People! Let's get it together, okay? It is 2017, and while this has been a dumpster fire of a year, you don't need to have a dumpster fire of a life.

I, Erin Farmer, have never claimed to be an expert on all things hip and cool, but I was an RA for two years, and have somehow been allowed to be an independent adult for the last four years. I have seen, and experienced (sorry Mom), what a miserable and horrible experience blacking out from alcohol can be. It's not a cute look. So why is it now the fun thing all the youths are doing?

For those of you who might not be down with the kids, "blacking out" is the loss of memory that comes from being severely intoxicated. If you drink a lot and then wake up the next day and have no idea how you got home, then you blacked out. Sounds great, right?

You know what else sounds fun? Waking up behind a dumpster with no underwear and having no idea how you got there! Or how about coming in to some stranger's house in the middle of nowhere? Or suddenly finding yourself in your own shower with throw up all over yourself with no way to know what you ingested or who gave it to you? However, for long term fun, who really needs a liver anyway?? And it definitely can't turn into lifelong alcoholism, because it's college!

And I know, some of you are like, "Who is this girl? She can't tell me how to live my life? She's no fun". You're right, I can't tell you how to live your life, and I don't want to. However, your life is valuable and meaningful, and it's too short to forget even a second of it. Why would you want to?

I'm seeing a scary increase in the number of people drinking with the intention of blacking out. My question to you is: What is happening in your life that you don't want to remember? Why do you want to drink to the point where you have no control over what you say or do? Are you so ashamed of yourself and so insecure that you don't want these drunken memories to haunt you? Or are you so stressed out that you just want your brain to go to sleep for a while? Either way, it's scary, and destroying your brain is not the answer.

Everyone reading this matters to someone and is valuable. Don't put yourself at risk or in harm's way in the name of a "good time". A blackout good time can turn into a bad time very quickly, and the consequences could be something that you can never forget, no matter how much you drink.

The truth of it is you can get assaulted or attacked. Women on college campuses already have a 25 percent chance of being sexually assaulted, so why would you want to increase that? And your #squad might not be there to help you.

Sometimes, the only defense you may have is yourself, and people prey on blacked out people for a reason. Why would you make yourself an easy target? Also, it's going to be really hard to get any kind of justice or reparations for yourself if you can't remember anything that happened.

To put this in topical terms, look at Corrine from "Bachelor in Paradise." She was on medication and drinking alcohol, and blacked out while filming very quickly. She then had a sexual encounter with another contestant that she has no memory of, and it blew up into a national scandal and Paradise being temporarily shut down. Now, your blackout might not be investigated by Warner Brothers and shut down ABC, but you could easily hook up with someone and have no idea. How terrifying is that?

So please, value yourself, and take care of yourself. It's 2017, we eat fruit and hydrate now; almost killing yourself four nights a week isn't cool anymore.

If you or someone you love is struggling with alcoholism or addiction, please call the Addiction Treatment Helpline at 877-871-7791.