Personal Narrative: 18

I’ve come to the conclusion that my decisions affect the road I continue to go down, I realize that it’s not about me being above drinking because they have an age limit for a reason. This lesson has truly taken a toll on how I will reason with myself and friends when about to make a bad decision.

“I could hear you crazies arguing all the way from the car, just give the poor girl something to do this time. You never let her get in on any of the action.” suggested Natasha,

“My situation is very different. It would make no difference if Joan and I adopted.”

Consuming alcohol at 18 years of age can interfere with the development of the young adult’s brain and studies show “physical changes in the brain and evidence of impaired problem solving and other cognitive functioning”. This results in influencing the child’s ability to reach their full educational potential. An article from Oct 2015 ‘15 Shots of Vodka Killed Our Daughter’ by Andrea Todd explains the death of 17 year-old Shelby Allen and is just one example of the influence alcohol has on young adults. Shelby was at a party where she and her 18 year old friends had decided to take shots. Her friends state that they wanted to see how many shots it would take for them to pass out. Eventually 15 shots later, Shelby’s body was unable to comprehend the toxicity of the alcohol and had died. This article is just one of the many stories where young adults are clearly unaware of the dangers of alcohol and its alarming consequences. Through surveying different age groups of societies we were able to identify that young adults where greatly more unaware of the health problems associated with consuming alcohol rather than adults. This alone indicates that older adults of 21 years and over have better knowledge on the dangers of alcohol and its impacts. The need to increase the drinking age to 21 years of age is indicated through health studies,

     One of the biggest problems in our society is under age drinking. They tell us how we aren’t allowed to drink, that we aren’t old enough or mature enough to do it, but the more adults talk about it, the more teenagers want to do it. When a kid goes off to college, it’s

Winston Churchill was infamous for his one liners and occasional drunken outbursts. One night at a party, he shocked a rather prominent woman with his drunken atrocities. Insulted, she turned to him and said, “Mr. Churchill, you are as drunk as a dog.” The Prime Minister returned, “Madam, I may be very drunk, but you are very ugly. But tomorrow,” he added, “I shall be sober” (Churchill, W). The use and abuse of alcohol is a centuries old vice that has circumnavigated the globe and all eras of humanity; young and old, man and woman. Alcohol is an inhibitor of logical thought. However, it is an enjoyable pastime as well as custom in almost every society as long as it is used within reason. Recently however, laws have been placed in many nations restricting drinking to only certain age groups. In America, the legal age to purchase and consume alcohol has fluxuated between 18 and 21, coming to rest at 21 in 1984. (CITE) This law is understandably strict, but also somewhat toying with a person 's free abilities. Aggravating the threat of binge-drinking and alcohol poisoning, this exceptionally high age limit has promoted more hindrances than benefits. Currently a great debate among lawmakers is whether the minimum legal drinking age (MLDA) should be lowered to 18; mirroring other nations in their practices. A lower limit would be exceptionally beneficial and fair legally, health-wise, and economically towards not only young adults, but society

It’s Monday night at about 11:30, but I’m doing something different tonight that I haven’t done on a Monday night in a while; I’m staying sober. Yes, I am underage (19 years and 6 months to be exact) and it won’t be until my Junior year of college before I can take my first legal drink in the United States. But I am not the only one who drinks while under the legal age limit; there is an estimated 63% of underage college students that get drunk on a minimum basis of one night a week (Foster, 1996).

Teenage drinking has become a prevalent issue and is extremely dangerous to the rest of society. With young brains reaching full development at the age of 25, it is no wonder that adding alcohol into the mix has serious repercussions. This article is a great wakeup call for teenagers. We all fall victim to the peer pressures of alcohol consumption. Many times, alcohol seems like the best answer in order to fit in and be more sociable, as Ben Yeager stated. Yeager’s story is one that hit home on many levels. His story is so tangible and can easily be the fate of many kids I know at school. While Yeager’s story is relatable, it achieves it purpose of advocating against drinking. As the reader, I grimaced through his

Drinking has become even more diffuse and frequent, especially among adolescents. Therefore, there are enormous, significant propositions to legitimize the hypothesis of lowering the age of drinking to 18.

I recall at that young of an age I would say “I was never going to drink” because I saw how extremely different a person my father was with alcohol in his system. I rarely drink as an adult, however my younger brother picked up that trait from my father. He now attends AA meetings but it was sad that we had to experience that. Social-Cultural

Alcohol serves a variety of uses in life. Fun, excitement, maybe a way to loosen up. A way to escape. Maybe it was a combination of reasons to my parents, I’ll never know. What I did know is that at 5:00pm, the emerald green cup would fill, vodka splashing the counter. The start to what never had an end. I hated that cup, and everything it symbolized. Being 8 years old and seeing the ones you love destroy themselves was never easy for me to comprehend. At the time I couldn’t begin to fathom why my sister chose to work 3 jobs, nor why she somehow remained but a shadow in the household. I never understood why Mom and Dad always argued and hit each other. Nor did I understand why my mother, the one I loved, would fall down the staircase four times a night. To me, it was normal. Routine even. I started serving as our family psychologist by age nine. Very quickly, I

“Exactly!” explains Susan. “You snuck out of Lily’s, and went to Derek’s house. How many times do I have to tell you that you can’t spend the night at your boyfriend’s house? You are not a grown-” Sadie cuts her off.

Something I strongly agree with that this second adult stated was that sometimes it takes something tragic to happen for a teen or even an adult to say that they will never drink again. Although this is clearly not the ideal situation I do think that this happens a lot and that sometimes kids are

“I don’t understand you; she’s seventeen years old, you gonna keep her in her house all her life?”

"No...no... Vivian... Look I hate to give you this news by phone. However when you get back we shall talk about this matter again."