On Thursday, March 11, Innisdale played host to an excellent speech by noted Canadian speaker Kevin Brooks. From his band sticker-endowed wheelchair, Brooks gave an hourlong presentation to Grade 12 students about the dangers of drinking and driving.
Brought to our school by Emily Walmsley, under the auspices of the Ontario Students Against Impaired Driving (OSAID), Brooks related his personal story. He didn't preach, and didn't put himself up on an arbitrary, judgemental level, but instead took on the issue from his down-to-earth teenage perspective. By coming to his audience's level, he made his story more real, and had a deep impact on his listeners.
After a life of drunken partying and generally behaving irresponsibly, Brooks was in a severe car accident while still a teenager. He was behind the wheel, drunk. He experienced life-threatening injuries, and spent months in hospital, "full of tubes and crazy on pills." Over time, he slowly recovered, but he repeatedly questioned his existence. When he found out that his passenger had been killed, his world crashed to the ground. Truly, he underwent the horrific consequences of his drunken driving, but he managed to get out of the hospital and found his calling: trying to prevent others from making the same mistake.
Brooks' story can be explored on his website, http://kevinbrooks.ca - and he has a presence on Facebook and Twitter. Hopefully, he will return to Innisdale next year.
