Since that first sip of wine your aunt offered you, or the first glass you and your dad raised, you may have been enamored by alcohol. 

It’s only natural that teens follow this trend that can make the consumption of alcohol look cool as many of us are drawn by the promise of fulfilment promoted by popular culture and even sometimes, by our parents. 

The glorified stories of high school parties and nights around the bonfire captivate us, however they shouldn’t. Entrancing as they may be, they are mere mirages. Yes, that picturesque night of beer pong and drunken laughs that you envision is far from the reality.

The reality is that even if you do find finite fun while drinking, you won’t remember. Because “alcohol hinders the ability of the brain to transfer information from short-term memory to long-term storage,” you are susceptible to memory loss and “blackouts.”

And when the lights turn off, so do your cognitive abilities. Alcohol creates an excessive amount of a stimulant called norepinephrine. According to the American Addiction Center, elevated levels of this “increase arousal and excitement, and can lower your inhibitions and increase impulsivity, making it hard for you to consider potential consequences of your actions.” In short, you lose control.

The list of chemical repercussions does not end there. While you won’t remember your night out, you will remember the urge to do it again. 

First time drinkers can slip into the addiction pit just as easily, themselves. They may try to rationalize that “first and last” sip of alcohol by promising themselves that the road to recovery begins and ends there, but is doesn’t.

Just one time after your brain is hijacked by the flood of dopamine and serotonin, you can become hooked. 

And yes, I will concede that not everyone to throw down in high school is guaranteed a spot at an AA meeting five years down the road, but even if you do dodge alcoholism, you don’t dodge the damage.  

Alcohol seeps into all sectors of life, as it corrodes the brain. Even years after you pledge to quit drinking, you will still suffer the consequences. 

This concept is exacerbated in the case of teenagers, as “adolescence is such a critical phase in brain development that the actions of alcohol and other drugs on the brain…have a particularly profound impact.” 

Your teen years are crucial not only to brain development, but also to personal development. These years cannot be drained by drinking habits. Rather, they should be spent plotting out where you want to go (and not go- i.e rehab) based on where you are now. As they preach in AA, “I have found that the process of discovering who I really am begins with knowing who I really don’t want to be.”