Um, I don’t drink, no thanks.

It seems as though a lot of prospective students are concerned about the party scene.  I’ve heard questions such as, “Do I have to drink?,” “Are they going to judge me if I don’t?,”  “Maybe I shouldn’t go to parties at all…”

Take it from someone who goes partying almost every weekend. I’m allergic to alcohol. Sorry? What? I place my lips on the rim of the cup and I swell and itch like crazy. People always say, “Oh, I’m so sorry for you,” but do I care? No. What I mean is, I am completely okay with the fact that I can’t drink.

Now, there are different types of people at parties:
Those who are too inhibited to meet people without a drink (when I say “meet people” I just mean, saying “hi”)
Those who just want to dance (as we know there are different types of dancing, which I won’t discuss here)
Those who are there to watch out for their friends
Those who just want to drink
Etc.

So be assured that no one will pressure you to drink at parties. They may ask but if you say, “no thanks,” they’ll say “okay, cool” and walk away. Easy.

There are just as many drinkers at a party, as there are sober people pretending to be drunk and enjoying themselves with their friends – yours truly.

It’s all in your head and how strong your willpower is. Those with strong willpower will be able to say no to a drink offer, or anything that they don’t want to do. At U of R, we completely respect those people.

My input: drinks may remove some sort of inhibition, but take it from me – I don’t need to go out and act foolish to meet new people and to have fun – I do it all completely sober. I was the shyest kid in middle school and early high school. I believe it’s all in your head, so you can train yourself to remove the inhibition. What’s my substitution? Flailing my arms around at parties and not caring what other people think of me. That usually gets me super hyped up and confident.