DRINK NOW, PAY LATER

 

DRINK NOW, PAY LATER podcast by Karen Hopkins

“Drunk and stupid is no way to go through life, son.”  - The words of Faber’s Dean Wormer

The fact that drinking can make you have bad judgment has been pounded into teens since we were in fourth grade. By now, when we are in high school, we know that drinking heavily leaves you sleepy, stupid, and prone to making bad decisions. But, after the dreaded hangover, that is, life goes back to normal, right? A study that was in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, and podcasted on Scientific American by Karen Hopkins, shows that ‘drinking in adolescence can set you up for a whole lifetime of bad decisions.’ Of course, it’s a question that whether people who drink alcohol when they’re young are also going to be the same people who make bad decisions when they’re older; however, that question has remained unanswered. In a study done on alcohol intake in rats, the results showed that their ability to make good decisions was impaired when they were adults, too. This was showed when the rats had the tendency to ‘chase after rewards with associated his risk rather than taking a sure thing.’ So, the lesson here is, don’t drink, because it may bring unalterable changes to your behavior and thinking, which could lead to disastrous consequences from now to when you’re older, too. Here’s the thing: There’s probably no stopping teens from drinking. Although I have no experience with this personally, I do not think they will want to stop. I don’t think teens who drink will really care about the effects- maybe because they’re not the type to care in the first place, or because, sometimes as I’ve seen, we, as teens seem to think we are invincible, and the problems and consequences that come with the things we do will somehow skip over us. We believe we are immune to it all- car crashes, cancer, and the unnecessary risks we take that will someday bring us to our knees. I personally got a lot out of this podcast because it now gives me reason not to drink, even when I am pressured to and when I know some of my classmates do. And if I am ever in a situation where there is a chance for me to tell people this information, I will. I do not know if my words will be taken into account. I doubt whoever I am talking to will immediately throw down their drink and promise sobriety. But hopefully, hopefully my words will stay in their mind until they do have the power to turn away from the drinks. That is all I can hope for. And please know that I am not against adults over 21 drinking in moderation… I am only worried for my classmates and others who have or may acquire a habit of drinking and the things that may befall them, consequences for their actions, unbeknownst to them when they took their first sip.