<p>I think there’s probably more than one way to be an alcoholic. I have a friend who gave up drinking when he realized that although he didn’t drink often, he always overdrank when he did. My father on the other hand functioned very well for years and years and years even though my any normal standards he drank way too much. In the end it led to a lot of serious health problems and as he got older the drinking did seem to have a worse effect on his personality than it did when he younger.</p>
<p>I’m baffled by where the idea you had to drink a birthday’s worth of shots came from. I don’t remember it being a tradition when we were younger.</p>