Drinking

Oh my god you are such a baby you can’t even drink a can of beer without throwing up. Peer pressure is what makes you do something that you don’t want to do such as drinking. Teens are the spring of adolescents abusing alcohol, but for Joe drinking was a fun past time to kill time. Joe never thought about what the consequences can be because at school he had a good reputation for best partier and that distracted him to think about the future consequences. In Lynn Ponton’s The Romance of Risk, teen adolescences find alcohol as a good way to soothe and relieve pain, but she also says that alcohol is the gateway substance that can lead to other heavier drugs and risky business. She also says that parents play a big role behind why teens would drink. Ponton’s interpretation of Joe’s experience can be argued because most teenage adolescents now a day’s put their own lives at risks because of alcohol and brings worry to their family. There are numerous ways to find alcohol for teens. There are older brothers and sisters of friends that will buy it for you or you could just ask some random person that walks out of the liquor store to buy you some. “When teens want to drink, they seem to be able to get alcohol. And often, adults supply it” (state legislature 11). Those are a couple of ways for teens to get alcohol, but the easiest is to go to parties that have a ton of alcohol where nobody even checks for age because its self serve. Adults should not buy alcohol for teens even if there your own child or someone else’s because adults are mature and know what’s right from wrong. In Joe’s case he would get his alcohol from friends and this is how they would pass their time. “Joe and his buddies would have a beer or two just to take the edge off things after their hard day at the local high school” (Ponton 205). He was simply bored and wanted to kill time until his parents got home from work. This goes for most of the teens that use alcohol to pass their time and day faster. Ponton and a handful of researchers agree that alcohol and smoking cigarettes is just a gateway drug until teens start using heavier drugs. “Alcohol and cigarettes are the most commonly used and abused substance among the youth today” (Ponton 206). Majority of teenagers use and abuse alcohol and smoking like it’s a walk in the park. After they use and abuse these substances there tolerance increase and they no longer feel the buzz so they start trying other type of drugs to feel the buzz. For Joe, his tolerance became lager and lager and from two beers now he’s drink ten to fourteen. Joe’s intake of beer is increasing week by week and it’s affecting him in the wrong ways. “Daily drinking and smoking usually lead to addiction, biologically reinforcing a pattern begun for social reasons…he was not only addicted to alcohol, he had developed a number of alcohol related problems, including falling grades, blackouts, and unnecessary fights with his friends and parents” (Ponton 206). Ponton has a valid point because teens start to fail classes in school because of all the drug usage. This happens when the teens lose there interest in school and only think about when they can get home a drink that beer and smoke there cigarettes. When a teen hears the word drinking what do they first think of' Either they want to get smashed or they want to sit back and relax. Most teens tend to do stupid things when they are drunk like drinking and driving. Alcohol makes you do things you should do and that are illegal to do when under the influence of a substance. “Joe totaled the family car the previous evening. Driving home drunk after a late-night party, the car had ‘slipped’ off the road” (Ponton 207). Driving drunk is one of the worst things to do possible when under the influence because it can scare you for life. I can relate to Joe because two years ago once I got out of high school I use to drink a lot and I was at a party and drank a little too much. My parents kept calling me and I told my friends I had to go and they told me not to drive because I drank too much but I thought I was ok and I said no I’m going home. I totaled my car and got arrested. My license was suspended for one whole year, plus my parents losing trust in me. Joe didn’t get caught but I can understand what had happen and what probably was going through his mind on why he chose to drive. Alcohol and driving do not mix in the greatest of ways, but teens need to understand that it is bad and anything can happen to anyone at any given time while under the influence. Drinking can cause a lot of problems with your family and friends. Parents play a big role on why teens start to drink. For Joe his parents were never home and never gave him any attention. He basically lived on his own and did what he wanted to do. “Jack and Jenifer knew where their son was, they just didn’t know what he was doing” (Ponton 205). A parent should know what their child is doing at all times. Even if they’re the best student in the world they should still know what the child is doing so there not up to no good. “Receiving less attention from adults thereby produces a less supportive and potentially stressful environment” (American Journal of Public Health 894). This is when the drinking or using drugs starts when there’s no one around and you’re all alone. Being there and giving support to your child can bring you closer to them and they will open up to you more as friend then thinking you’re there parent. Joe didn’t have this relationship with his parents; once therapy started he slowly started to open up more. The only reason Joe started to drinking and smoke was because of being lonely with no adult guidance or attention. That’s why he started to drink and party to feel that he’s not alone or the attention he needed. Joe is an ideal example of the teens today because he was pressed by his peers to take that risk and to fit in by drinking. Drinking was just a pass time to kill time and to take the “edge off” after a long day at school. Friends influence each other to do the thing you do together. Teens start to drink more and more until they don’t feel the buzz and need another type of substance to substitute for the buzz. After that your mind is being taken over by the substance and you decide to drive or doing something else that is unsafe. Joes situation shows why he did the things he did because of being alone with no support and being pressured to fit in by drinking.