My twentieth year: it was the best of times, it was the worst of times…
Being 20 is the most depressing age, in my opinion. You’re no longer a teenager, but you still can’t legally drink, rent a car, or get a hotel room. What’s the point? The inbetween-ness is exhausting. You want to be taken seriously as an adult, but every time you tell someone you’re 20 they respond with “Oh my gosh, you’re so young!” I don’t feel young. I feel as if I should have everything figured out. News flash: I do not.
To make matters worse, junior year with a late birthday is possibly the most frustrating situation. Why is that, you ask? Well, of course, the drinking age. In the United States of America, the legal drinking age is 21 (duh). Last semester, all I wanted to do was celebrate with my friends when they turned 21, but my night was cut short thanks to my lack of legal status. This happened a few times before, mercifully, I went abroad to Italy.
Yet, perusing all the party pics my beautiful friends have posted from their 21st celebrations has been surprisingly painful. Obviously, I am thrilled to see that they have been livin’ la vita loca for their birthdays, that’s not the problem. The problem is accepting the fact that even if I had been in the country to celebrate with them, I would not have been able to celebrate with them. Or at least not to the extent I would have liked. (That extent being Clover Quarts to Feve, and everything in between…)
Nerds Strawberry Mojito that I totally didn’t order at Dylan’s Candy Bar in NYC
Now, I will be celebrating my big birthday in a country where I have been legal to drink for three years already. I feel slightly cheated. There’s no hype. There’s no pageantry. There’s no South Bend cabs to take my sorry butt home for $3 at 4am. This is a bit disappointing, as I can guarantee no one will be excited about my 22nd birthday.
But, hey, don’t the Italians have a more sane view of and attitude toward alcohol anyway? I would argue they do. The atmosphere surrounding booze is so much more chill and sensible than it is in the States. A glass of wine with dinner – a glass of wine with lunch – what’s the difference? No one is driving! (Another MAJOR perk of living in this country.) Drinking with your parents, drinking with your grandparents, drinking with your little cousins – it’s all the same. What this culture defines as “drinking” is entirely different than what college students at Notre Dame consider “drinking.” “Drinking” in Italy is not pounding shots, puking in bushes, or getting too wasted to walk home. It’s not needing alcohol to talk to people, or depending on it in order to have a good night. “Drinking” is only a small part of a social gathering in which people manage to dance, laugh, and converse while still remembering everyone they talked to the next morning. Viewing the activity of drinking in this way makes me feel very lucky to be celebrating such an important birthday in such a laid-back place.
#classy
What makes me feel even more lucky is that I get to celebrate with my entire family, as they will be visiting me just in time for the big 2-1! What a blessing to have my dad pick out some really nice wine at a really nice dinner and to celebrate my 21st birthday alongside my sister’s 23rd and my little brother’s belated 18th!
All in all, I feel the stigma that surrounds alcohol in the US is in need of a face lift. Alcohol is not the problem. That’s not to say it can’t cause problems, but overall, alcohol by itslef is not what creates issues. The idea that alcohol frees all inhibitions and woes, the idea that drinking makes you cool and attractive, and the idea that doing something illegal is okay because everyone else is doing it and it isn’t hurting anyone are the problem. Let’s reexamine how we think about alcohol and reintroduce ourselves to a healthier attitude about it.
Pictures provided by author
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