When I was about fourteen years old, I had my first alcoholic beverage. I loved it. I believe it was a rum and coke mix. I started going to pit parties with my friends. It was cool because my older brother was always there, and he didn’t mind partying with me. We were always the youngest people at the party, but that was cool too, because everyone knew my brother. I always had a lot of fun, doing keg stands, beer bongs, and playing the game quarters. I was also very stupid. I would always end up driving me and my friend’s home after the party. I usually had to pull over to the side of the road a couple times to go to the bathroom, or to puke. I wrecked two of my cars driving drunk, but I’ve never been caught.

Now days, I am in college, and I don’t party anymore. I will have a couple beers every now and then, and maybe a wine cooler, or a mix, but I never get drunk anymore. I feel like I learned my lesson in those years that I partied. I realize how lucky I was to never get caught. I have been pulled over multiple times, when I’ve been drunk, but the cops always let me off with just a warning.

My brother, on the other hand, didn’t have the luck I had. He was my reason for not wanting to drink. He has many, many, many minor consumptions, and he just got his first DWI recently. At this very moment he is sitting in jail. I look at him and I think, that could have been me. Now he is going to fail all of his classes for this semester, and he will be about a year behind in his studies. I hope he realizes that drinking caused this, and he needs to change his ways.

I know a lot of college students like to party and get wasted, but tell me this, is it really worth it? Are you achieving anything, or are you just being dumb? There are so many better things to do in life, than to drink all the time. I’m not saying that it’s bad to have one or two drinks; I’m just saying don’t drink to get drunk, and don’t drink every day.

By me choosing not to drink, I made myself a better person. I no longer lie to my parents, and I always get my homework done and turned in on time. I also made myself a happier, more caring person. I may not have a lot of friends anymore, but I’m slowly making new friends, who don’t drink a lot either. I don’t miss partying in the least bit, I actually regret it.