College learning:part 3

There's a reason laws were written to discourage alcohol consumption for those under 21 years of age. Young adults grow into the concept of subtlety. Usually life is lived in extremes. There are many positives to this, but when it comes to drinking, having a beer is a difficult concept. Getting drunk is a simple concept. Since the youth culture esteems extremes, heavy drinkers achieve a high social status. Because my higher value on being a cheapskate overrode high social status via drunkenness I didn't imbibe as much as my friends. I was limited to free or really cheap beer. But when I came across it, I imbibed with abandon. Perhaps having German and Irish genetics saved me from of the typical reactions to drunkenness that my friends suffered, vomiting and black outs, but also left me, perhaps, with a predilection to alcoholism. After 2 years in the UConn party world, I found myself drunk the night before a test. I realized, by the grace of God, that I had lost control to alcohol. So I quit drinking alcohol altogether. I never drank a drop for the next 10 years. Due to a variety of factors I tried it again. I drink in moderation now. When I feel rich enough at the grocery store after my family has enough food for the week and there is money left, I will buy wine or beer and milk it for a long time. I don't think alcohol is evil. Like money, its the love of it that is the root of all sorts of evil. As an adult, alcohol, for me, is part for the pleasure of a time with good company and good food and good conversation. As a youth it was the end and not a means. It was an idol. Alcohol is for the mature, not the immature. If you are under 21 save yourself the trouble and consider yourself immature.