We are blessed. Amidst the pressures to excel academically, to be popular, to fit in, to find a balanced lifestyle and to find a date to the next school dance, this idea may seem absurd and downright ridiculous. Yet the fact of the matter is that we are incredibly fortunate to live the way we do today, and this means that we have great potential to be game changers of the future.
Underage consumption of alcohol reduces this potential. These past few years, I have heard stories of high school students getting wasted and then stumbling home in their drunken haze at 2AM, only to realize that they violated their curfew by hours. The list just goes on. The truth is with the help of fake IDs, high school students are able to obtain alcohol here in Taiwan with relative ease. It makes sense then, that alcohol is the most commonly used drug by them to fight their constant battles.
While it is understandable that students here may need to alleviate stress, drinking alcohol is not the answer. We have been told over and over again that alcohol is “bad,” and there is good reason for it. The earlier a person starts drinking, the higher their chances of developing alcohol abuse in their adult life. Alcohol can also gradually stimulate changes in brain development that ultimately affect behavior, mood, and the ability to think clearly.
That’s not all — heart, liver, pancreas and weakened immune system problems are also linked to alcohol consumption. On a more serious note, it can also increase the chances of cancer development. There’s a reason why cancer patients are stereotypically labeled as people with not enough time to live: treatments often times do not successfully cure the patient.
And no one wants to die.
Now this might all be a little too melodramatic, possibly leading you to believe that underage consumption of alcohol will result in the end we all share. Needless to say, that is only the extreme of all cases. What I am trying to say is that alcohol consumption has a significant list of detrimental side effects, one that is far longer than the tallies of benefits. Although I understand some students may be tempted to try alcohol due to simple curiosity, the desire to fit in, or the temptation to flee from reality, I don’t believe these reasons are worth potentially sacrificing your future for.
For those who want to know what alcohol tastes like, keep in mind that experienced drinkers say that anyone who says they like how shots taste are either lying, or have mutated taste buds. For those who might think that they need to drink to conform, remember Maya Angelou once said “[i]f you are always trying to be normal, you will never know how amazing you can be.” For those who see alcohol as a gateway to a personal fantasy, know that dreams will only remain dreams until you have the courage to pursue them.
In the end, we are fortunate to have a life where one of the more pressing problems that we face is underage drinking, and not one like starvation. We are fortunate to have the opportunity to go to a school like TAS, where the leaders who will shape the next generation are gathered. We have so much potential to change the world for the better. Let’s not let something like alcohol destroy that.