Vera Simon-Nobes, Clark University, Class of 2009

11/4/2009

2006 Essay Runner Up

My hair was knotted and my eyes were bloodshot as I walked down the path to meet my friend for brunch. We met and smiled, silently sharing with each other that our slight hangovers were mutual. Once inside the cafeteria, I listened as I loaded fruit onto my plate. "He was booting for over an hour," she said, "I hope he made it to his room alright." At the omelet bar, another conversation was taking place. "Did I do anything stupid? I don't remember anything past 1:00." And finally, as I waited my turn for a cup, a student laughed with his friend, "She was such a lightweight, three drinks and she was gone." I filled my cup with water, saving my hungover stomach from the acidic orange juice. This Saturday morning would be the first of many like it.

Since I was little, I've been indoctrinated with the notion that I only have one body. When I started drinking in the end of high school, my mentality shifted. I began to realize that my body isn't as fragile as I thought it was; drinking was one way that I could push the limits and test myself. Some nights I could get drunk and feel fine in the morning, other times I would end up regretting having that last drink halfway through it. When I got to college, I realized that I shared my mentality with the majority of my peers. As highly motivated students, we stay up late to do work, live in a tiny room, and rarely eat the home cooking we're used to. As our environments change, I notice that underlying many people's attitudes about drinking is a challenge to themselves. How far can I push myself?

 

If I listened to the cafeteria conversations long enough, they eased away from drinking stories and shifted to the weekday activities. Interspersed with the jokes and stories are indications of how people are feeling. "We don't even know enough to write a one page paper, and she wants five!" Students fear not living up to expectations. "I was up until 3:00 for the past four nights." Students would rather socialize or force themselves to do work than sleep. "I haven't seen anyone all week, I've had so much work." The weekend is a time to catch up. "It felt so good to turn that paper in." Students need to relax.

 

Growing up, we tested the limits by throwing peas from our high chairs, stomping off a basketball court, or staying out after curfew on a school night. In college, we focus on ourselves. We don't have our parents' limits to test. We are free to make our own decisions, and most often we choose to test ourselves. We see how many hours of sleep we can pass up, how long we can stay in the library, and at the end of the week, we see how may drinks we can throw back, and how good we can feel. College students are stressed out, and while we know that alcohol isn't a healthy way to relieve the stress, it is often the easiest, most fun, social, and daring option.

 

I use the inclusive "we" in this essay because I too, sometimes choose to use alcohol as way to relax, or reward myself after a long week of academics. I feel guilty when I choose a night of drinking over watching a video on Enron, but I also accept that this choice is part of the college experience. I praise AlcoholEdu program for also accepting this fact.

AlcoholEdu didn't preach to us, or apprehend us when we answered the questions honestly. The program smoothly hinted at suggestions for changes in individuals' behavior, and above all it educated us about the choices we were making. Changing students' decisions is the job of the university they're attending, and thus AlcoholEdu's role is to be a valuable tool for helping students understand the decisions they make. The program is not overly aggressive or too passive. It is designed so that its role of campus wide education may not change students' activities, but will make these activities safer.

I expect that when my children go to college, they will overhear conversations while they load their plates with fruit, order an omelet, and fill their cups with a drink. However, I hope that the stories they hear will be less about drinking, and more about the safer alternatives. I hope that students' nights don't end up in blackouts, absurd behavior, and uncomfortable situations. Kids will continue to relieve stress by drinking, but when a night of fun leads to a serious situation, students will be equipped to handle it because of AlcoholEdu. Kids may still need water over acidic orange juice in the morning, but they will at least have understood what factors have led them to that beverage choice.