For the first 21 years of my life, the only alcohol I consumed was the occasional sip of church wine. If you were wondering, that is a great opening line at a party, when someone offers you a drink. Or this:
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The Waiting Game
Usually people would say “props to you,” or “I could never do that!” or even “HOW?!” College is funny that way.
Now don’t get me wrong, I don’t have anything against alcohol, or people that consume it. I just made a decision a long time ago that it wasn’t for me. I chose to wait, and honestly, it wasn’t hard.
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I just said no, and I was never ridiculed for it. College is funny that way, too. After being around the same people for a while, they stopped asking.
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I’m an extremely social person. I love dancing, and I’ve gone to my share of parties. Whenever I went out, everyone had a plan for the night when I was around. Most people hate someone that tries to be their mom in college, but most of my (drunk) friends would think I was a sweetheart when I asked them how they were getting home.
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One of the benefits of not drinking is waking up the next morning, able to recall everything that happened the night before. Some of the best conversations I’ve ever had have been at parties. It’s amazing how deep people can get. Someone once told me, “I just feel like I can trust you, like I should tell you stuff.”
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The Big Day
I turned 21 at the end of April and consumed my first alcoholic beverage at dinner that night. I have never had so many phones pointed at me at once. I don’t think there was a person there that didn’t record the event.
I was going to start off easy with a mojito. My plan changed when a lady at the restaurant overheard it was my 21st and she bought me an “X-Rated Flirtini.”
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This was my actual response…
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Needless to say, the martini was X-rated for a reason. I took two hours to drink it. As a side note, I had a $15 coupon for my birthday, and also got a free dessert. So, I ate a salad, filet mignon, asparagus, fresh fruit, a martini, and an ice cream pie for $2.50.
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You Do You
At my school, a lot of people make shot books for their big day. If you’re not familiar, 21 of your closest friends create a scrapbook page and outline the shot they will buy you while bar hopping. Since I knew there was no way I could handle 21 shots and I had no interest in blacking out on my 21st birthday, I decided to make a 21 (snap)shots Book.
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I bought two disposable cameras, and instead of a shot, my friends made a page outlining a place to take a picture together.
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Since my birthday, I’ve had maybe two glasses of wine and two wimpy summer beers, and I honestly don’t see that changing any time soon. The desire isn’t there, but that’s just me.
Long story, short: whether or not you choose to wait, or maybe you decide you never want to drink, make the choice for yourself. No one else.
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