A sad generation

I recently got Facebook and was randomly browsing through everything and I found a note by my friend Mary. She has kindly given me permission to paste it here, so thanks Mary :)

"Someone recently asked me, "Why don't you drink/want to go to afterparties?"
My short answer was, "Because it's stupid."
... and it is.

Upon more thought, I realised what a sad generation I have been born into. Somehow it's deemed normal and expected of teenage behaviour, for us to go out and drink until we either pass out in our own vomit or make a complete embarrassment of ourselves. And even stranger (and consequently sadder), this behaviour is deemed necessary for us to have 'fun'.

Tell me, HOW IS BECOMING INORDINATELY PISSED A 'FUN' ACTIVITY?! TELL ME!

I've had someone say, "It just is fun." Same person also wonders why she gets terrible grades.

Another has told me, "It's hard to stop drinking." Then well go complain to a therapist, or even a rehab clinic.

"But all my friends are doing it!" And here's the crux of the problem. What kind of friends let other friends do this to themselves? Break the law, damage their body and potentially create a life long problem? Great friendship right there.

"We're only teenagers for a few years, you've gotta break a few rules." NO! You are not invincible! You are an immature teenager who is deemed 'underage' by the government for a reason. I most of all despise this attitude. We are teenagers for a few years, so we should treasure them, not waste hours of our lives because we can't remember them from alcohol abuse. The concept that drinking and getting drunk is a mature way to party is ridiculous. At least adults know this.

Above all, I treasure myself. It sounds vain but that's the root of all my decisions, selfishly or not. In this case, related to 'fun underage alcohol abuse', I understand myself.

And I know that I am not complete in terms of who I am.

If you talk to adults, about ninety percent will tell you that they didn't know who they truly were 'til they hit 20-26 years old.

Because of this, I do not want to define my future self by submitting to peer pressure, fitting into the social norms, and destroying my own living and growing flesh from early on by drinking. I won't deny I've had a few testers, and there are some I do enjoy, but I have never even considered letting myself become overly wasted.

The minute someone my age tells me they were drunk at some party or are going to get drunk at some party, the words, 'disgusting', 'foul', 'low self-esteem', 'undisciplined' and 'idiot beyond comprehension', immediately attach themselves to said person. Even if the person is very close to me. (However, it doesn't mean that makes them any less of a friend, it just means that I pity them and I wish they had chosen better.) I have never glorified alcohol and have no need to define my youth by it.

Neither do I think that refusing to go to parties with alcohol has anything to do with being a Christian. I have heard of friends unable to remember five hours of a night, I know of people who have been poisoned by alcohol and as I mentioned before, I respect my own body and I'd very much prefer to take care of it myself. If I am unable to take care of my own person, then what a sad lump of useless and burdening flesh I am.

So to conclude my thoughts, I want to say that I feel a great sadness mixed with a great disgust at the way my generation is behaving, alcohol being the main offender here in Australia. I wish that people could just act responsibly and maybe use their brains for a little bit (it's not that hard people) and work out what's best for themselves. If what's best for you is to feel like a sheep and waste yourself away then fine, I will be elsewhere, working towards a future I know I will be happy with."
              ~ my friend Mary.

All of what she wrote fits in perfectly with my own views of the situation, although I have to add that whilst I hate getting drunk and everything, it is fun to not get drunk and have something on everyone else for the rest of their lives. Also, I'm not Christian like she is, I'm Agnostic, but I was brought up in a Christian household, so the point still stands.

Until Next Time, Adios Amigos!

P.S. It's Star Wars Day today :) May the Fourth/Force be with you!