Is it worth it?

At the moment I’m on my study week in preparation for exams next week and after exams everybody is ready to celebrate in their own way. What I’m really not liking is that everybody I talk to says something along the lines of “I can’t wait to get fucked up!!” Why does the word ‘celebrate’ have to mean drinking excessive amounts of alcohol? Of course at the end of exams I will go out and have a few, but I’m really don’t seen anything exciting or interesting about getting drunk all the time. It’s sad that so many people see this as a release.

What is it that makes people want to drink so much? Are their lives that dull and boring they want to escape? Is it because its ‘cool’? I know from my experiences, where for the past few years I drank quite a bit, you learn it’s never worth it. I used to drink because it was what everyone else was doing. I’d get sucked in by their excitement over drinking and adopt it as my own excitement.

Its disgusting that we live in a time where young people say things like “omg I haven’t had a drink for 3 days, I can’t wait to start again.” Who the hell cares how often you drink? Can’t people find something else to occupy their time with? I’m not trying to say drinking is bad. I don’t think that at all and of course, enjoy yourself occasionally. I’m saying drinking excessively 4 or 5 nights a week and living with the need for a drink all the time is bad. Being able to handle a certain number of drinks doesn’t make anyone who matters think any better of you. Nobody really cares what stupid things you get up to when you’re drunk. Yes, it’s funny to laugh over the next morning, but you’re not creating a person people will have respect for.

Also is a night really worthwhile not being able to get out of bed the next day for fear of throwing up? I know it’s definitely not. In the last few months I’ve really started to notice how often my friends say the “I can’t wait to get blind” sort of thing. It’s really made me think. I have to admit, most of the time I drink it’s because everyone else is doing it and I don’t want to be the sober one. It’s awful how when you say you don’t want to go out, or don’t feel like drinking, the answer you receive is not an understanding one, but a ”you’re so boring!” one. I have been guilty of handing out these responses, but generally it is just to mask my own uneasiness about what I am doing.

Obviously this sort of preaching is not going to make anyone change their mind about their excessive drinking and the stupid things they do. I don’t know what will, there are so many stories out there about accidents that happen as a result of alcohol, but nobody pays any attention to these. I guess people either have to experience something bad for themselves, or grow in maturity and realise that getting wasted is not an important part of life. For me, I believe the second one happened. Through my experiences last year and my realisation about many things and people, I believe I have grown in maturity and such trifle things are no longer important in my life and defining who I am.