Alcohol Awareness Month: Question 1

Published 12:00 am Thursday, April 3, 2008

By Albert Lea Tribune

A town hall forum this evening looks at alcohol use among teenagers. It goes from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the Brookside Education Center.

In conjunction with the forum, the Albert Lea Tribune approached this week Albert Lea High School journalism teacher Riley Worth about having his sophomore students respond to one of two questions. In turn, the Tribune promised their answers would be printed without names. This way, the teens could be candid in their answers.

Email newsletter signup

Question 1 was: If you have participated in drinking alcoholic beverages, why and what influenced you?

I have participated in alcoholic beverages. I wanted to, there was not peer pressure involved. I just thought it would be fun. I know underaged drinking is not right but I would not take it back. Drinking is something you have to wait to do, which makes it more appealing to kids. When your parents say you can&8217;t go out that night it makes you want to even more. Same thing here as there. You can get married at 18 but have to wait to drink until you reach 21. I do not feel guilty doing what I did and there were no repurcussions to it for me. While I only have once or twice I still think in moderation and as long as you don&8217;t over due it, it can be OK. Just like in adults.

I have drank at a party and it has a a lot to do with the peer pressure. There are people always asking you to try this and it&8217;s not that hard to say no to the first couple of times, but when other people keep asking it&8217;s hard because you want to fit in. A lot of it is trying to look cool. What other people think of you is very important to many teens, and you hang out with people who drink you will end up doing the same.

Your friends are your life and if they ask you to do something you will. So, picking our friends is a big choice that can have a big influence on your life.

Personally, yes I have participated in drinking alcoholic beverages. At the time I thought it would be fun and exciting, when all along it was stupid and life-consuming. I almost lost my brother to alcohol poisoning and woke up after that. My older friends were always ther reason why I would drink. Either school was getting too hard, my parents were arguing, or something was going wrong, which made alcohol seem like the answer, when it really wasn&8217;t. I don&8217;t want to end my life before it even starts. Neither should any other teen. I have learned that alcohol is not and never will be the answer to any of your problems. Live your life to the fullest you possibly can!

Yes, I admit I am one of the many high school students who have drank alcohol. I know it&8217;s stupid but people, obviously including me, are stupid. I think the main reason why I started was because of all my peers. No, I am not trying to just blame them because I know it was my decision. But the friends that I grew up with basically all did. My older sister, granted she is three years older, my three best friends started young, my dad, they made it seem like a fun easy way to get away from everything. You know excluding the hangovers. I think Albert Lea in general is just a really boring town with nothing to do so a lot of students use alcohol and drugs to occupy their time. No I do not think it&8217;s really worth it, but I don&8217;t think people should make such a big deal about it.

I took my first alcoholic beverage at the age of 13. I wouldn&8217;t necessarily say that it was all peer pressure because a part of me wanted to. After waking up and hearing what I did and how I acted, made me not want to drink again. But I would be lying if I said it was my last.

Some kids say their friends do it, or they see their parents sipping on a beer sometimes. You have a mind of your own and its up to you to make the right decisions. Last summer I was at a party and charged with a minor consumption and it messed up all the plans I had this year. I lost trust in my family and couldn&8217;t play an sports. Six months probation wasn&8217;t a joy either.

If you&8217;re going to drink be smart about it. Going to school wasted shouldn&8217;t be an option.

The same reason most other people do, to have a good time. Alcohol, to me, helps relieve stress and makes you open to people or something new. Being a musician, it&8217;s always intrigued me how a famous musician can play so well when he/she is completely intoxicated! I have to admit, it does loosen you up and take the pressure off. It&8217;s also nice to have a drink when you&8217;re feeling depressed because it can sometimes elevate your mood. For some people, it can help put some weight if you are underweight. Can&8217;t have a few drinks without the munchies!

Yes, I have drank before. Everyone thinks that teens drink alcohol to fit in or be cool. That wasn&8217;t the case for me. Drinking looked fun. Everybody who had a few drinks was in a good mood and they were all really funny. I am a person who likes to have fun so I thought I&8217;d give it a try. That night was really fun. The morning, well let just say me and the toilet became very close.

I have participated in drinking alcoholic beverages. I participated because I started to wonder what it was like to get a buzz. Just to see if it was really worth it. In my enviroment I hear all the time how alcohol is so fun and great. I was influenced by my curiosity to try something. And I&8217;m glad I did because I found out it isn&8217;t as great as it is made out to be, it&8217;s just another thing really.

Look for more of these answers in future editions.