It’s 2021. Can we please stop asking people why they don’t drink alcohol? Really! There are various reasons why people don’t drink. It could be that they are recovering from addiction, or they have health problems, or it is a spiritual reason. Whatever the reason, I don’t think it’s anyone’s business to question why people don’t drink alcohol.
For me, it wasn’t any of the above. I decided to stay off alcohol after watching my father and uncle struggle with addiction. My uncle was a doctor, and alcohol literally ruined his life. It started with that one bottle. I am not saying everybody who drinks will become addicted, but studies have shown that the probability is very high.
In my early twenties, when I hang out with my friends and order malt or a soft drink, they would jeer at me and ask, are you a baby? Why don’t you drink? I cowered to Peer pressure and told myself that well, I am not my dad, I am not my uncle, and I tried to learn how to drink. I took a bottle of beer here, a cocktail there, then I would wake up with a bad headache and regret doing it. After a while, I realized that I didn’t even enjoy the drink itself. It was bitter, tastes like urine sometimes, and in my opinion, overall nasty. I don’t like alcohol, and I don’t have a head for it. Why was I suffering myself to please people? I stopped drinking, and because I didn’t want to deal with the pressure when we go for hangouts, I also stopped hanging out with my friends, and over time the friendships died. It hurt me then but now that I am older, I can see clearly that those people weren’t my friends.
It’s been over ten years since I put a drop of any alcohol on my tongue. Last night, I went out with a friend. On the table beside us, I heard a group of friends jeering and laughing at a boy who ordered lemonade. You are not a grown man, they said. The boy laughed and continued sipping his drink. I just hope that he doesn’t cower to the pressure.
I am not also saying alcohol is bad o; some people genuinely enjoy it and get relaxation out of it, but please, if you know someone who doesn’t drink, leave them alone, especially if they are not your close friend. Don’t ask them why in public, don’t try to shame them for something as simple as refusing alcohol. You don’t know what people are dealing with inside, just face your drink and mind your business!