Am I Sober?

So I've been divided on this for a very, very long time. I live in Australia and I am currently 19 years old. The legal drinking age here is 18. But if I am being completely honest (and I am right now) where I lived as a teenager, the people I know and people I went to school with all started drinking around 13/14. I think I had my first drink when I was 14 (one drink, no big deal?) then when I attended parties from probably 15 and on, there was always alcohol around so I would always drink it (everyone else did so what was the big deal?).

Looking back on this now, I can not believe I did that. Sure I didn't drink much (because how much does a small 15 year old girl actually need to drink before they are drunk, answer: not much at all). It was probably the worst thing I could do for my body! Even though it might have been once or twice a month when I went to a party, it was more than it should of been. 

There are times I can remember (pretty ironic that I use that word considering I don't remember the nights at all, more so the consequences of said nights) where I didn't know what I was doing. Parties that police showed up to, times I would throw up everywhere (classy, I know) and the countless hangovers I had the next day. Not to mention that it became worse when I was 17, had many friends who were already 18 (easier access to alcohol) and the fact that I had my license and I was always too scared to drive pretty much the entire next day after a night out (so I should of been).

This was one of the worst nights I ever had out. Didn't have much to drink
but was sick enough not to remember a thing. This night my friends told me
they think my drink was spiked

Once I turned 18, the novelty of alcohol was no where near as big as I thought it would be. Everyone makes 18 out to be a big deal because you can go clubbing and legally drink, smoke, gamble etc. Sure, I went clubbing 5 months after I turned 18. I still drank regularly though (mostly still parties and "gatherings" with my friends).

I am now 19, I turn 20 is less than 6 months and I am over it. I am over the hangovers, the sickness, the drama that intoxicated people cause. I am over the stupidity of the drunk people, the desperation of drunk guys and girls in clubs and I am over the sleaziness people seem to think it is okay to bring about when they have been drinking. 

I honestly don't remember when exactly my last drink was. I remember probably 2 months ago sitting down at home after work one night and having a glass of wine while I was eating cheese (how adult of me). I went clubbing about a month ago and had one drink before I got there and I had a bouncer harass me about my alcohol intake for the night (I was probably looking bored and tired waiting to get into the club, not sloppy and drunk like everyone else). I've been out so many times and I am always the first to say I am happy to drive. My boyfriend quite enjoys that because he loves to drink beer with his mates when we are out, so I just drive. Even last Saturday I went to a gathering at my friends house for Easter and I didn't touch alcohol once. It is unappealing to me now. 

I am happy and I feel better now that I have stopped binge drinking (and yes that is exactly what I would call what I have done since I was 14). Drinking to the point where I was drunk on random nights was 'fun' at the time. But now I know better. I am trying to get back into shape as my adult metabolism already wasn't what it used to be when I was 16. I don't need the drinks to have fun anymore and I'm okay with that.

I feel like I should also add in here that my body has never been very good at processing alcohol. No matter how little or how much I consumed, I am always sick. I am sick that night and sometimes I even spend the next few days trying to recover from the one night of drinking. I get extremely bloated which leads to me feeling sad and self conscious and there's no reason I should make myself feel like that if I don't have to. But yeah, it's just not for me.

That's not to say I am going to preach about how drinking is stupid and tell everyone not to do it. I've made my choices for myself and I am extremely happy with them. I'm not going to shun my friends for drinking or anything (lol) I just don't want to be pressured or looked down upon because I say no (sometimes that happens, but I'm not overly fussed). As long as people do not put themselves or especially others in danger from their drinking (fighting, driving or anything else that is dangerous) then I say drink as much or as little as you want. 

Thanks for reading, I would love to hear anyone else's opinions on the subject. Until next blog post!

Stelle xx