Drinking; A means to an End

by The Associate

Have you ever stopped to wonder what the whole point of drinking is? Sure we may say its to get so rip-roaring drunk that we end up finding ourselves in an awkward position with a buddies mom and no idea how you got there. Or we may say its to have great stories to tell our buddies. Hey, it may even be to get some liquid courage to talk to the hot brunette across the bar who is making a straw pretzel with her tongue. Break all of these down, and we drink not for the simplicity of drinking, but rather to have fun and a great time.

Some people have forgotten this simple point, as they make drinking into some egotistical pissing contest where the only way you can be cool is to drink more than everyone else and brag about it. Drinking tons of booze is not cool, trust me, as I know how I get when I drink a lot and it doesn't even remotely resemble cool. When people start believing that drinking itself is the goal on our nightly escapades, then they are putting more emphasis on drinking then on having fun. They pressure others to drink more or they won't be as big of a man (or woman). Now while I enjoy drinking so much that my liver is not speaking to me anymore, I also set my own pace and sometimes I can have fun after only a few drinks (I know, crazy talk). If someone else is not drinking as much, or can't keep pace, then what's the big deal? I mean it would be different if we were, oh... 16 again, but that was when it was also cool to crush beer cans on our head. Or maybe it would be ok to pressure them if you were in a race to see who could be the first to pass out under the picnic table. Odds are though that unless you live in a dorm still in college, then this simply isn't the case.

In the end, booze is a great friend to us all. It picks us up when we are down, and gives us a little push forward. However if booze was all we needed then we could simply lay in our tub at home with our 26 of Rye, and slobber our nights away. Thank god we need more than that. Friends, if someone is not drinking much, take heed and let them be, for their goal is not "hey lets drink 30 beers" but rather "lets go have some fun".