absolutely bladdered at a club and things like that. But it’s, obviously you’re intoxicating your body and you’re changing who you are from that and sometimes it’s not always a nice character. And you know you’re sort of putting yourself in danger, putting yourself at risk when you’re not 100% yourself and you’re out and about and you’re not at home, you are in a park or things like that and, you know, rape or anything. And for young girls especially that you are putting yourself at risk because there might be somebody there who’s going to make you vulnerable because you are drunk. So definitely it’s not all about the popularity of drinking and going to a park. I’m not saying obviously go to some park and play football and it is easy to sort of sit with your friends and drink and things like that but just remember like what you’re going to do, the fact that you are obviously at risk with the amount you actually drink.

I think if you are going to drink you are going to drink nobody is going to stop you, just be careful, be aware of, the situations you can get yourself in. If you are going to do drugs, I personally think they are silly, because I have learnt from my experiences, but, you are young, you are going to try stuff, just make sure if you are going to be drinking you are with someone responsible, who is someone that is going to look after you, not a bloke. And if you are doing, if you are going to do drugs make sure you are always around, just make sure you have always got someone there, you always someone around that is responsible, someone you can talk to about your experiences, don’t keep things to yourself and do it by yourself because, I think it is a lot more dangerous than what it is.

I think drinking, in the drinking sense it’s caused a lot of issues in my life, like you drinking is going to block out one problem but you can always guarantee it’s going to bring up another problem, you’re going to get drunk and you’re either going to start an argument with somebody, you might fall pregnant, you might, you might lose your friends, do you know what I mean? Or anything could happen to you.

So answering one problem with something else is not the answer to, it’s not going to answer another problem if that makes sense?

I think every situation’s different, I think every situation needs analysing first before you can do give that advice. But turning to drugs and drink is not going to make your problem better it’s going to be [slight laugh] a thousand times worse in the morning, and it’s a waste of money. Drinking, everything in moderation is good for you but when you start abusing it is when it becomes bad.

And there’s a saying once you’re in a hole don’t keep digging’ [laughs] you stop digging don’t you?

Okay [laughs].

[Laughs.]

Just don’t feel pressured into anything. Because I think when you are younger it seems such a big deal and it seems like a really like, Ah people will remember us forever or if I don’t do that or I don’t do this, and I’m so un-cool. And like now you look back and you’re like, No. And I like at the time you’d be just like, Oh stop patronising me. That’s a really patronising thing to say. You don’t know what it’s like, you don’t know what it’s like to be me. And I can totally take that point on but it really doesn’t matter what, like you should only ever do anything that you feel comfortable with and I think like teachers and parents and stuff really need to impart that on their children. That they should only be doing things that they feel comfortable with and that they feel in a safe environment and. And then if they want to talk about things then there are places that they can go and that there should be openness about these things.

Well firstly before you do anything make sure that you are educated and informed correctly. Don’t take any friend’s word for it or anything like that because they don’t necessarily know what they are talking about. Whether it be your parents or not they might have their own reasons for telling you what they’ve told you.

Secondly that it will make your problems worse if that’s the reason you are taking it for. When you’re not high or drunk they’re still going to be there at the end of the day.

And thirdly and most importantly if you never try something you’ll never miss it.

I think the best thing is to seek knowledge from people who have had drugs experience themselves before you try drugs because you don’t know what you are getting yourself into. When I started to use heroin I’d only used cannabis before that and tried a few other drugs. And I thought, ok I knew it was highly addictive but I thought it was just the same as being addicted to cannabis but worse, worse in that you’re just going to crave it. I didn’t know there was any physical element to withdrawal symptoms. You know, I thought I’d still be able to get up in the morning and function. And that’s not the case you can’t, you can’t move. You can’t do anything. It just grips you. So yeah make sure you know what you are doing before you try it.

Karis’ Stay in school like, you know, put my all in to it sort of thing. Yeah, because with me school was only half-hearted. Well at the end of my school years anyway it was only half-hearted. I went there because I had to not for my own benefit.

Kasim’ Had to yeah.

Karis’ sort of thing. I wasn’t thinking about my own benefit.

Kasim’ But then you got the olders saying, Oh you lot should be studying for your GCSEs and something. It was like, No whatever, just let me learn from myself’, you know, Let me make my own mistakes’ and You learnt from your own mistakes so let me learn from mine. But you know what I wish I’d listened to them now.

Karis’ I say just get your school out of the way first. Just if you can just try and just, don’t smoke, don’t drink just get your education out of the way. It sounds so clich√©d but just get it done. And you know if you want to go and do whatever you want when you’re 16 out of school then, you know, fair play to you but just try and get your work done. Get your grades. They are not that important but they are, do you know what I mean.

Although you think you are grown up if you just gave it that little bit longer you might realise that certain things aren’t a good idea and, you know, the main thing, just to have aspirations, you know, you’ve got your whole life ahead of you, your whole future and no-one gives you a future and says, You are going to be a doctor and here you go now you are one You know, it is, it is very much about you, people work to get to where they get to and people’s lives go the way that their, they go from the situation you are in and the situation you want to choose to put yourself in, or if you haven’t chose to put yourself in the situation somebody else has put you in, you know? And always sort of fight for what is right as well, by that I mean, like don’t let anyone put you down, especially men because, young mums can do extremely well, very well in fact and it doesn’t, it is not a stereotype, it doesn’t have to go a certain way. I think as long as you hold on to that and have aspirations for the future.

Like with alcohol you’ve just got to be careful. I mean nobody is saying, don’t go out and have a good time but just think like what effects it could have on you. A lot of people judge a good night from what they can’t remember and just. Just have a drink but you know but don’t be stupid with it because it will affect you. And drugs, and there’s no way. Just stay away from any drugs because it’s not worth it in the long run to lose everything.

I can’t give the advice the government would want me to give. That’s for sure because I, it’s a big part of my world is having a drink and using it to unwind. I don’t think there is anything wrong with it. And I don’t like the growing pressure that is on people for it and the guilt. But I would say, Just know when you’ve hit your limit. But my biggest trouble when I was younger was that I would drink until I got ill and that has an adverse effect on everything. Education when you don’t go in, work when they have to send you home and that’s happened to me several times. And it’s, it’s not good and it doesn’t feel good and you say every time, the cliché that you won’t do it again but you do. And I would just say, just know your limit and try not to mix your drinks too heavily. And they say have a pint of water in between each drink. Apparently that’s a good idea but I’ve never tried it.