To quote M.Wehr's post above me..
... "I’ve recently been having problems with my friends who used to refrain from drinking and now have started to do it every weekend. My girlfriend has recently become interested in both drinking socially and smoking pot, and I had no idea that it would bother me as much as it does, but that first night when she came back to the room drunk and having been puking for a few hours I was so mad I almost went insane. I’m in a tight spot because I care about these people but I really don’t like who they’re becoming and I don’t like feeling like I’m being left behind just because I don’t want to get drunk every weekend and act like an idiot. Thank you for this post. You’ve inspired me even more to stick to my guns on this one because I’m not the only one who feels this way." ...
That is my life, EXACTLY, down to the smallest little detail.
I've just recently turned 20 and still to this day have not had one sip of alcohol in my entire life. I don't flaunt it around as a positive thing to everyone I see, but do have to deal with the consequences of choosing to live as I do. And, as explained in Wehr's post, it can be a very, VERY stressful and difficult thing to go through sometimes. I've actually grown to a point where I live in fear of alcohol, and have cut myself off from all those who I used to care about, and keep myself out of situations where I'm around it, can smell it, see people doing it, etc. It really limits you sometimes.
And it'd be real simple to just say... "If it limits you, why not give in?" That would be really nice if it worked that way. However, I'm never more miserable than when I have to put myself in a situation like that. No matter if I drink or not, I will NEVER be happy around it. And that's just me.
I can deal with my friends drinking as long as I don't have to see them do it. Maybe because I really deep down don't care about the decisions they make. Maybe because I really don't care about them as much as I think.
But my girlfriend who I loved more than anything for almost 3 years? To tell me she 'doesn't drink' and would 'never drink' for years, then one night become a stereotypical college girl who gets wasted every Tues, Thurs, Fri, and now uses a fake ID to get into bars, clubs, buy alcohol, etc for the past six months..... I can't deal with it. I can't. And it's been rough. The past year or so has been very hard... And it just. Sucks.
I haven't read more than a few articles here, but I felt it necessary to thank you Tynan, and others, for giving me much needed hope for the future to come.