You've made it through high school, you've made it to college, you're out of the house and you have more freedom than ever. Now is the time to make all of your own decisions with nobody telling you "no." For many students drinking becomes common, and it's probably the worst time to start.
High school was no sweat compared to college. All you really have to do is show up, and all those slackers you know had little to no trouble getting in where they wanted to go. Hell I dropped out in 7th grade and now I'm at a university with plenty of students who were acing APs all the time. College is where you really need to grind. Getting in is only a small hurdle. There's tests almost every week, homework exists to teach you and not practice and a textbook is you're best friend/pillow.
After constant stress, you decide to drink on a weekend or at an event. Don't get me wrong, drinking itself isn't the worst thing you could be doing. Even so there's this big disconnect that college students have. Drinking is heavily ingrained in our culture, and even more so with college students. Of everywhere I've gone, everything I've seen, done and been through in this strange life I've lived, I can honestly say I have never met a dumber bunch than college students. While legally being adults, they are still very much children. They have more freedom now then they ever have and they have no idea how to handle it.
Many students lives had a heavy structure implemented by parents. There was always somebody watching them and telling them how they need to spend their time. Their was always someone pushing them to work hard and behave a certain way. When it comes to drinking, many parents would not allow it. Now these kids always have a couple bucks to throw down for booze, and a limitless amount of 21 year olds around them. So we have some cheap liquor and kids who don't know much about alcohol, in a culture that tells you to drink more and more and it's totally okay.
This weekend my friend ended up in the ER from drinking to much on his birthday, and that's not an isolated incident. In colleges all across America, there are multiple people each semester who almost die of alcohol poisoning, and sometimes actually do. Those who don't, often don't drink responsibly either. I know multiple people at my school who suffer from alcoholism from drinking habits in college, and my father was an alcoholic my whole life due to patterns that arose in college.
So why do we accept that alcohol should just be a part of college life? I think it's solely because it is legal. Marijuana has 0 registered deaths, won't make you sick and isn't a poison. Weed is vindicated and considered horrible by many people just because it is legal and we are told it is bad.
College students love to gravitate towards alcohol because it is an accepted part of our culture, and I think that is absolutely horrible. When in the hands of an irresponsible young adult under an immense amount of stress, booze is a recipe for disaster. While my sentiments may not be shared by others, I do firmly believe that a college student who wants to experience any kind of altered perception should avoid drugs and alcohol and stick to the green.
