Why Did You Get Drunk For The First Time?

Yesterday I was bored at work, so I asked people one of my infamous random questions: "When you got drunk for the first time, what was your reason?" Notice that I didn't say "if" as drunkeness has been experienced by the majority of North American adults, especially those who work in the restaurant business.

One of the 16 year old bussers looked at me and said "I don't have reason, I just do it." I laughed. "We don't do anything without a reason," I said. My friend Cole agreed, "Everything is a choice and you are the one who makes it." So why do people make that initial choice? What is their motivation?

So with a little therapeutic probing, here are some answers:

1. To fit in and be accepted.
2. To be "cool."
3. To see what it was like (curiosity).
4. Peer pressure.
5. To cope with something bad or stressful.
6. Um, it was an "accident."
7. To rebel against my family/friends/upbringing/church.
8. To alleviate boredom.
9. To increase sexual virility/attractiveness.
10. To find one's "limits."
11. To increase social skills.

Anyone think of any other reasons? I thought it was interesting that so many people when asked had never really thought about it. When you honestly look at what motivates you to do something, you arrive at the doorstep of personal enlightenment. Sometime later I'll do a series on the topic of alcohol . . . think of this as a teaser.

May Light increase!