Essay Personal Narrative: Deviance and Underage Drinking

Every year, thousands of minors die from the use of alcohol. Many young adults abuse the drinking age policy. It is put in effect for substantial reasons, which contribute in making the safest environment for all. Drinking underage is not only illegal, but also damages one’s health tremendously. Furthermore, drinking in large amounts is extremely dangerous and can cause detrimental things to occur. There have been numerous attempts to create a law to lower the drinking age, but none have gone through. In contrast to what some people may say, the drinking age should not be lowered because it would decrease maturity, promote poor behavior, and damage reputations.

In the article Why the Drinking Age should be Lowered, Ruth Engs believes that the drinking age should be lowered to about 18 or 19. Engs is a Professor at Indiana University in the Health and Sciences department. In this article Engs makes a valid point in that “responsible drinking could be taught through role modeling and educational programs.” Engs also states facts about the different drinking ages in other countries, and that the United States has the highest legal purchasing age for alcoholic beverages in the world.

“Automobiles are not ferocious.... it is man who is to be feared,” as Robbins B. Stoeckel remarked, enumerates a simple, yet fundamental concept- a vehicle in itself is a relatively safe, that is, until you put a person behind the controls. Further adding to the danger is the ever prevalent risk of a fellow driver being impaired by the usage of alcohol; perhaps the only thing that may make such a situation even more difficult and dangerous is one who is under the legal alcohol drinking age. Fewer situations are more life threatening than when an underage driver has been illegally consuming alcohol, yet persists in the belief that he or she retains the ability to drive safely. Thoughts along this line are foolish at best and deadly at

According to “Underage drinking and the drinking age” at the age of 18 you are considered an adult, however the article suggests most 18 year olds are not mature enough to drink responsibly. Underage drinking is an immense problem that college students and young men and women face. Main states, that although students argue that when they turn 18 and are considered adults, they should be able to legally vote, risk their lives in the military, get married, and legally drink. Depending on where the soldier is stationed depends on whether they can drink or not. Soldiers stationed in the United States drink less because they are under less stress. Many soldiers and young adults use alcohol as a way to cope. Years ago alcohol Prohibition was used to stop the use of alcohol altogether. The availability that underage drinkers have to get their hands on alcohol is high (Main).

Growing up, I dealt with a mother who struggled with addiction; to be unambiguous, she was an alcoholic. She drowned in her alcoholism as it pulled her down an alarming road. She was dreadfully depressed and believed that alcohol was the only way to make her feel better, addiction blinded her from what a great life she could have ahead of her. Not a single member of our family knew how to help her comprehend how much happier she would be if she could stop drinking her sorrows away. When it came to family events, my mom would try to conform to how others were acting and act “sober” even though she was already countless drinks deep in to drinking. Nevertheless, my mother just wanted others to like her which would lead her to change her outward

On November 16, I received the notice from U.S Equal Employment Opportunity Commission District Office, Phoenix.

The moment I emerged from the stairway I began to stare at the man sitting in the chair across the room. This man was not the man I remembered; this man was pale, weak, and lacked motivation. He was not my grandpa: outspoken, stubborn, and jolly. However, the house had not changed one bit. There was still a cluttered mess on the table and reminisce of my departed great-grandma all throughout the house.

          Alcohol is the most widely used drug among youth. It causes serious and potentially life-threatening problems for this population. Research indicates that drinking is associated with risk-taking and sensation-seeking behavior among adolescents. Alcohol has disinhibiting effects that may increase the likelihood of unsafe activities.In 1997, 21 percent of the young drivers 15 to 20 years old who were killed in crashes were intoxicated. For young drivers, alcohol involvement is higher among males than among females. In 1997, 25 percent of the young male drivers involved in fatal crashes had been drinking at the time of the crash, compared with 12 percent of the young female drivers

Jogging through my neighborhood on a mundane school day, I encountered it once again, the ruthless societal entity that strived to dim my otherwise bright day in St. Maarten. Veiled in the midst of joyous tourists, crashing waves, and beaming sun rays, the sincere nature of this notorious giant remained masked from the general public, nearly assimilated into the Caribbean island. It was an encapsulation of the government’s inadequacy, inexperience, and insensitivity. It was an exemplification of the lax Caribbean atmosphere that poisoned the island’s youth. Piercing through my inner core and demanding an immediate elixir, this “it” was the legal drinking age of sixteen on the Caribbean island of St. Maarten: a societal rupture that pushed

When you start drinking, it’s kind of a mystery, something you can’t do.” (“Alcohol Abuse and Youth” 1)

Going back to the night of the party, I had talked to these girls I had just met for about a half an hour. It turns out, that the girl who had eleven too many was their friend and they finally found a way home. They are leaving and they invited me to go with them (probably because they could tell I wasn’t having much fun). So now, I have two options. Leave with them now and go to bed, or go back inside with my friends and give it another shot. I promised myself I’d go to a party at least once while I was in college, and what just happened didn’t count. I said goodbye, I took a deep breathe and went back inside the house. It all hit me again, but it wasn’t as hard as the first time because I knew what to expect. I found my friends at the front of the house and I stuck with them the rest of the night. We danced, I got beer spilled on me, and we all left the party around 2:00 a.m. smelling like sweat and marijuana. We stopped at Madison’s afterwards and got pizza and the crinkled french fries. I don’t know if it was the exhaustion or hunger, but that was probably the best food I’d had since I’d gotten to the

In the last few years society has been able to witness a rise in under-age drinking. To start

Drinking with friends is the embodiment of peer pressure. Anyone going through high school will have heard of their peers or their friends drinking at parties and while the temptation to drink may be there, one must fight it. For example, Jim, a good friend of mine just went to a party last week and I was talking to him in school and he told me about the crazy time he had, drinking and partying until he passed out. He told me of an upcoming party than was at a friends house in the upcoming week. I told him that I’d think about it. In the upcoming week I thought about what happened to the people who went to the party Jim was at. Some of the people their got caught by their parents and were grounded whilst others made stupid decisions like driving

Today, many teenagers experience different things in the world. Whether it is their first date or first day in high school, teens are always eager to try something different or new. One of the things that teenagers try is drinking alcohol. Unfortunately, underage drinkers often abuse alcohol. In this paper, I will try to shed some light on some of the reasons why teenagers drink alcohol at such premature age.

Teenage alcohol abuse is one of the major problems that affect academic performance, cause health problems and is responsible for the death of teenage drivers and sometime their passengers. Many teens drink because they think it is cool and do not understand the dangers of drinking alcohol. In 2008 a survey on the students views on alcohol was conducted in the Atlanta Public School System of 4,241 students surveyed results showed 74% of sixth graders felt there was a health risk while 25% felt there was no health risk; 81% of eighth graders felt there was a health risk, while 19% felt there was none; 82% of tenth graders felt there was a health risk, while 18% felt there was none, and 84% of twelve graders felt there was a health risk,