I have always found the drinking age to be confusing. There are so many things we as 18-year-olds are legally allowed to do, yet drinking alcohol isn’t one of them.

I have so many questions.

Why can we vote at 18-years-old but not drink alcohol? We can register, have a voice, be a contributing factor to decide our nation’s leaders and change the way the government runs if we try hard enough but aren’t allowed to have a glass of wine.

Why can we buy and use tobacco at 18 years old but not drink alcohol? We can choose to smoke cigarettes and increase our risk of getting cancer but aren’t allowed to mix Jack in our Coke.

Why can we have our own checking account at 18-years-old but not drink alcohol? We can fend for ourselves fully financially if we need to, be completely control of our own money and pay for things by ourselves but we can’t have a Bloody Mary.

Why can we serve on a jury at 18-years-old but not drink alcohol? We can have control over the fate of a criminal or an innocent civilian but we can’t sip on a martini.

Why can we sign for ourselves on all of our health documents at 18-years old-but not drink alcohol? We can be fully in charge of our bodies and have our parents be excluded from our medical decisions but we can’t enjoy a frozen margarita.

Why are we allowed to pierce and tattoo our bodies without our parents permission at 18-years-old but not drink alcohol? We can decide to put permanent ink in our skin and put holes through us but we aren’t allowed to mix a Gin and Tonic.

Why can you be a bartender and serve alcohol (in twenty- seven of the fifty states) at 18-years-old but not even drink what you’re pouring? We can be physically surrounded by it, concoct different recipes revolving around it and hand it to people who are 21 or older but we can’t take a swig for ourselves.

Why can we serve our country at 18-years-old but not drink alcohol? We can be trained, carry firearms, put our lives on the line and die in the name of our country but aren’t allowed to have a beer.

We are told that we are “adults” at 18-years-old but yet, we can’t not drink alcohol. I don’t understand it. All other “adults” are allowed to, so why aren’t we?

It doesn’t make sense to me why this country trusts us 18-year-olds to be responsible with all of those things but don’t trust us to drink responsibly. We can get credit for doing all those things and can’t be rewarded with being allowed to have a drink.

People can argue that our brains aren’t fully developed or whatever, and yeah, that’s true. But so many other things are put on our shoulders at 18-years-old, why can’t drinking alcohol be a choice our own too?