Corporal Hicks said:
Thanks for the feedback!
I'm 16 and already I've seen enough parties to hate what people do, one having involved things I really didn't want to see. I have to mention that yes I do know it is the law here that I'm not yet old enough to drink, however I want to be in the Police and that I know the law states that you are allowed to drink in your own home or on others property with their permission.
Anyway all of my friends drink apart from one, another buddy who does Tae Kwon Do, oddly enough the only two Martial Artists and none-drinkers in our year!
I'm torn between drinking to be sociable now, or not drinking because I dont want to be out of control (wouldn't go that far anyway). Am I missing out on a part of life because I'm not drinking or going to drink therefore going to miss out on things in university?
I like drinking, but let me tell you I didn't drink at all until I was 19, and that was I could do so legally in Canada.
My advise to you is, don't drink until you can do so legally, and when you are of legal age, don't get drunk. There are many reasons why I give this advice, so l'll try to keep it short.
1. It's illegal, and if you get an MIP or something like that, your in for headaches that really aren't worth the couple of beers.
2. Because of the way alcahol is treated by our culture, american teen's as a whole don't know how to drink responsibly. Even if you are the responsable one, the majority of the people you'll be around won't be. Poor behavior breeds poor behavior, and that is just the way it goes. If you drink with other teenagers, it will be virtually impossably to not be effected negatively by it.
3. The act of getting "drunk" or "high" puts your mind in an altered state, and can act as an escape. By "escaping" like this on a weekly basis as some do, you hinder your personal growth. An artificial substance becomes a way of coping.
4. It is wasteful of your talent and abilities. Your youth is a critical time. You should be having fun and living it up, but at the same time you should be building good habits that you can carry into your adulthood. This goes for all sorts of stuff other then "drinking." If you have poor study habits now, you may struggle with this in college. If you vegitate in from of the TV 4 hours a day, then this habit will carry over as well. If your disorganized now, you will have trouble with this as an adult. If your diet is horrable as a kid, you will risk health problems later on when your metabolism changes.
The same goes from "social drinking" habits as a teenager. When I was in High school, here was the trend. Someone would plan a party; out in a field, or at someones house when the parents weren't home, or wherever. Everyone would spend Wednesday through Friday talking about it and getting ready for it. Then, they party, get drunk, and get chased out by the police. They all meet up at the nearest fast food place to talk about their adventures that night. The next week they spend monday and tuesday talking about how "sweet" the party was, and "dude did you see alex throw up" and bla blah bla. Entering into Wednesday/Thursday when plans are laid out for the next "gathering."
DO YOU SEE THE TREND? These Teens I grew up with...their whole lives revolved around alcahol. They weren't substance abusers or alcaholics or addicts; these were your "normal" kids. Yet, their whole lives revolved around this cycle of partying. How much time do you they think they spent reading, learning, training, and stimulating their minds? Only enough time to get good enough grades so they could go to Michigan State U to go drink some more. Many of these kids who are now my age (mid-twenties) can't figure out why they are unhappy even though their parents STILL pay their way. They can't figure out how I was able to do things in Martial Arts, get a degree, maintain good job status, and so on, when my family wasn't Rich and their's were. I used to hear all the time from non-working college students, "Dude, I don't know how you have time for martial arts and working out; I just have no time with school." When I went to school like them, except I also worked 2 jobs to put me through it. I "had the time" because I didn't "socially drink" my way through H.S. and college.
You see there is a big difference between a working man going to the bar at the end of the week, kicking back with friends and talking about the week, then the cycle of behavior that follows most H.S. and College drinkers.
So, besides all the "bad stuff" they tell you in school about alcahol, listen to this advice. The biggest problem with drinking at an early age isn't that you'll become a full blown alcaholic, the biggest problem is that you could be hindering your abilities to reach your potential.
So, my advice is worth repeating. Wait until your of age to drink, dude.
PAUL
