Teen drinking has serious consequences

MARION - The teenage years are full of insecurity, finding oneself, experimenting, having fun and taking steps into adulthood.

For some, high school is full of positives, like joining new clubs, creating memories and discovering ways to further their education. But high school also is a time where teens like to step outside what is allowed and discover parts of adulthood that are restricted from young people for a reason.

One thing that falls under that category is alcohol.

Teenage drinking is something adults talk about a lot, but the kids involved still don't seem to care about it. Nothing bad has happened to them so far, and it's fun. It brings more excitement to weekend parties. Why should they care about the drinking age?

The facts should be a good enough reason. According to dosomething.org, teens who start drinking before 15 are five times more likely to develop alcohol dependence or abuse later in life than those who start at or after the legal age of 21. This erases the excuse that what happens during high school can't affect one later in life. Alcohol dependence is not a glamorous lifestyle.

Teens and young adults don't realize the activities they participate in, the impressions they make and the people they surround themselves with have an impact on their later life and not just their immediate one. Partying and drinking may be fun now, but it's not setting them up for anything worthwhile in the long run. It's not going to build the kind of relationships one gets by involving themselves in school or hanging out with a solid group of people.

There are plenty of things that don't involve drinking that can still beat a great time - going out to eat, watching movies, doing outside activities. Many other things could be really fun with a good group of people. When everything is done the right way, one can be assured they're making more valuable friends who know how to have a life outside of parties.

There's also the question of how it even benefits the person. Alcohol is a drug and it alters the mind. Why would one drink to be in that state? It doesn't put their best qualities on display. The best way to forget things is to create new memories, not by temporarily using a substance that can hurt the body and mind.

For those who use alcohol as a kind of escape, it's not a getaway. Dosomething.org notes teens who drink heavily are more likely to try and hurt themselves - even suicide attempts - than those who don't. Also, the same site discussed there were high numbers of fatalities, which were not all suicides but were alcohol-linked. Students keep getting in cars with those under the influence and people who have been drinking still get in cars and take the lives of innocents.

It isn't that people who drink are bad people, or that they have nothing good going for them. There are lots of kids who drink - athletes, musicians, artists and great friends. But they could help set themselves up for greater things. With drinking, there's the risk of car crashes, alcohol poisoning and illness. Accidents happen, even to the best people. In 2010, there were around 189,000 emergency room visits by teens under 21 for injuries and conditions related to alcohol, as calculated by dosomething.org.

Although it seems like it's a cool thing to go out and party, there are plenty of other things to do. At parties, people there aren't connecting with each other. There's better person-to-person connection when one joins an organization, volunteers or finds an interest they can pursue. What's a cooler label to have - being a partyer or being able to live life and have fun without needing to drink?