Every year since 2002, Lindenhurst High School’s senior students put on an incredibly realistic, tear-jerking performance to demonstrate the dangers of drunk driving. The purpose of the program is to show students how important it is to never drink and drive. Shattered Dreams is meant to really open each kid’s eyes to something that many people take for granted. A lot of high school students have the mindset that the odds don’t apply to them, but they are very wrong. Many people won’t believe in something until it actually happens to them or someone that they know. During this program, kids see their fellow classmates involved in an incident that results in serious injuries and even deaths.

   Shattered Dreams is a two day event that takes place during a school week in May. On the first day, junior and senior students are brought out to the parking lot in the back of the high school to unexpectedly find a crashed car, surrounded by a handful of brutally injured seniors. Students watch in astonishment as police and ambulances pull up to the scene and do their jobs. Some students are arrested and put in the back of cop cars, while some students are taken away on stretchers. There is always one student who doesn’t survive the crash and is noticeably lying on the concrete, lifeless. The crash is seen as the result of the reckless actions of a drunk driver.

   On the second day of the program, junior and senior students are brought to the school auditorium to view a video put together by the seniors. The video illustrates a high school party with a lot of underage drinking. Eventually a few students stumble away from the party and get into their cars to attempt to drive elsewhere. This confirms the reason for the crash scene that students witnessed on the previous day.

   The presentation enables other students to truly grasp the dangers of driving under the influence. To top off the reality of the performance, the movie includes a funeral scene, indicating the death of one of the students. It’s an exceptionally sad moment for the students watching the movie who are acquainted with the student lying in the casket. The entire Shattered Dreams program really allows Lindenhurst students to capture the truth that lies behind the wheel of a drunk driver.