BAD HABITS ARE NOT GOOD!
When am I going to learn that some of my bad habits can be deadly? I don’t want to learn this the hard way.
I smoke cigarettes. I know this is bad for my health and is a leading cause of death. I don’t need statistics to tell me this. My grandmother and grandfather, both smokers, died of lung cancer. My mom smokes and I hear her coughing far too often. I have even developed a smoker’s cough.
I started smoking in my early teens because I thought it was cool. Besides, many of my friends smoked so I joined them to be socially accepted. (If the truth be told, there were some in our group who didn’t smoke and they weren’t ostracized or banished by the others!) I smoked all during high school with the intent to quit soon. Then I smoked all during college with the intent to quite as soon as I graduated. I graduated more than a year ago and I’m still smoking. One of my greatest pleasures is when I find cigarette sales offering two packs for the price of one. (Cigarettes are very expensive—about $6-a-pack in Michigan.)
Now I truly need to stop this awful habit. Very few of my friends smoke. Many gave up this habit when they received their college degrees. The guys I date (and many that I don’t date) hate smoking. My mother, the smoker, hates that both she and I smoke. My doctor hates that I smoke.
I’m sick of escaping outside at work in rain, wind and snow to grab a few smokes on a cigarette. Our shivering smoking group has less and less members each week as still someone else “gets smart” and successfully gets rid of this harmful habit. (They are obviously smarter than I am!) I am planning “soon” to join the ranks of nonsmokers. It was supposed to be on January 1, but, well…
Another bad habit is my trips to the tanning booth. I know these rays can lead to cancer. (There’s that word again.)
I’m getting better with this habit with new products on the market that rubbed onto my skin give me some semblance of a tan. And bronze blusher helps, too. But still, prior to summer and prior to vacations to warm climate, I schedule visits to the tanning booth.
If my goal is immortality, or, at least, a long life, I better get rid of these self-destructing habits. When will I learn?