Prom season is coming up and I remember so clearly how I spent the last six hours of my prom night. Belligerently drunk to a level I had been unable to reach ever before. But hey, free booze does that to a girl. Now, I didn't do anything stupid that night, and I didn't drive nor did anyone else. We were as responsible as you could consider a group of just graduated high schoolers, and that was fine by me. In fact, it's still fine by me, and it will always be fine by me.
I don't see a problem with letting loose one night a week, having some wine with a group of girlfriends, or enjoying a beer after a long day at the track. My tolerance is still fairly low, and by most standards I tend to be a lightweight when it comes down to it. Granted there are some nights where I go a little bit farther than I need to. Even though I cut myself off at a point others think is fairly early in the night, I still have my stories of nights where I had one too many.
The problem I have isn't so much with only underage drinkers, because it's something that even those who are of age do. The problem unfolds in two parts, first being the inability to exercise self-control, and secondly using alcohol to excuse bad behavior.
We all know that one person that goes above and beyond and makes a fool of themselves every time they end up drinking. They always have to drink too fast, too much, and end up doing something stupid that makes you think you're in high school again. They become "that one drunk girl / guy", and the truth is they really do know what they're doing, they just don't care. They think the story will be funny enough in the morning or whatever it is. Well, if this is you, please stop. You know that you don't have to do the things you're doing and that the ideas you're getting really aren't that great. Exercise some self-control and reign yourself in, you don't really need a baby sitter and you don't need to be the center of attention. If you've hit the point where you do, then you're heading on a fast track to being one of the persons that makes America a little less great.
My second issue is using alcohol to excuse poor behaviors, especially the behaviors you should have utilized self-control with and didn't. "I was drunk" or "I don't remember, I was sooo fucked up" is not an acceptable excuse for poor behavior. Even worse is when they say, "I know I shouldn't have kept going, but I did anyway". If you know you're at your limit, then stop. Not just for your dignity and composure, but there go your kidneys and liver, and I hope you enjoy having your stomach pumped.
I'd love to see a comeback of the times where sharing just a drink or two with some close friends in an intimate and private setting is how we're drinking. It should be something that brings us together on a more intimate level, not something that we do in excess of excess. Binge drinking until you vomit should stop being the trend, and responsibility and accountability should be held for going past your limits.
Love, Polly.
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