Summer vacation: the time where teenagers are found at the beach with a six pack next to them, probably soaking up the sun rays and taking artsy photos of the water to fit their random Instagram theme. However, for some millennials summer is completely different. For some of us, we’ve made the decision to not drink.

Whoa. Totally monumental, right? So weird!

Anyway, this decision is called becoming a “straight edge.” According to Urban Dictionary, "straight edge" is a slang term that means one should not “engage in activities of disgrace to their minds and bodies.” In not as many words, it means to abstain from drinking and drugs and other such activities, and people who are all about this lifestyle use an “x” on their hands to signify their choice. While this isn’t necessarily something that is considered mainstream--it’s mostly associated with the punk and hardcore scene--there are a lot of celebrities who have chosen this lifestyle. To list a few: Andy Hurley, drummer of Fall Out Boy; Chad Gilbert, lead guitarist and founder of New Found Glory; and Dan Campbell, lead singer of The Wonder Years. If you know any of those names, then chances are that you understand where I’m coming from. But I digress.

Being a teenager and making this decision makes life a little bit harder. Not only do your friends go out to college parties and live up to society’s standards of what a 'normal' teenager should be, but even if you do end up going along, chances are that everybody else there is going to be either drunk or getting there. Which means that this isn’t entirely a safe environment for you. Since people who aren’t in their right minds tend to make bad decisions, you’re torn between leaving your friends behind where something could potentially happen to them or staying and potentially putting yourself in danger.

I made this decision when I was about 16 years old. I’ve never had a drop of alcohol or smoked anything in my life, but with my family’s history of alcoholism and drug addiction, I didn’t want to be the one to keep repeating history. Instead, I want to be the one who lives life to the fullest without help from any substance, and I want to be the one who remembers her adventures when she’s in the retirement home.

The life of a straight edge is hard. I’m faced with the temptation to drink whenever I’m with my friends, and saying no is a lot harder than they made it look in middle school. The struggle is real for those who have made this choice, but the benefits outweigh the struggle. Not only will I break the cycle of alcoholism and drug addiction in my family, but I will be saving my organs from the death and decay that happens whenever anyone drinks to excess. I’ll be lowering my chances at getting lung cancer because I don’t smoke cigarettes, and I’m saving my brain from the long term effects of marijuana.

I cast no judgment to people who will spend their summer drinking and living life the way they want to. Your choices are your own, and it is not my place to tell you how to live your life. But for some of your peers, our summer will be different from yours, and that’s okay.

So, here’s to all the teenagers who are deciding to make adjustments to their life. May the sparkling apple cider always be enough for you.