Today is the great day of Irish pride otherwise known as St. Patrick’s Day. It’s a day where everyone gets to be Irish, wear green and be merry, sometimes there are even parades!
Now doesn’t that sound like good clean fun..hmmm….what is it? I know there’s another thing this holiday is known for?! Oh yea! How could I forget - drinking. This traditional day of merriment somehow, who knows when, got all mixed around and centered on drinking.
Of course I know people will be having big parties this weekend. My parents would murder me if they ever saw me even holding a beer (it is illegal after all...), so I don’t take a chance.
The thing is, I feel like lots of my friends don’t think about how different they can be when drinking.
They don’t realize how dangerous it can be and how easily it gets out of hand. Its true what they say about “lowered inhibitions and impaired judgment;” often times things are done that are regretted.
Drinking and driving kills way too many people every year to even consider it. Yet when people are drunk they aren’t thinking. They make the bad decision without considering it.
Throwing up in front of the whole school is mortifying but being so drunk you don’t even remember if you hooked up last night- that could haunt you for a long time.
Even if you did want to hook up, it's less likely that you would use a condom while drunk. The consequences beyond social disaster could be serious, like pregnancy, STD’s and even death.
If you are unsure about where you stand in relation to drinking visit: www.checkyourself.org or the TeenSource resource section.