I know, it is a rare thing to come across. When people think college, they think about a bunch of teenagers in a frat house doing stupid things, breaking things and drinking excessive amounts of alcohol.
When I think college, I think about the student run school newspaper, the classes that I actually enjoy, spending Friday nights in my boyfriend’s room watching Netflix and ordering calzones. I don’t think about underage drinking.
After spending the first weekend of college at a frat party, I decided, never again. I don’t like the idea of drinking excessive amounts of crappy beer at a frat party, being shoved into a tiny room with a hundred people only to have said crappy beer spilled down the front and back of you.
Some of my friends have invested in fake IDs, but who said it is worth it? First of all, you spend crazy amounts of money on them – money that should be invested in your future. Secondly, it is totally illegal in the State of New York for any minor to have a fake ID. You can get fined and receive up to 30 hours of community service and that is just what the state could do. In extreme cases you could be expelled from school. Third, there is no guarantee that the ID will even scan when you get to the bars or go to purchase alcohol.
So no, I am not bent out of shape listening to my friends talk about how drunk they got last week. I am not upset that I missed a couple drunken memories that followed with getting sick excessively.
Yes, If one of my friends calls me at three in the morning standing outside of my dorm room throwing up, I will be out there ready to help them. I will hold their hair back, check on them every couple hours and make sure that they are safe.
Just because I don’t drink in college doesn’t mean that I am completely against it. Give me a couple years and I’m sure I will be drinking a glass of wine with dinner, or meeting friends at the bar for a couple drinks. I just don’t want to spend the morning after getting sick to my stomach, having a headache and not being able to look at bright lights. It is not worth it to me. I also want to have a liver in ten years.
When people ask me if I want to go out this weekend, I am going to say no. Not because I am a stickler for the rules, but because I have too much to risk. If I get caught, I don’t want to risk my future. One day I want to be writing for the New York Times. I want to write a best-selling novel. I want to be the best that I can be at what I do and I don’t want to risk losing any of it. I don’t think I’m ever going to be upset about not going out the weekend before. I have every weekend for the rest of my life to go out with friends and not have to worry about getting caught with a fake ID or drinking alcoholic beverages underage.