Think of at least five "female stereotypes" and I feel that being a wine drinker would definitely make your list. As with all stereotypes, there are exceptions to the rules yet stereotypes were developed for a reason. Usually there is some grain of validity to them, I have learned in most cases. With this particular one, as a female who doesn't drink wine I find that I am definitely in the minority. It's rare to be in a significant size group of females without wine (what seems to be a drink that holds a super power for most) being brought up in some fashion.

Honestly, I think if I had to drink an entire glass of wine, I would throw up and have a brutal migraine for days. More than just a taste of wine is too much for me and I get absolutely nothing out of it. The same holds true for beer, which I dare say is literally a putrid taste to me. Living in Colorado where breweries are some of the hot spots around, it's also hard to find others who don't like "a good beer." (Somebody tell me what a "good beer" is because...I've never discovered it!)

When I first moved here about eight months ago and I was trying to meet new people, it seemed like a lot of people wanted all of the outings to revolve around drinking. For awhile, I caved a little bit and drank more than I normally would but after while it became quite obvious to me that drinking regularly was not fun for me and also the best way to meet like minded people probably wasn't up at the local bar.

During my high school days, I was pretty involved in the "straight edge" subculture. If you're not familiar with what that means, basically there were three beliefs: No drugs, no alcohol and no sex without being in a committed relationship. And along with that, music was a huge part of it and bands who followed these beliefs such as Good Clean Fun, Minor Threat and Gorilla Biscuits were the soundtrack to my days. At my high school, I literally think I might have been the only female who was strict in this belief system.

As I got older, I might have "broken edge," as they would say, but for the most part my current lifestyle hasn't strayed too far from that. No, I am not quite the same high school girl that I was back in the early to mid 2000's, but I would say that my belief system hasn't really changed too much, perhaps just evolved. And when it comes to alcohol in particular, it really wouldn't make sense for me to ever turn into an "avid drinker" because I never have been about it. I will have a mixed drink from time to time (time to time is like once every three months typically) but the amount of times that I have been drunk (that I can count on one hand) are not moments that I care to relive and are not memories that I enjoyed at all. No more than a couple of drinks every once in awhile is more than enough for me.

While I find nothing wrong with having a drink in general (and definitely nothing wrong with not drinking) I think the key is moderation and that is something that many people lack. The concept of wanting to "get shit faced drunk" is not one that I understand and honestly hope that I never do. For me personally, I think it's safe to say that my best memories in life have happened while I was sober and I am sure there will be plenty more sober good times to go. Life is too short to let alcohol be your #1 source of fun.