x90

oh, i just noticed that you're a girl


well, if you do decide to drink... don't do it at parties...

sammielue21

I know it's all underage and it's all illegal... But drinking as a freshman seems really, really young. You're my little brother's age. I don't think you should start drinking until you can handle the consiquences that can come of it. 14 is just too young.

imaparasite

I would be ~15.4 when I start drinking according to this plan. I read somewhere that the average age at which USAns start drinking is 15.9.

sammielue21

Still seems really young. I don't know, you seem capable. But just be CAREFUL. You may think that people are exagerating the rape thing, but just keep an eye on your drink.

ABCB7099

Go...drink. Call me when you're legal, I'll show you a good time.

liberate

Feel free, drink it up. You'll soon learn the consequences first-hand.

AeroEngineer3141

By the way, if you do plan on drinking at a party, always pour your own cup.

Consider yourself warned.

You know what? Bring a trusted male friend. Who can use a knife and has access to a GPS phone. Just in case.

sammielue21

I understand the knife part... But why a GPS phone?

gnrfan

"* If someone drinks themselves to semi-conciousness, it is a real possibility that they could choke on their own vomit. Yes, that is gross, and yes, people actually die that way. A lot. Lie them on their side."

Yes, the classic rock star death. You are unconscious and your mouth's closed when you vomit so there's no place for it to go, so it clogs up your wind pipe. Jimi Hendrix, Jon Bonham of Led Zeppelin, and Bon Scott of AC/DC are some of the legends who've died this way.

DagnyT

So you'd like to begin to drink, deliberately. Not possible. Drinking is about losing control. It's about ignorance, and stillness, and suicide. It goes against life, period. Do you value every moment of your life? If you don't, if you want to forget, to disengage, to let go? Have a drink. (By the way, a drinker is a parasite, so your screenname is apropos. If you read any AA literature, a drinker tries to get things for free, takes advantage of people. You say you get straight As, but do you know why you do? Have you examined why you like to achieve? Because that's what life's about. It's about creating something meaningful. And alcohol only destroys).

I'm sorry for the preachy post. But when people talk about drinking "according to plan" (or really drinking at all), it gets to me. Why do you want to drink? Where is the purpose? To have "fun"? What does that mean? I love having fun, love appreciating the work of others, laughing with people, etc. But I don't think trying to drown your sorrows in a bottle is the way to do it. It's a drug. Why do you feel like you need drugs to have fun? Do you think cocaine is okay, just the way you think alcohol is? It's a difference of degree, not kind. Am I making any sense at all?

I'm really sorry if I'm attacking you. My dad is an alcoholic, and it's a disease of denial. I just want people to understand that every choice you make has meaning, and choosing to drink is choosing denial, ignorance, loneliness, randomness. I don't know how else to describe it.

piccolojunior

LMFAO...no response needed, just close the thread now.

scuba723

I don't believe that any one person will sway your opinion with a single comment -- though if anyone should drive the point home to you, it would be DagnyT's response.

With that said, however, I must second whoever made the observation that you seem to be a terribly insecure person. You ask a group of anonymous yet overachieving students whether or not you should indulge in a relatively dangerous activity, but introduce your motivations by listing your accomplishments in school?

Is the fact that you are managing a 4.0 GPA as a freshman in high school supposed to indicate that you are more intelligent than most kids, and therefore will be safer under the influence? Or are you suggesting that your "hard work" this year entitles you to spend the summer making deliberately bad choices?

There were a lot of very bright, very intelligent kids in my freshman class. There are far fewer bright and intelligent students graduating. That gap? It's filled almost entirely with the ones who started partying early, started drinking, smoking, got careless and lazy and lost what they easily could have achieved. And what will happen to them? Nothing too bad. They're all going to decent colleges, except for the occasional hang-over, none have gotten sick from their activities. The alcohol, so far, has had no lasting impact on their well-being.

When they started drinking, however, they set off down a long road of poor-decision making, of rationalizing foolish behavior. You keep asking about the effect of alcohol on the body... that's not where you should be the most concerned. It was the impact that it had on their personality, on their ego, that was the most damaging. Whether they realized it or not, they have wasted a lot of their potential, and that is something they can never get back.

High school is stressful. We get that because we live it, just like you. But it speaks something to someone's character when they struggle through all the daily ********, stay sober, and still make it out on top. It's not a race, it's an endurance contest.

Here's a hint which will benefit you for the rest of your scholastic career: don't define yourself by the grades you receive, the number of extracurriculars you are involved in, or the amount of time spent sorting cans at the Food Bank. Your passions and your dedication to making a tremendous difference, changing your life as well as the lives of others... that is a central component of who you are, not your GPA or officer status in the Stop World Hunger club you half-heartedly joined.

PShap91

Edited because scuba wins

sammielue21

Scuba's post should be printed out and distributed around the world. Any advice after that will only pale in comparison.

imaparasite

Scuba, I agree with your post. Generally, I don't think drinking really goes against what you said.

Good point.. why did I bring it up in my OP? Probably subconciously for a few reasons:
- To allow for the argument that it will cause my grades to slip
- To display responsibility or perseverance
- To show that I do a lot and need a break

Can you say that drinking is what *caused* a slip in grades? You say it has no lasting impact on their well-being.. okay, can I take this as a contradiction to the idea that moderate drinking will impede your success?

Remove "stay sober" from that and it's just as true. You could replace it with a million other "positive" attributes like "eating healthily" or "acting in the name of god". They're nice but they aren't necessary in winning the endurance contest.