A recent talk with my roommate left me thinking about hard conversations. You know the ones — the conversations that, for whatever reason, are painfully awkward and you want to avoid at all costs? Yeah, those ones. We have all been there. We all know the pressure and anxiety leading up to that moment, when you decide that the hard conversation must happen.

And while these conversations are painfully hard, I think that most can agree they are usually some of the most important conversations that we will have in our lives.

There is a particular "hard conversation" I have had on my mind a lot lately, and that is regarding the use of alcohol among my peers. Now believe me, I enjoy a beer here and there and can completely understand the desire of a college student to let go and enjoy their weekend. Alcohol breaks down barriers, releases inhibitions and can make for a damn good night. That being said, I also believe that how our society treats alcohol is a recipe for disaster. To put it simply, we make it taboo until the age of 21 and then refuse to talk about it.

I watch many of my peers drink responsibly, but I also watch many of my peers drink very irresponsibly; drinking to the point of “blacking out” night after night, or even getting in a car and putting others in danger's way. And I wonder, when is the OK time to have the hard conversation about alcohol? In college, you already face the challenge of trying to determine whether your buddy’s drinking habits are "just a phase" or the beginning of a life-long bad habit. But on top of that, I find that in our culture, it is inappropriate or even offensive to comment on another individual’s use (or misuse) of alcohol — even when it comes to a matter of their health and well-being.

I feel as though a key part of this is changing the way in which our society treats alcohol. But that change won’t come unless we, as individuals, can push past our fear of the hard and awkward conversations. We have to be willing to confront an issue, to risk those we love being upset with us. At times these conversations can be the difference between life and death, and I can say from personal experience that there are hard conversations I wish I would have had but was not able to in time.