College Drinking Culture

Recovery
#1

It made me realize how significant sober friends are. I had a "friend" who wanted to take me out for drinks for my 21st birthday. I wasn't feeling it.

Our university was strict; and I could have been kicked out of school if I was intoxicated on school grounds. Furthermore, it made me extremely uncomfortable that this friend only wanted to drink on my birthday. I wanted to eat at a local restaurant and go bowling. She wouldn't tag along.

No joke: she stopped talking to me after my birthday. She blocked my calls. She removed me as a friend from Facebook. She stopped opening the door when I visited her. She no longer acknowledged me when I saw her on campus. I wrote her an apology letter (at the time I didn't know what the issue was) and she never responded.

About a year later I learned she was upset with me because I wasted her money. She only wanted to buy me alcohol on my 21st birthday, not soda, NA punch, or juice.

If you're a current or past college student, how did the drinking culture impact your overall college experience?

2 Likes
#2

I am sorry you had that experience. I had friends who wanted to take me to a place in town that has a bar on every block and on both sides of the street.(fun fact, the city passed ordinance to stop this by saying bars had to be a certain distance apart. They tried shutting down several bars, but lost a couple battle because the "legal" walk path meant going to the corner and across the street then back. This made them legally far enough apart. But I digress) they call it the Bambi walk. I was always open about what I believe about drinking so when they suggested it, I politely declined and they didn't push.

1 Like
#3

Bars are becoming significantly popular. I'm not sure why they would do this to college students though.

I'm grateful I attended a dry campus. I'm not sure how messed up I'd be if I didn't.

2 Likes
#4

Our campus itself was dry but we had off site dorms. A lot of my classmates were brewing beer in their rooms. It was encouraged by the professors.

1 Like
#5

College drinking culture….yeah I don’t remember my college years and I didn’t make those life long friends, I missed out on a lot. I got my degree but I didn’t experience college at all. Regret it. It turned me into an alcoholic. I graduated 2012, but from then to 2017 was the 5 worst years of my drinking. Shoot. 2018 wasn’t much better. I had my wake up call. Been sober since 2018.

1 Like
#6

That must have felt terrible. You didn't deserve that at all.

We had a pub on campus. I remember having a beer after my workout once. That was the only time on campus. I never went to college parties, but I did frequent bars for a couple of years while in college. It definitely affected my studies. Depression got worse, started using drugs, grades/GPA went down (I had always prided myself on getting good grades), and I ended up taking one semester off. My original plan of obtaining a doctorate shifted to settling for a BA. I'm not saying drinking was the only reason for that shift, but it definitely played a large role. I sometimes wonder what my college experience might have been like had I been sober during those years.

1 Like
#7

You didn't deserve that. Keep sticking to your convictions.