As a college student, I am very proud to say I do not consume alcohol. Most people laugh or look at me waiting for me to yell “JK”, many of them not realizing I really do not drink. Once they realize I am not joking, the next questions typically include, “is it a personal choice?”, “is it like a medical thing?”, “will you drink when you’re 21?” and just plain “why?”. Well to answer all of the questions, yes it is a personal choice, no it is not a medical thing, I probably will drink on occasion when I am of legal age, and because drinking is not important to me.

Being a college student, I am surrounded by alcohol on almost a daily basis. Friends will ask me if I want to have a glass of wine with them or “get turnt”, but I always deny them, unless there is an option not including me drinking. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy hanging out with my friends just as much as the next girl, but I would rather hang out with them because I want to spend time with them. Not because I want to drink with them.

In addition, my future is way too important to me. The School of Education is pretty unforgiving when it comes to underage drinking tickets, and I honestly understand why. If there was an admission choice to make, involving a student with an underage drinking ticket and a student who has a clean record, I would probably choose the student with the clean record too. I could never imagine screwing up my entire future just to have a good time. Yes, there are plenty students who do not get caught drinking underage, but there are also several students who do get caught drinking. I would rather not take the chance.

During my life, I also have seen alcohol ruin many people’s lives. When consuming alcohol for the wrong reasons, the threat of addiction is posed. A glass might turn into a bottle, and once a week might turn into every day. Again, I am not saying every person who drinks alcohol is going to become addicted, but it does not take much to begin drinking after a hard day. I prefer to workout or do some other non-addicting activity after a long day.

Finally, drinking just does not seem fun to me. I sit and hear stories of how people threw up _ amount of times, or they do not remember a single thing that happened the night before. Personally, that is not how I want to remember my life, or not remember. I’d rather do something I can remember forever, or until I begin to lose my memory. Either way, I do not want my memory loss to be a cause of consuming too much alcohol. Instead of cherishing the nights I’ll never remember, I cherish the ones I do remember.

As astounding as it may be, I am a college student, and I do not consume alcohol. It is a fact I am not ashamed of. This does not mean I judge those who do drink alcohol because it is their choice. I have made my choice, and I am proud of it.