There are many obstacles that one must overcome to achieve their goals and achieve overall success. We are born to make mistakes; and it is up to each individual to decide whether they choose to rectify these mistakes and ultimately learn from them. When I was sixteen, I made a life-changing decision and luckily I was able to overcome it and learn from it; I was arrested at a party for underage drinking. Even though the party left very fond memories etched in my brain, the very moment I was arrested will haunt me for the rest of my life. It is not possible to go back from a mistake like this, nor to forget anything. But I can't say I wish it hadn't happened, because that night taught me some very valuable lessons. It was over the Thanksgiving holiday and my friend Katie was throwing a party; actually a three-day party, to be exact. Her parents were out of town and it looked like she invited the whole school. Everywhere you entered the house, you had to hold your beer above your head because otherwise there was a good chance it would slip out of your hands. All my friends were there, celebrating our four days of "freedom" from school. Everyone drank and laughed and danced, and I'm pretty sure we smoked some fun stuff. If I had to guess, I'd say there were about two hundred people there at one time. The first night passed without incident, with everyone coexisting peacefully; the second night was a bit noisy when some kids from our rival school showed up and tried to spoil the party; the third night was just pure stupidity. It was Saturday night, the last non-school night of our four-day vacation, and we decided to go all out. We played beer pong, flip cups, quarters, kings, beer bongs, keg stands, sh...... middle of paper ......e; in fact, I lost two friends. And I had a criminal record until I was eighteen. I realized, however, that all our actions will quickly and justly be reciprocated, with consequences. The law applies to all men, women and children, and for some reason I thought that didn't include me. I now know that the law is a very serious thing, and that a “sorry” or a “I promise to never do it again” will not be enough. I also know that I never fully regained my mother's trust or respect, and I think that's what hurts me the most. After this experience, I learned a lot and I feel like I grew a lot. In a way I'm happy that this happened, especially when I was still a minor, because now I'm much more conscious when making decisions. I can never change what happened, I can only learn from it and hope to continue to benefit from those lessons..