Booze or braces?

Booze is a funny thing. It betrays us, makes us sick and induces reckless behavior. We drunk dial, we go home with boys we shouldn't, we spend money we don't have on cab fares and bar tabs and we dance all night in uncomfortable shoes (inevitably causing blisters to be dealt with the next morning alongside hangovers). For these things, I blame alcohol. \n"I'm never drinking again ... ever," my roommate lied. She threw up three times after sampling a little too much Everclear the night before. She traditionally drinks beer, and, unfamiliar with the potency of this particular libation, drank herself sick. So I can't blame her for lying. She probably thinks right now, staring at her bile in the toilet bowl, that she will never drink again. However, by next Friday, she'll be back at it. \nHow do I know? I've been there, of course. I won't tell stories (a lady never drinks and tells); let's just say that there was many a time I should have been benched. However, not only am I still in the game, I'm a starter. How? I've gone through intense conditioning, made many mistakes on game days and I had to learn from them.\nWhy, though, is this a team I even want to play for? It seems as though it would be better to be on some sort of Saturday night Balderdash squad. It takes me back to a simple truth: Once alcohol came into our lives, things that might have been fun before became less fun. You can argue me on this one all you like, but I won't listen. Drinking changed fun. \nIn considering my pre-booze life, I recalled my days of middle school: the dawn of "boy-girl parties," where we would all dance (yes, we even slow danced) sans alcohol. We just wanted to dance, and we wanted to dance with members of the opposite sex. We'd play truth or dare (which was basically a way to justify kissing), and no feelings were held back because of sobriety. \nDid we have it right back then? Has alcohol stunted our social and emotional growth to the point of an inability to have the kind of fun we used to have in middle school? And, trust me, middle school was just as bad for me as it was for you, if not worse -- I wore headgear. However, sometimes I am nostalgic for a sweeter time, a time before this social crutch. \nBut here's the simple truth ...\nWill I stop drinking? Don't be ridiculous. I like it, and it's my team. Drinking can turn an average night into a great one. And even if I wanted to go back to the days when my mouth was more familiar with orthodontia than alcoholic beverages, I couldn't. Social interaction is irreversibly different now. Accept it, move on and be somewhat responsible. Just think of my roommate -- she won't stay away because drinking rocks. If retching up your insides for hours won't deter you from something, nothing will.