Every time I go to a party, someone always asks me if I want a drink. As soon as I say “no,” the person will ask me again. When I say “no” for a second time, then the person gets upset and he or she will ask someone else the same question. At first, this never bothered me. I was okay with people asking me if I wanted a drink because I just assumed that it was their way of being polite. However, now after going to many parties, and seeing how a person will react when I decline to have a drink, I have come to a different conclusion: people tend to think that if you do not drink, you are not any fun. Now let me explain how I came up with this conclusion.

Whenever I go to parties, I always have a good time. I dance a lot, talk a lot, joke a lot, and people generally think that I am a lot of fun to be around (I am not trying to boast about myself, this is just what I have noticed over time). I love to dance and make sure that everyone is having a good time, and I think that I just bring a fun energy into every environment that I go to. It’s a gift and a curse. The reason why it is a curse is because sometimes, I am not in the best mood, and this happens to all of us. Sometimes, we may end up at a party, but we really are not in a partying mood. Oftentimes whenever this happens to me, my friends will say “What’s wrong with you?” “This isn’t the Josh that I’m used to seeing.” “Once you have a few drinks, you’ll feel like your normal self.” “I want to see party Josh not this one.”

What I have learned after going to many parties, is that my friends seem to think that the reason why I am so fun and outgoing at parties is because I’ve been drinking, when in actuality, I’ve never had a drink in my life. I’ve never wanted to drink, and I still don’t, I just like to party. It seems as though it is hard for people to believe that someone can be so fun while being sober, but that is exactly what I do. There is a popular belief that everyone at a party has had a few drinks, and this is why the party is so fun, but I do not think this is true. I do not assume that everyone has had a drink at a party, because I know that I haven’t. When I see someone with a drink in their hand, that’s the only time I will assume that he or she has been drinking.

People need to understand that not everyone needs to have a drink at a party to have a good time. This puts pressure on people that do not want to drink, and it ruins the party for that person. It’s okay to ask someone if he or she wants a drink, but a person should not use peer pressure to make the person do something that he or she does not want to do. A person can be fun without having a drink and I am the perfect example of that.

I hope that more college students will realize this and stop using peer pressure to make someone have a drink. That person could be a lot of fun without one. My advice to someone that has a hard time dealing with societal pressures is this: do not be afraid to say “no” even if you are the only one saying it. Be who you are, and be proud of who you are, and do not let anyone force you to do something that you do not want to do.