By: Abigail Sun
You’re at a party. Music is blaring, everybody’s moving around, and the lights flicker so much that your eyes struggle to take it all in. Your friend squeezes through the crowd and makes her way back to you. “Here, want some?” she hands you a red cup, filled with some clear shiny liquid. Your eyes meet hers. You know what it is. You know what your parents have told you. But what should you do?
Although Mills is known for its incredibly academic environment filled with overachieving, motivated students, high school is still high school. High school’s full of idiots.
Okay, so maybe not idiots. But, it is scientifically proven that high schoolers have underdeveloped prefrontal cortexes. In other words, teenagers have difficulties making choices and are easily influenced to do things they may otherwise not want to do.
Take football season for example. Football season is famous for the after parties, and we all know what happens there. There can be alcohol, along with a whole variety of other detrimental substances. Afraid of not fitting in and looking uncool, teenagers overindulge and give in to peer pressure. They’ll get sick, throw up, sometimes even pass out. This is not only unhealthy, but also just plain unsafe. Many teenagers often overlook the power of alcohol and drink much more than their bodies can handle.
The 2017 Youth Risk Behavior Survey performed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found 30% of high school students in the US have drunk alcohol. Yes, underage drinking is illegal, however, there is still a significant number of high schoolers across the nation, and even within Mills who have defied this law. Not because they are bad people, but because they were put into situations in which they felt like they had to; to prove something, or in some cases, just wanted the rush of adrenaline knowing they were rebelling against an “unfair” law.
Whether it’s a party at a family gathering or at home, some teenagers will choose to break this law and some will even do so on a daily basis. As some teenagers are drinking regularly, many have already found “their limit”, or an extent of alcohol that they can handle before they reach a dangerous situation. Knowing how much alcohol is too much in can actually come to good use later on in life, or more specifically, college.
Take for instance a student who never drank in high school. They go off to college and someone invites them to a party. Of course, there will be alcohol, so they decide to have a drink or two. Two drinks turn into four, four turns into seven. Suddenly, this student is drunk beyond belief, giving reason for students to find their limit earlier on in life.
Overconsumption of alcohol has more than just a physical toll on one’s health, but it also affects academics, sports, and almost all aspects of life. College is a melting pot for all these aspects. Drinking excess alcohol can increase the risk of missing critical opportunities and information that can affect your performance at work, in school, and generally later on in life. According to the Washington Post’s article on “How much do college students really drink?”, “…about one-quarter of college students report having academic consequences because of their drinking, including missing class, falling behind, doing poorly on exams or papers, and receiving lower overall grades.” The grades you recieve in college have a large contribution towards your future, determining career paths, your ability to financially provide for yourself, and in what some may define their overall success in life. If drinking gets in the way of your success and distracts you, then perhaps you should consider lowering your amount consumed or stop drinking all together. You do not want to be the person that fails their psychology class because they were hungover most days.
Despite the risks of drinking, (kidney disease, heart disease, etc.) some may argue that if you do not experiment with your limit in high school at least to some extent, you may lose complete control in college or further on in life. Once you have found your limit, you can use this measure for later on in life. Of course, underage drinking should never be an option if you are looking to have a good time. There is nothing wrong with saying no and finding other options. Instead of consuming your own body weight in alcohol, find alternatives to drinking. For instance, you can play the same typical games you would at a party, but substituting alcohol with another drink like juice or soda. Otherwise, you can occupy yourself with athletics, studies, or picking up a new hobby. There’s always another option!
