Whether underage drinking has become exponentially more prevalent in the not-so-distant past or whether I have just grown more aware of the issue it is hard to say; what I can say, though, is that, regardless of any increase in the popularity of underage drinking, I have become much more conscious of this issue in recent years. Friends on Monday morning attempt to recount events of the weekend and can only come up with, “Wow, I was so wasted I only remember 10 minutes of that party,” or “Yeah, I woke up Saturday morning and the girl lying on the floor next to me said she was glad I was still alive.” Now, maybe I just lived an incredibly sheltered life throughout junior high, but I definitely do not remember such stories being told while heading to homeroom in the 8th grade. These lovely anecdotes (note the sarcasm) only seemed to begin once high school was in full swing. I am sure there were teens who started drinking long before the onset of their freshman year, but it seems to me that underage drinking among teens my age has become much more widespread since Fall of 2005. I cannot say with any certainty that there has been a massive decline in the wholesomeness or overall character of my peers, but obviously some of the decision-making that occurs while drunk is not necessarily top-notch. Teens hear constantly that drinking is bad, drinking makes you act stupid, drinking kills brain cells, drinking [insert your own statistic here]. But will teens eventually heed these warnings and words of advice? Will high schoolers one day come to school Monday morning with a full recollection of their Friday and Saturday nights? Only time will tell.
--Alison, Scottsdale