Yes, you read that headline right. I'm a college student (at a party school, nonetheless) and I don't drink. And when I say that I don't drink, I mean that I really don't drink. I mean that I've never even tasted alcohol, not even a sip out of my parent's beer when I was younger or a glass of wine with Christmas dinner. I seriously mean that, cross my heart and hope to die, I have never had alcohol.

So, what's it like?

Just as awful as it probably sounds.

It is so awkward at parties. Just because I don't drink doesn't mean that I don't go out to an occasional party or two. However, they aren't necessarily the most fun when you're the only one who's sober. I'll stand there the whole night awkwardly holding a Diet Mountain Dew bottle just so that it looks like I'm drinking something so that I won't feel completely left out. But these few parties that I've been to have confirmed that I am definitely turned off by drinking. I do not want to be one of those girls that gets all sweaty and starts screaming and whining every time that she tries to talk. In my opinion, that doesn't seem like a good time.

But in comparison, it's also not really a good time having to awkwardly sit there and smile as your peers debate what's better: beer or tequila. I simply don't know what my favorite drink is. Squirt mixed with cranberry juice, maybe? I want to relate to them in the worst way, but can we just go around the room and debate over whether Spongebob or Fairly Odd Parents is the better Nickelodeon cartoon instead?

And please, don't ask me why. I shouldn't need to give you a reason why. I don't go around asking you why you choose to drink (especially when you aren't of age). Why do I owe you an explanation for my lifestyle, yet I'm forced to accept yours? Since when did drinking become just what you do in college? Why am I looked at like I have three heads simply because I'm choosing to wait until I'm 21 to drink in moderation?

And don't assume it's because of my religion. Don't assume that I simply don't like to have fun or that I think that I'm better than everybody else because I can say no when drinks are offered to me. Don't assume that I, or somebody that I know, had a traumatic experience while they were drinking and that I'm scared to drink as a result. That's not it.

Here's the reason why I'm choosing to wait until I'm 21 to drink: it doesn't appeal to me at all. I can have fun sober so why would I drink? At a very young age, I remember my mom saying to me that she wanted to be the one to buy me my first drink and how she would be disappointed in me if it wasn't my first one. Literally, I was probably 12 years old when she said that to me but it stuck with me all of these years. I've always had this conversation with my mom in the back of my mind. This kept me sober all throughout high school. By the time I got to college, I honestly didn't even see the point in drinking. It seemed gross to me and I had already gone 18 years without alcohol, what's 3 more?

Honestly, I have spent all of my college career feeling like I don't fit in. I feel lonely on Saturday nights. I feel embarrassed by the fact that I don't want to drink. But it'd be a hell of a lot more embarrassing if I conformed to fit in with a bunch of drunk people that I barely know and probably won't see again.

So, there you have it. Not drinking in college? Just as awful as you had imagined.