By Jarely
The day I found out I lost my grandparents, drinking started to become the way I would get through tough situations. I would just pick up a bottle instead of going to someone. It wasn’t fun anymore. I just wanted to forget that they passed away.
According to Therecoveryvillage.com, “Only 6.7% of people with an alcohol use disorder received treatment.”
There are multiple teens that are drinking at a young age. There are many reasons to why they do it, some may be going through a tough time, some might want to fit in, or even try to harm themselves.
According to Niaaa.nih.gov, “By age 15, about 33 percent of teens have had at least 1 drink.”
I am a part of that percentile.
I took my first drink at the age of 15, almost two years ago. At first, it was all fun and games and thought I would be considered “cool” for drinking at such a young age. Now that I have more experience, I learned many things that could potentially happen to me.
In the past year of 2019, between the months of March and April, I lost both of my grandparents in the span of 3 weeks and would drink my feelings away. In order for me to talk about what I was feeling, I would always have to have a few drinks before.
My grandparents were literally the cutest people I have ever met. They were so caring and loved seeing all of their grandkids all in the same room and seeing us would put a big smile on their faces. So many memories with them and losing them was one of the hardest things to go through.
I have a bad habit of not talking to my cousins without alcohol in my system. It was always hard for me to even when I was younger, but it is slowly progressing over time. I always thought being under the influence while talking to them would be easier since I didn’t know what I would be saying or doing.
After getting used to drinking, it was hard finding the fun in many things. I would get very emotional and let out a different side of me that no one else sees, which I don’t think is attractive. I like to yell a lot and try to start fights with everyone that is around me. I felt like I had to let loose of all my anger with the loss of my grandparents and the struggle I have at school trying to keep up with my grades.
I have a cousin Ayana that basically goes through the same thing as me: “At first it seems fun when you realize that the only reason why I drink is because I feel like it’s the only way for me to open up about things I don’t usually talk about with family,” she said. It’s really tough talking to family members because we are scared of judgment.
She went through a tough time losing one grandparent in 2015 from her mom’s side and ended up losing the rest of her grandparents, all in the year 2019. “There is so much happening in both of my parent’s side in general, I don’t know how to handle the pressure,” she said. Ayana wasn’t handling it well so she used alcohol to get through the situation and express her feelings.
She would handle everything by having breakdowns out of nowhere and would put everyone in the room just as emotional as she was, feel the same way she was feeling.
Now that she knows about how she handles her feelings and alcohol together, she would want to go back to the day she took her very first shot and rethink her decision.
Ayana mentioned, “I first drank when I was 17 with my cousins… If I could go back in time, I would remind myself that you don’t need to drink to have a good time with your cousins and to not be afraid to express your feelings.”
The effects of drinking at a young age are serious. According to the article ‘Drain on the Brain’ Veronica Majerol wrote “drinking shrinks the brains of adults” especially since teens are drinking when our brains are still developing, alcohol ends up interfering with brain growth. It gets smaller and could lose brain cells after a day of drinking.
After Ayana and I learned about the effects alcohol can do, we want to stop and prevent any teenagers from drinking.
According to [Scholastic Inc] Kristen Weir wrote “approximately 11 million people under the age of 21 years old drink alcohol.” Drinking as a teen can lead to constant drinking as you get older, which can lead to liver failure.
As you get older and drink, you tend to want to drink and drive which is a very bad idea. I experienced being in a car with someone that wasn’t fully drunk but was still under the influence. It was a whole other level of being scared.
If you end up getting in a car with someone who has alcohol in your system, please let them know it’s not a great idea. It can put other people’s lives in danger and ruin their lives.
Drinking at a young age is a bad idea and I wouldn’t recommend it to any other teenager reading this. It can really get in the way with your schoolwork, if you are still in school, and affect your health as well.
Instead of picking up a bottle of alcohol to get through the day, try to have someone talk to you. Distract yourself, play your favorite sport, do your favorite hobbies, and so much more. There are multiple resources that will help you get through the day without alcohol.
If you or someone know is in need of help or has a drinking problem that needs attention, you can contact Yerba Buena’s social worker, Jen Pastrana, at [email protected]. Or, you can fill out a student support referral here and a social worker will contact you.
The day I found out I lost my grandparents, drinking started to become the way I would get through tough situations. I would just pick up a bottle instead of going to someone. It wasn’t fun anymore. I just wanted to forget that they passed away.
According to Therecoveryvillage.com, “Only 6.7% of people with an alcohol use disorder received treatment.”
There are multiple teens that are drinking at a young age. There are many reasons to why they do it, some may be going through a tough time, some might want to fit in, or even try to harm themselves.
According to Niaaa.nih.gov, “By age 15, about 33 percent of teens have had at least 1 drink.”
I am a part of that percentile.
I took my first drink at the age of 15, almost two years ago. At first, it was all fun and games and thought I would be considered “cool” for drinking at such a young age. Now that I have more experience, I learned many things that could potentially happen to me.
In the past year of 2019, between the months of March and April, I lost both of my grandparents in the span of 3 weeks and would drink my feelings away. In order for me to talk about what I was feeling, I would always have to have a few drinks before.
My grandparents were literally the cutest people I have ever met. They were so caring and loved seeing all of their grandkids all in the same room and seeing us would put a big smile on their faces. So many memories with them and losing them was one of the hardest things to go through.
I have a bad habit of not talking to my cousins without alcohol in my system. It was always hard for me to even when I was younger, but it is slowly progressing over time. I always thought being under the influence while talking to them would be easier since I didn’t know what I would be saying or doing.
After getting used to drinking, it was hard finding the fun in many things. I would get very emotional and let out a different side of me that no one else sees, which I don’t think is attractive. I like to yell a lot and try to start fights with everyone that is around me. I felt like I had to let loose of all my anger with the loss of my grandparents and the struggle I have at school trying to keep up with my grades.
I have a cousin Ayana that basically goes through the same thing as me: “At first it seems fun when you realize that the only reason why I drink is because I feel like it’s the only way for me to open up about things I don’t usually talk about with family,” she said. It’s really tough talking to family members because we are scared of judgment.
She went through a tough time losing one grandparent in 2015 from her mom’s side and ended up losing the rest of her grandparents, all in the year 2019. “There is so much happening in both of my parent’s side in general, I don’t know how to handle the pressure,” she said. Ayana wasn’t handling it well so she used alcohol to get through the situation and express her feelings.
She would handle everything by having breakdowns out of nowhere and would put everyone in the room just as emotional as she was, feel the same way she was feeling.
Now that she knows about how she handles her feelings and alcohol together, she would want to go back to the day she took her very first shot and rethink her decision.
Ayana mentioned, “I first drank when I was 17 with my cousins… If I could go back in time, I would remind myself that you don’t need to drink to have a good time with your cousins and to not be afraid to express your feelings.”
The effects of drinking at a young age are serious. According to the article ‘Drain on the Brain’ Veronica Majerol wrote “drinking shrinks the brains of adults” especially since teens are drinking when our brains are still developing, alcohol ends up interfering with brain growth. It gets smaller and could lose brain cells after a day of drinking.
After Ayana and I learned about the effects alcohol can do, we want to stop and prevent any teenagers from drinking.
According to [Scholastic Inc] Kristen Weir wrote “approximately 11 million people under the age of 21 years old drink alcohol.” Drinking as a teen can lead to constant drinking as you get older, which can lead to liver failure.
As you get older and drink, you tend to want to drink and drive which is a very bad idea. I experienced being in a car with someone that wasn’t fully drunk but was still under the influence. It was a whole other level of being scared.
If you end up getting in a car with someone who has alcohol in your system, please let them know it’s not a great idea. It can put other people’s lives in danger and ruin their lives.
Drinking at a young age is a bad idea and I wouldn’t recommend it to any other teenager reading this. It can really get in the way with your schoolwork, if you are still in school, and affect your health as well.
Instead of picking up a bottle of alcohol to get through the day, try to have someone talk to you. Distract yourself, play your favorite sport, do your favorite hobbies, and so much more. There are multiple resources that will help you get through the day without alcohol.
If you or someone know is in need of help or has a drinking problem that needs attention, you can contact Yerba Buena’s social worker, Jen Pastrana, at [email protected]. Or, you can fill out a student support referral here and a social worker will contact you.