The Guilfordian

Issue date: 2/5/10 Section: Forum

Sunlight streaming through your window wakes you up like a jackhammer to the head. Your mouth is so dry that you can barely move your tongue and your stomach roils with both hunger and nausea. Through gummy eyes, you manage to discern the time: it's 2:18 p.m.

You have missed breakfast, lunch, and, if you don't hurry, you will miss a meeting with your study partner as well. You groan and collapse back into bed. "This is only the first time that I've drank too much this month," you reassure yourself as you drift back into an uncomfortable sleep.

Stumbling from your bedroom you look in on sleeping children to be sure that covers are on beds and not floors. Lovingly tucking blankets under chins and placing quiet kisses on foreheads, you cautiously avoid stepping on toys left haphazardly in the hallway. As you head toward the kitchen, you wonder why you are up so early. Opening the refrigerator door you notice that there is milk, bottled water, juice and one beer. It is 5 a.m. and you choose the beer.

Excessive drinking always starts with only the first time, but, for some, the first time is a doorway to the second time. For some, these times get closer and closer together until you find yourself getting smashed every other night. You can no longer play the "only" card. Instead, you try to reassure yourself that there's a time for everything and it's called college.

While it is common for college students to have the desire to party or unwind by overindulging in alcohol, one should be mindful of its repercussions. The relief found briefly in the bottom of a bottle is fleeting but its effects can be lifelong.

For most traditional students, college is not the first time that they are given the opportunity to drink alcohol. However, it is the first time that students are living with their peers instead of their parents. Without the worry of parents catching them when they are drunk, students experience a new sense of freedom, and freedom tastes like cheap beer and vodka.

In the case of CCE students, the pressures of adult responsibilities - i.e., jobs, marriages, children and mortgages - coupled with the demand of studying and attending classes can make drinking a dangerous escape from reality.

Habits formed in college may follow a student well beyond the party. Adult students may find that these behaviors translate into problems in marital and parental relationships.

Realistically, most college students, both traditional and adult, drink. It is how they manage their drinking that makes the difference. There is a difference between use and abuse when it comes to the consumption of alcohol, and almost any vice when handled responsibly can be controlled.

Students who have a history of alcoholism in their family are more vulnerable to becoming dependent on alcohol. They must be especially observant of their behavior when they are drinking.

One needs to be aware of how much alcohol he/she is consuming and when that consumption becomes a need rather than a desire. Students must also realize their limits and adhere to them.

If you feel that a friend or loved one is drinking excessively, be honest and tell him/her. It may seem strange to discuss a drinking problem with a fellow student because alcohol is so common in college, but that cannot continue to be an excuse. Do not be afraid to offend them. You could be saving their future.

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