Lizards, Cosulich and Bongos

Oh hey, what's going on? Not much? That's OK.

Now, by way of an introduction to this post........There is one thing that seems very important to many of my fellow college students, and that is the drink. I have noticed that is seems to be one of the most talked about nouns and verbs around.

In high school, I would hear many of my classmates discuss the effects that alcoholic beverages have had upon them, even though the majority had never had a drop pass their lips. I would ask classmates whom I suspected of this to describe their experiences, and would often have my suspicions confirmed, as the descriptions were obviously from secondary sources such as TV, family, or being basically anywhere in this great state after 3 pm. What I found most interesting about my scientific investigations, were the descriptions of the famous hangover. Something that I learned from first hand knowledge is that apart from a little pain in the gut, people in their mid teens generally do not get hangovers....Unless of course they ingest a good deal more alcohol than they claim... But that is not the point.

Something that I at least find far more interesting, is why the copious ingestion of alcohol, fictitious or otherwise is so popular among us young people. Is it the perceived need to present yourself as somebody dangerous for a variety of reasons? Is it about the need to fit in? Is it just something fun to do with friends? Or possibly in more serious cases to help block a painful memory, or something to help you forget about a difficult situation? Possibly all of the above, and possibly neither.

Without talking too much about myself, and without talking about my family as much as possible, I can state that my own reasons for under age drinking in my mid teens were simple. Ever since I was around 12, my dad saw nothing at all wrong with giving the boy beer. When in my mid teens, drinking with friends was something normal and not even looked upon as illegal. It was just the way things were. There was no hiding from the police, or secretly gathering in the woods, but just a get together in someones living room, usually with someones parents in the house, or during the summer in a backyard. Talking about drinking was also normal, but only because everyone knew that everyone else drank, and not for the reasons described above. I speak generally here, as there were exceptions to everything I have said.

Here in New Hampshire, underage drinking is very different in almost every way from what it was in the old country. Alcohol consumption among teens is often synonymous with the use of other illegal mind altering substances, and the normality and all innocence is to my mind gone. Social drinking among teens here, as I have also learned from first hand experience, is a seedy and for me an unenjoyable practice. Back in the old country, drinking was secondary to spending time with friends. Here, all gatherings where alcohol is involved seem to be focused on the alcohol and not on the people who are consuming it. I suppose you could compare it to watching TV when you have the chance to go out and be with people. A better analogy would be that social drinking among young teens in NH is almost a religion, with Bacchus as its primary deity... Keep in mind that I am exclusively talking about ages 13 through 18 when you re read, as obviously things change after high school.

Wow, I really fell apart at the end there, and in the middle, and the beginning is no better. I honestly got too bored to continue writing about this subject. Just keep in mind that I am exceedingly tired and am greatly looking forward to a few hours of sleep. Tomorrow, I am going to pick up my dad from Hartford. Stay tuned for exciting details..