I am a rarity now-a-days, I am a senior in high school who has never drank, and don't plan on making it a huge part of my college career. This is not a dig or a bash at those who do participate in these extracurriculars, as it is their life and they are able to make their own choices, and I have friends who go out. I have genuine, personal, and real reasons for my disdain to alcohol. However, I have always grown up pretty shocked by the lack of limits people my age have when it comes to drinking, everything is better in small doses, and no you didn't have fun at that party if you don't remember it.

I have always been a black sheep among my peers for my lack of interest in even trying to drink or party, however I have never seen the appeal. Seeing what the affects of excessive drinking can do first hand have been the initial contributing factor to this. On top of that I have spent years at camp learning to have fun and enjoy life, just naturally and normally, without the additives to "enhance" that, and I have a wonderful little sister who I intend to try my very best to be the best role model I can be for her, and be proud of the life I led as a young adult. My problem with drinking isn't the actual act of drinking, it is the lack of responsibility, the lack of knowing when enough is enough, and the lack of being able to live a life without it. I feel as though many teenagers and 20-somethings in college place a priority on drinking, as though it is the only way to spend weekends, and the only way to enjoy time with your friends, and that is something I have never been able to wrap my mind around.

Our culture is so consumed with the idea of seeing how much alcohol their bodies can handle, pushing it to limits every weekend night, only to wake up the next morning plagued with a migraine from hell and not being completely aware of what they did the night before. It isn't just drinking, it is drinking in excess. I can guarantee you that your weekends will better off if you drink just to enhance your time with your friends, not to forget it. That is where my problem lies, that many young people can't place limits on how much they drink or how often they drink. Binge drinking has become a hobby for so much of our youth, and it isn't a hobby I intend taking up.

I live a very full life that is drug and alcohol free, not because I am a prude, but because I value the experiences I have without it, as many may value with it. But nothing is more disappointing to hear my peers talk about who passed out this past weekend, who slept with who, and who can't remember that thing that you told them they said or did. It should be embarrassing, it is one thing to drink, but to drink to the point you are out of control of your own body is what is the problem. Drinking isn't something I won't ever do, but when I do, it will be responsibly.