Common Lie #1: You don't drink? You're SO lame!

My father, who was and still is my hero, had a difficult life. He would drink to make the pain of survival go away. I remember when I was younger going into his bedroom to watch TV, and seeing bottles of cheap vodka, all poorly hidden.

He was at different points of his life, an engineer, an inventor, a biker, a hippie, and at the last, a bank robber. Throughout all those phases he was an alcoholic.

After he was released from prison, he seemed a broken shell of a man. Where once stood a titan, all muscle and scraggly beard, was suddenly reduced to the whiteness of age and the hunched over posture of the broken. I loved him all the same. That was the last time I saw of him before his suicide.

They found him in a hotel room in Juarez, Mexico. Discarded bottles of mescal strewn about the room. There was a note left behind. Not for me, or anyone else in the family. Just an apology to the manager, and cleaning staff.

Theres no glory to be had in a bottle.

I am a teenager and I personally have chosen not to drink, I mean I have had a margarita like once with my best friend. But I don't really see the appeal in getting drunk, doing something emberacing, and waking up in the morning and puking my guts out. Just doesn't sound like a good time, which is exactly why my classmates claim they get drunk. I am going to college next year and plan to continue my policy of alcohol, at least until I am 21 and can casually drink with my friends.
Most of my classmates drink in order to a) become cool or b) stay cool, but what is cool about it? Can't you just sit down and watch a movie, go to a book store, or go get coffee with your friends to have a good time? I mean I am pretty happy and that is what I do. And not to mention all of my friends are actually my friends.

i am also a teen. but i while i respect your opinion and i really respect your choice not to drink... i disagree
i believe that our country makes too big of a deal out of drinking. i think if we allowed younger teens to have a drink or two, and didnt make it into such a bad thing, then not as many teens and young 20'ers would go out and get piss drunk.. i believe they are at least partially driven to do what they are always told not to do.
i also think that if a person who is 18 (as i am) can smoke a cig, vote for president, or go die in Iraq... they should be permitted to drink alcohol. there is no reasonable point to saying... well now that your 18 your an adult.. except for booze thats still bad.
as for alcoholism.. it is genetic and while it is terrible (it runs in my family so i understand that it ruins lives).. it will affect you if you wait until your 21 or not.

While I don't think it's the best idea to drink out of peer pressure, I don't think there's much wrong with underage people drinking if they want to, and choose to on their own, as long as they do so responsibly (although, there are definately medical reasons not to when people are underage-- that's the reason for drinking age limits to start with.)

"Beer and alcohol commercials involve humor, good-looking young people and loud music to attract the attention of young viewers everywhere."

Interesting fact: It's illegal to appear in an ad for alcohol if you are under 25 years old.

I agree that teenagers should put down the bottle! I have chosen to not touch alcohol because I don't see the point of it. I have tons of fun just going out with my friends and going bowling or hanging out at our house's. People don't realize how much drinking can affect their lives. I've had too many friends get involved with alcohol, and the result has never been good. Why would you want to risk your future and your health by drinking something that is harmful to you? I would much rather drink water and live than have to worry about fitting in, getting alcohol poisoning, or being pressured into doing something else I don't want to do. I think so many people give into peer pressure, which is a bad sign, because it shows how low you are willing to go. It's very hard to survive in a world where you can't stand up for yourself.

because that's basically what it is. we're young, impressionable, and sometimes, above all, we want to be accepted. we are just making our places in the world at this age, deciding who we want to be. sometimes we make stupid choices.

I totally agree with a lot of the points that are in this blog. The same could be said about smoking pot. Drinking and drug abuse can both ruin your reputation.

For example, I once went to a Halloween party that was unsupervised and had drinking and other such things. One girl that I was familiar with got so completely trashed that she was hanging all over everyone and barfing every five minutes. Sometime between the buzz and the barfing, I asked her why she would allow herself to get so drunk. She replied with "Oh well this is my first party and my friend (whom I am very familiar with) said it's better if you get totally trashed at your first party, because then the other times you go drinking, you'll know what to expect."

Wow. Talk about setting the bar high! The only thing that went through my mind was "Do you always do what your friend advises you to do? Has it ever gotten you into anything other than trouble?" My goodness.

Also, allowing yourself to get totally drunk at a party increases the risk of rape, and decreases your chance of remembering what happened, and with whom, and that's a scary thought. It's best if you just keep a clear head and find other ways to have fun other than doing something illegal, or stupid.

“Your vision will become clear only when you look into your heart ... Who looks outside, dreams. Who looks inside, awakens.” -Carl Jung

So many 18 year olds argue that if they can do all these other things then why can't they drink? Well, why do you have to drink? I know I have much more fun with my friends who don't drink just watching movies than my other friends who come to school on Monday with looks of regret on their faces, telling stories about how they did things they never should have done. I'm 17 now and I'll be attending college in NYC this fall. I know I'm probably going to end up drinking at some point. I'm ashamed to say that, but it will probably happen. At the same time I hope the drinking age stays at 21. Hopefully the law will help prevent myself and others from drinking often or going too far. Who knows? Maybe I'll be the one person not drinking and just laughing at how stupid everyone else looks.

Btw. The parties my friends and I have nowadays...we just watch movies and hang out. It's all good clean fun. Don't worry. That kind of party still exists.

I've seen too many people that were "stupid drunk" to ever want to be that way. I refuse to drink, so maybe I'm not cool. At least I'm not puking either.

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In college that whole rumor about drinking being so popular...isn't a rumor. Drinking is so highly regarded by college students you start to question how smart these people actually are. And the truth is--college kids are essentially high school kids with more freedoms and no adult to tell them not to do something. And a lot of these people need that kind of guidance.

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