Alcohol has never been a part of my life. I never drank at parties at high school or felt desperate to turn 21 so I could legally buy alcohol; I don’t go out for happy hour with my colleagues or have a glass of wine to wind down on a Friday night. Drinking’s just not for me and it never will be.
- My anxiety inhibits me from drinking. Anxiety has kept me from doing a lot of things in life, and drinking is one of them. I’ve overcome my anxiety about most things but not about alcohol. Being in control of a situation is really important to me and drinking would take that control away from me. Being drunk means depending on others. I’d rather be the girl at the party who’s taking care of everyone else and making sure they’re safe.
- My husband has a rare liver disease and can’t drink either. My husband and I have been together since high school. When he was a freshman in college, he got diagnosed with a rare liver disease and received a liver transplant last year. Needless to say, drinking was completely out of the question for him. I love having a spouse that doesn’t drink. When we go out, he couldn’t order a beer even if he wanted to. It’s been a very strong bond that we’ve shared in our relationship. Not drinking is a lot easier when you have someone who fully supports you and has your back.
- My parents told me and my siblings about the dangers of alcohol early on. My parents were strict about alcohol when I was growing up. They’re casual drinkers, but they always told my sister and me how dangerous alcohol could be if you weren’t smart about it. I’m sure most parents give their kids the drinking and drugs speech at some point in their lives, but for me, it really struck a cord. All I could hear were my parents’ voices telling me what could happen if I overindulged and it really scared me out of drinking as a teenager.
- I’ve always hated the smell and taste of alcohol. I’ve had small sips of an alcoholic drink here and there but I never found it enjoyable. I never liked the taste of champagne or the smell of beer. Smelling alcohol on someone’s breath is absolutely repulsive to me. In addition to being bad for you, it just never seemed appetizing. It’s a lot easier not to do something when you know you wouldn’t even enjoy it.
- I’ve always been obsessed with healthy and clean living.
I love to eat clean, and be healthy. Don’t get me wrong, I’ll be the first one to suggest grabbing a slice of pizza for lunch; but not everyday. In my day to day life I like to be extremely conscious of what I am putting in my body. If my liver is going to have to work overtime to filter our alcohol, that’s not going to fit into my healthy lifestyle. - I don’t ever want my kid to see me drunk. I can proudly say that I’ve never seen my parents or even my grandparents drunk. No one in my family was ever a big drinker. My parents never kept alcohol in the house and the only time I ever saw them drink was at a party or a restaurant. I want to pass the same values on to my son. I hope that one day he can proudly say that he’s never seen me drunk. It’s just not something to flaunt in front of your children.
- I feel a sense of pride because people are always impressed that I don’t drink.
I can’t tell you the countless jaws I’ve seen drop when I tell people that I’ve never been drunk. You would think I’m telling everyone that the sky is purple. Mostly everyone I tell is impressed by it, and they tell me that I’m not really missing out. No one has ever made fun of me for not drinking. - Drinking is really expensive and I can think of better things to spend my money on. My friends spend a lot of money on alcohol—I’ve literally seen them throw away hundreds of dollars in one night! Drinking gets very expensive, really quickly and for what? A night you won’t even remember anyway? No thank you.
- I don’t drink because I genuinely don’t want to. I’m not doing any of this to put on some sort of front or to feel superior. I genuinely have no interest in drinking and it’s who I am as a person. I’m always worried that people will assume I’m some sort of prude or goody-goody, but that’s not true at all. I’m just an anxiety-ridden individual who needs to feel in control. Drinking wouldn’t allow me to do that so I don’t bother.
