I get it. Drinking is fun. It’s social, it lowers your inhibitions and (to many people) it tastes good. I’m not here to bash on you for drinking. I’m just here to say, if you don’t want to drink, that’s totally fine.
1. Alcohol doesn’t necessarily taste good
If you don’t want to drink because you don’t like the taste of alcohol, that’s totally cool. I don’t like it either — I think it’s bitter and gross. Don’t force yourself to gulp it down with a grimace just for the sake of hanging out — your wallet will thank you.
2. And it’s pretty expensive, too
Cocktails, which are pretty much the only form of alcohol I like, can be pretty pricey. Wine and beer are also costly, and if you’re going out every night drinking, you’re eventually going to break the bank.
It’s totally respectable to bow out of getting a drink because you need to pay rent.
3. Drinking is not the sign of being “cool”
It seems like it, when all your friends are hanging out drinking and you can’t go because, well, you don’t like to drink.
But just because you don’t partake of alcohol doesn’t make you less cool. It just means you know what you do and don’t like.
4. In fact, not drinking is pretty cool, too
It means when you say something really funny or brave, it’s all you. No one can try and give the credit to the alcohol, because you’re just that awesome. We don’t need to talk about the flipside of this argument, though…
5. It’s perfectly valid to dislike things
Even if all your friends like them. Even if the rest of the world likes them. Even if it’s The Beatles, Star Wars or, well, alcohol. You do you.
6. It’s OK to be different and stand out
It’s the old saying, “If all your friends jumped off the bridge, would you follow?” You don’t have to follow them to the bottle, either. Just because it makes you “different” doesn’t mean it’s a problem.
7. You’ll probably be healthier
Because too much alcohol does bad things to your liver, you won’t have those problems like the rest of your friends (probably) will.
8. You won’t have to go to work hungover
Or anywhere hungover, really. You’ll roll out of bed and not cringe at the sound of your own feet hitting the ground or the creak of the shower turning on.
9. No bad drunk decisions
Like unprotected sex or puking into a nasty toilet in a bar. Now, you might end up being the one holding your friend’s hair back, but that’s still arguably better than being the one retching in the bathroom.
