I have to write a 9 minute policy speech for my Argument and Reasoning class on Tuesday. I'm still not sure what I'm going to talk about. I have a couple of ideas, but I'm somewhat concerned that my ideas won't be appropriate for my audience (my class).
Kinda related to this (this is one of the topics I'm concidering), I had a really good conversation with a friend today about drinking (alcohol). Since I was in High School--at the age where many of my fellow students began drinking--I've been against underage drinking. Coming to college has been a new experience because for the first time I've actually been around people who were drinking; I had always stayed away from it before. Anyway, in High School I was in a non-profit organization called the Student Alcohol and Drug Advisory Council (SADAC). Our main goal was to prevent the use (and abuse) of alcohol and drugs by fellow students. It was a really cool group, but I digress. Before coming to Lynchburg College, I went to community college for two years. During this time, I still had no interest in drinking. I guess it just didn't really make sense to me. I didn't get why people needed an artificial, harmful substance to have fun with friends. That still doesn't make sense to me.
So now I find myself at what's considered a party school. I watch as many of my fellow students go out nightly (well, weekendly) to the party street and I just don't get it. All I can see is a bunch of kids trying to get away from reality and in the meantime getting themselves into bad circumstances.
On Wednesday nights, there is a bar close to the school that has dime drafts. A survey done by a fellow student of other students showed that 60+% have driven drunk back to LC. Additionally, 90+% of them had driven with someone who was drunk. I'm sorry, but what are these people thinking? Are these people thinking?
Anyway, to get back to the point, one of my friends has been drinking a couple of times and I've taken notice of it. I decided to confront her about it and we had a very pleasant conversation. I asked her a couple of questions like, why are you doing this when you could get kicked out of college if caught? and what's the point, what's the attraction? It came down to the fact that she couldn't answer the questions. Frankly, I'm not surprised about that. I mean no offense to her, but I think she's more intelligent than to act the way that she has been. When she couldn't come up with an answer, I think that was really the answer that I was looking for: she didn't know and she needed to give it some thought.
You might be wondering why I brought this up with her in the first place. Well, I've seen enough bad stuff happen to those that I really care about because of alcohol that I really don't want anyone to get into bad habits while I'm around. I'm turning 21 in about a month and a half. I haven't had any alcohol to drink (while I was old enough to understand what it meant to drink, meaning my parents gave me some when I was like 9) and I don't ever really intend to do so. I don't get the attraction and it's just not something that I find myself inclined to do. Yes, that's my choice and I'm not trying to force anyone else to make that choice. I just want to make sure that the decisions being made are informed decisions. If my friends go out and drink and do it being fully aware of the consequences, fine, that's their choice. And you know what, as their friend, I'll be there for them if they ever need me--if they need a ride or just need any kind of help. Suffice it to say, there are just some people (my friends) that I care too much about to really let them make the decision to drink without saying something to them first. I've found that a lot of people drink because they want to fit in or they think that noone really cares. I'm just trying to show them that there are people who don't drink, who will accept you for the choices you make, and who do care. That's what I'm about.
