Al coe hall.

If only I was a regular drinker.
Sure, I've drank a few times before. But I can count those occasions on one hand. The first time I drank we had the cops called on us for a noise violation and I was already drunk so I was freakin out.
Why don't I drink?
I've drank before, it's nothing exciting. If I want to have fun, I can find safer/smarter ways to do it.
It's too expensive.
It makes you stupid.
It's illegal and I'm a criminal justice major. Get popped for drinking and you're done.

As my Uncle Dave put it: "Why pay good money that I work for to buy something that makes me feel stupid and that I'll piss out a few hours later?"

Never before have I had an answer for that question, but after being around it enough, I came up with one:

People drink to be social and fit in.

Fitting in.... hm.

Sound kind of stupid to me. You know who else tried to fit in?
People in the South during slavery. People in Germany during the Holocaust.

I'm not comparing drinking to enslaving people or killing Jews, but I am comparing that the idea of fitting in and drinking makes you do stupid things.

A friend of mine, after never really drinking before, decided that since he lost his girlfriend and has been going through some problems in his life he'd start drinking. He goes out regularly now and just acts stupid. It's a waste of money that he could be putting towards college or something like that.

Being drunk simply facilitates bad choices. People are more apt to have sex or things like that. Don't get me wrong: you can go out and fuck who you want. That's cool. My problem is doing it drunk without a clear head. Mistakes, regardless of excuses, can't be taken back. You can get an STD, become pregnant, or have some other life-altering effect just because you decided to get drunk and make a bad decision.

Think smarter, guys. It's really not too hard. I know that I would have more friends if I went out and drank all the time. But I'll be content to spend my Friday and Saturday nights with my friends being smart and having a good time anyway. It's cheaper and lets people REALLY know who I am and what I'm about.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a football game to watch. =D