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    By Deon Price                           Bad Luck or Bad Decisions?

After a weekend that consisted of a series of unfortunate events including several murder-suicides that are happening at an alarming rate, I made an effort to help console a grieving coworker who had lost a nephew to gun violence in Fairfield. These recent events provoked the conversation with students about cause and effect and how to prevent negative incidents.

The perspective of many of our youth about why bad things happen to people is understandably cynical. The most common response from this youth generation is: 'If something's going to happen it's going to happen regardless' or 'If it's your time, then it's just your time. There's nothing you can do about it.' When I hear such pessimistic comments, I swiftly offer a more proactive perspective dipped in reality and delivered from an optimistic voice of reason.

Consider this perspective of a sociologist from a local social development training program: Actions and events aren't isolated occurrences. Things don't just happen. When something happens there is a cause, something or someone that makes it happen, and an effect, what happens as a result of the cause. Understanding the relationships and connections between cause and effect helps us to predict the consequences of our actions.

Although we don't have a road map to help us find our way through life, we can learn through our own experiences and the shared experiences of others to predict where a certain path might take us. Prediction is a powerful skill that helps us increase the number of positive, wise and helpful choices we make using both our reason (gathering and thinking about useful information) and our emotional intelligence (awareness of our feelings and instincts).

I not only agree with this point of view but I am a living example of its validity. In an effort to redirect misguided youth I often share my experience as a youth faced with a decision that could have resulted in grave danger for me and several of my peers. A simple invitation to a party was a life-or-death decision based on the environment I was unfortunately residing in. My decision to pass on the invitation was guided by fear and common sense. Most of us even today recognize that some areas or neighborhoods are more dangerous than others and are more likely to have a violent confrontation occur.

My intuition was loud and clear enough for me to absorb a barrage of criticism, maintain my position and not give way to peer pressure. The decision not to go could very well have saved my life as several of my classmates and friends who attended this party were shot and some were killed.

More recently, I decided to delay my scheduled maintenance of my vehicle which needed service to the rear brakes. During my morning commute a sudden stop resulted in my losing control of the vehicle which drifted 180 degrees crossing three lanes. I braced myself for impact with a large Ram truck that stopped just inches from slamming into me head on.

Fortunately, actually miraculously, there was no collision and no injuries. If I had suffered any injuries at all, I would have only myself and a bad decision to blame, not bad luck. In both examples it was my decisions that dictated what could have been severe consequences.

We are in critical times where every decision you make could have a tremendous impact. Thinking ability and considering consequences could be the difference between life and death.

Deon Price is a freelance writer and youth advocate who lives in Suisun City. He can be reached at eon.Price@comcast.net.">Deon.Price@comcast.net.