First off, you're probably raising your eyebrows at the choice of my headline picture for this article. That is indeed Sally from "The Nightmare Before Christmas," my favorite movie of all time. In the movie, Sally desires for something more in her life, but at the same time is also cautious. She attempts to warn protagonist (and love interest) Jack Skellington to not go through with his Christmas takeover after her premonition forsaw Jack's Christmastime as a horrid disaster. Jack is blinded by all the excitement about Christmas and ignores Sally's warnings. And guess what happens? Jack's Christmas turns out to be a horrid disaster (and not the good kind). I won't tell how it ends up being a disaster. You have to watch the movie yourself to see.
Now you're probably wondering "What does "Nightmare Before Christmas" have to do with being sober?" Allow me to explain. Like Sally, I'm extremely restless and want to explore more about the world around me. Yet, at the same time, I'm very cautious. I know what's considered right and what's considered wrong, especially for the safety of my fellow peers.
On a more personal note, one of the things that I have concerns about is drinking before I turn 21. Drinking underage, for me, is wrong and I will remain true to that fact. The phrase "Drinking under 21 is illegal" has been nailed into our brains for so many years, from our parents to elementary school D.A.R.E. counselors to seminars about drunk driving the day or so before prom. By the time we turn 18 (sometimes, before that. Sometimes, after), we either continue to hold true to those facts we've been taught for so many years and decide not to drink until we turn 21, or we say "screw it" and start drinking.
I am one of those few people who decided to not drink. You can call me a Goody Two Shoes, a chicken, or a coward all you want because I follow the rules and play on the safe side, so I don't get hurt. But you know what they say. Sticks and stones may break my bones but names will never hurt me.
Personally, if I decided to drink now, I'm just afraid that my health would take a toll, my grades would drop like flies, and I won't stop drinking once I start. I don't have my life settled yet to have it go out of control like that.
A vast majority of my friends in college drink; many of them underage. When I tell them that I don't drink, most of them replied with a respectful "Okay." Most of my friends and peers have respected my decision to not drink and have not pressured me to drink.
I'm not offending those that do drink underage, though. I'm not going to be someone's mother and nag about the fact that "Drinking before you're 21 is wrong and you will get in trouble or you will get." If you are one of those people that are drinking underage, fine. I don't care. It's your decision. My only warning is this: drink responsibly and don't get rushed to the hospital or the police station every weekend.
Yes, I would like to go out to some parties, go out on the town, or hang out with friends until 2 a.m. instead of binging away on Netflix by myself in my dorm room every Friday night. But, please, do not offer me alcohol because I am going to say no and I'm not afraid to say no. I'm not going to do something just because everyone else is doing it or because it's cool. It might sound corny, but I refuse to succumb to peer pressure.
Yes, I'm graduating before I even turn 21. I won't have the opportunity to go out to bars and drink with my college friends during my last year. But, bars will still be there even after college is over. Wherever my future job may be in the future, there will most likely be a bar in the perimeters.
Will I drink the day I turn 21? There's a good chance. But for now, I'll wait it out. It's better to wait for something and have turn out to be a fun experience than to dive right in and have it be a bad experience. And so, until the day I turn 21, I remain a "Sober Sally" and will stick to my non-alcoholic Pina Coladas as my choice of a party drink.
