I am probably not the most interesting person to be writing a column about alcohol. I turned 21 this past summer while overseas, so I didn’t have my first drink until about a month after my birthday. My parents gathered a small array of drinks for me to try — beer, whiskey, vodka soda and distilled motor fuel, AKA soju — and at last, my eyes and tongue were opened to the hellish world of intoxicants. Other than the vodka soda, I managed about two sips of each drink before tapping out. To me, unflavored soju, along with whiskey, tastes like what I can only describe as a crime against my very sense of taste.
I’ve since tried a small handful of drinks that I thought were stomachable, although I don’t make an effort to seek out alcohol. I’ve certainly never craved the taste of anything alcoholic, and I’ve never consumed enough in one sitting to feel any kind of buzz. The only draw I’ve ever felt to drinking is when I’m with a small group of friends and we want to pretend like our lives are actually difficult enough to warrant a cold beer at the end of a long day, and even that is a silly reason to drink if it’s only the aesthetic that’s appealing. If our goal isn’t to get drunk, then we might as well just drink juice while punching each other in the stomach for a similar experience.
Before I turned 21, I didn’t want to be fearful of drinking, as if one sip would send my life into ruin, but I also knew that it wasn’t something to take lightly. Alcohol(ism) has had a profound impact on my family, so while I wouldn’t say I grew up villainizing it, my perception has always been painted by the emotional (and physical) scars that my family carries. I don’t have any big qualms with just drinking at a legal age, but drunkenness is a line that I’ll never cross and that I don’t think anyone should.
The idea of being drunk just doesn’t mesh well with my temperament. I hate the idea of not having control over my actions and would much rather rely on my own personality to have fun than on booze. I’ve always felt that my inhibitions are what keep me safe, so deliberately silencing them never made sense. I’m also not a spontaneous person by nature, so I usually prefer for my fun to be as pre-planned and well-organized as possible. Some may find predictability to be boring, but if I have a specific vision of who I want to hang out with and what I want to do with them, that seems like more fun to me than going to a party and rolling the dice on alcohol to take care of the rest.
Not to mention, college is just about the only stage of life when heavy alcohol consumption is deemed as normal. It might be cute and all to get drunk on the weekends now, but once we start getting full time jobs and families, the reliance on alcohol doesn’t exactly disappear magically — those habits and urges will stick with us, and swimming in fishbowls on Wednesday nights stops being a social media flex when you have rent to pay and a kid to raise.
I won’t pretend that I don’t see the appeal of drinking, though. There are times when I’m in my own head too much and would like to forget about everything that’s stressing me out. I’m sure my social life would be much more vibrant if I always felt confident and/or drunk enough to initiate a conversation with anyone I found interesting, but to pretend that I could just use alcohol as an innocent social lubricant would be greatly overestimating both my own willpower and the goodwill of others.
Even though I don’t believe in silencing inhibitions through alcohol, there are times when soberly quieting inhibitions can serve us well in social interactions. Rather than relying on alcohol to meet new people and have fun, I’ve tried my best to gather up the courage on my own to initiate with people I might not feel comfortable with yet. Drunkenness gives us a shortcut to being open that doesn’t require the emotional investment and risk usually involved when we’re sober and constantly aware of every social cue around us. I personally don’t think it’s ever worth it to be drunk when that same carefree fun can be had with the right people and a little bit of sober, non-liquid courage.
If you or someone you know is struggling with alcohol abuse, help can be found at the SAMHSA (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration) National Helpline: 1-800-662-HELP (4357). You can also schedule an appointment with Cornell health at 607-255-5155.
Noah Do is a fourth year student in the College of Arts & Sciences. His fortnightly column Noah’s Arc documents his journey through the flood that is college. He can be reached at [email protected]
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