Yes, I have tasted alcohol, but no, I do not wish to again until I am of age.
When talking to new people, many seem surprised that I’ve never been drunk in my life. Even more seem surprised that I’ve never stepped foot into a “party.” Yeah, I’ve been to slumber parties and birthday parties and those sorts of things, but I’ve never been to one of those that you see in movies like Project X or anything of that nature.
Heck, I’ve never been to any party where anyone under the age of 21 was drinking, and I’m not ashamed of that.
Disclaimer: I have nothing against anyone who drinks. Same with people who “party” or whatever. My only issue is when people brag about it… I’m not here bragging that I don’t drink, so why brag that you do? There’s nothing “cool” about underage drinking, let alone sitting there and proudly identifying yourself as an “alcoholic”. And I certainly don’t know why that’s something anyone would ever be proud of.
I’m getting kind of tired of being made fun of for never attending a party or being drunk. I don’t know why it’s anyone’s business, but I personally just don’t have the desire to get wasted for fun. That doesn’t even sound like fun to me. You know what does sound like fun? Hiking with my boyfriend or taking a nap with my cat.
Am I lame? Maybe. Do I care? No.
Don’t get me wrong, I love spending time with my friends. But I want that time to be spent sober, where I know each moment is genuine and will be a memory one day. If my friends want to go to a party, awesome! I hope they have a good time and stay safe, but I will not be joining them. It’s my own personal decision, the same as going to a party and drinking is theirs. I’ve missed out on a lot of weekends with some of my favorite people because they went to parties, and that’s totally fine. I don’t love them any less for it. I will never judge any of them for that decision.
That being said, I am starting to develop an intense pet peeve for the constant public announcements of underage drinking. I probably see 10 shared memes or posts a day about “this is so me when I’m drunk,” or even better, pictures of some genuinely great (and underage) people with beers in their hands having the “time of their lives.” Or my personal favorite, the “I’m drinking and driving” Snapchats I see each weekend. I literally know a girl that is a self-proclaimed alcoholic, and she’s (no joke here) beyond proud of it.
Why is that even necessary? Why is it okay to publicly announce that you are underage and drinking? Why would you even want to tell everyone that?
And why in the heck is it OK to give someone a hard time for not drinking or partying? That I will never understand. Your decisions are yours to make, as are mine. I respect yours and I’d wish you’d do the same.
I may lose friends over this article, and I’m sorry if that happens because you’ve taken this the wrong way. I have never and will never judge a single one of you for what you decide to do.
I just wish it was the same in return.
