Happy Birthday to Me!

I'm finally legally allowed to drink!!!!!! Happy 21st birthday to me (well, it was technically on Feb. 28th)! It's amazing how many doors open and opportunities are available when the government thinks you're responsible enough to consume alcohol! The one thing I'm most excited about is being able to go to the store and pick up a bottle of red wine to take to dinner at a friend's house! It's weird the things that I get excited about.
Because of my birthday, I ended up having some pretty interesting conversations with friends and family about the issue of drinking. Being in college, I am constantly surrounded by people whose only view of drinking is to get belligerently drunk and become out of control. Those who do not drink at all are in the minority. But the issue that was discussed was, "what ever happened to responsible drinking?" Do college students lack the ability to learn this? Or the ability to act it out? Does it always have to be an all or nothing ordeal? What happened to having one glass of wine with dinner? Or a cocktail with friends? Why is drinking to get drunk the only way people seem to be able to drink? It especially came out when it came to my birthday because all people would say to me was "I need to get you drunk!" or "We need to go out and party!" or "Let's go shot for shot!" What happened to people just offering to take someone out to get A drink, not drinkS? (And thank you to my best friend for doing so!) When the act of getting completely belligerent is encouraged and nothing else is taught or portrayed, why are colleges (CSU especially) surprised when people are being sent to the hospital for alcohol poisoning and/or dying? The stigma of drinking needs to change and education about alcohol is not going to solve the problem-- learning how to drink responsibly is! You can talk till you're blue in the face about the dangers of alcohol and partying, but it's not really going to help anyone in the long run. So this is an official thank you to my parents for teaching me and my sister how to drink responsibly and to take the "cool" stigma of getting drunk away. We know how to enjoy a cocktail or a glass of wine with dinner, and not expecting to wake up the next morning with a hangover! There's nothing wrong with drinking (even if you get a little tipsy-- I drink one drink and I can feel it-- I'm the walking, talking definition of a lightweight!) as long as you can do it responsibly and know your limits. It's amazing that people are getting a college education and yet cannot seem to grasp this concept... unsolvable mystery.