I was gonna write this post regardless, but since it’s St. Patrick’s Day today, I may as well post it now. This is the story of why I started drinking.
I know you’re probably thinking, “What do you mean ‘why you started’?” Well, let me tell you, for the longest time, I was straight edge. For those of you who don’t know what the term is, “straight edge,” coined by the great Ian MacKaye of Minor Threat/Fugazi fame, is a punk rock ideology that burst onto the hardcore scene in the early 1980’s. Bands like Minor Threat, 7 Seconds, Government Issue, and Youth of Today are noteworthy for popularizing this way of living. The main rules of being straight edge are as follows: no alcohol consumption, no tobacco use, and no other recreational drug use whatsoever. Other optional rules include no caffeine consumption, no promiscuous sex, and following a vegetarian/vegan diet.
Before I went to college, I followed this ideology (with the exception of no caffeine, because let’s be real, coffee heals all wounds). I never partied in high school. I was always hanging out with friends, but drugs and alcohol were never present. Most of my friends were not drinkers in high school, either, but once they turned 21, it all changed. When I turned 21, that’s when change happened for me, too, but we’ll get to that later.
Once I entered college, I knew that people my age (18, at the time) would be drinking or doing whatever they wanted that they could get their freshman hands on. Note to anyone reading this that’s under 18, DON’T DRINK UNTIL YOU’RE 21! And if you don’t want to touch alcohol at all, that is perfectly okay, too. That being said, some of the friends I was making in college had either started drinking and smoking cigarettes when they go to the dorms or before the graduated high school. I was not one of those people, and I didn’t know how to act around them when they were doing so. I was fine with telling people I didn’t want to take a swig of any kind of drink or drug for two reasons: the first being I wasn’t 21 yet, and the other being I just didn’t f*cking want to, ok??? Thankfully, I never burst out at anyone like that, but there were definitely times that I thought it. I was never seriously peer pressured into drinking during my first two years at UWM, but as stated earlier, that changed when I turned 21.
On my 21st birthday, I went out to dinner with the girlfriend I had at the time to Bar Louie. I had promised her a few days before going that I would try something because she wanted me to. She and I had talked about it previously, and she knew where I was coming from with my decision, but she really wanted to have try something at least once, just to say I tried it and didn’t like it. The drink I ordered was some sort of sangria, and I was very hesitant to take the first sip. Upon that fateful sip, I didn’t like the taste of it. I tasted the alcohol more than the fruit, but because it was X amount of dollars, I’d feel like a jerk if I didn’t finish most of it. It was weird telling my mom about trying it and then having her talk about going to bars in general. I didn’t want to have any other alcohol, but that same girlfriend decided to have me try something better: Arbor Mist wine. That was when I got hooked. Fruity, cheap, and goes great with laughing your ass off to the movie Pulp Fiction.
Mixed drinks are hit or miss for me. I would always get vodka and lemonade, or vodka and orange juice (affectionately known as a “Screwdriver”). Until recently, I enjoyed rum and Coke, but how I fell out of loving it is a story for a different time. One of the best things I ever had was at Mad Planet, they have a mango flavored vodka. That mixed in with Sprite is god tier. Beer is also a different story. I’m very much a light beer person in general, but I tend to stick to a select few. PBR will always hold a place in my heart because it was the first beer that I tried and actually liked. Spotted Cow is smoother and a Wisconsin staple, so I’d probably be slapped repeatedly if I didn’t try it at least one. Miller Lite is recent to me, but I dig it occasionally. Outside of beer, margaritas are always fun, Mike’s Hard Lemonade was my main drink until I got into beer, and Angry Orchard is a godsend beverage. Wells Banana Bread Beer was also something I’ve been obsessing over recently. If you are of legal age, I highly recommend this.
Other than what I mentioned in the above paragraph, I don’t explore outside my comfort zone. One reason is because of some bad experiences, and another reason is because I don’t drink very often unless it’s with my friends in Grafton or Milwaukee. Now, I know this is going to be controversial, especially on St. Paddy’s Day, but I HATE Guinness. Hate, hate, hate it. I tried it once on St. Paddy’s Day two years ago and couldn’t drink more than I quarter of what was poured for me. After that, I knew for a fact that I wasn’t going to like any kind of darker beer. That is one bad experience that I had with alcohol. Another story involves moonshine at an amazing music festival up in Oshkosh called Rock USA. In fact, I could probably make three posts out of that one trip.
I will leave off with this and admit that there are times where I think, “Where would I be if I still lived the straight edge life? Would I have not made any friends? Would girls think I’m unattractive?” I can say for certain that my memories would not be the way they are if I hadn’t had a sip of alcohol. That being said, I have learned that, with GREAT MODERATION, drinking responsibly can be fun. I’m thankful to have not become an alcoholic, and I am very sorry for those that either struggle with it or know of someone who is currently/used to struggle with it. If you do drink, please do it responsibly. You can still have fun if you know your limits, and that is what I’ve come to learned since my 21st birthday. Happy St. Patrick’s Day, everyone. Stay safe and celebrate responsibly tonight.
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