Will You be Getting Drunk on New Years Eve?

Our society is obsessed with getting drunk. Sometimes it seems like it’s all we talk about, especially leading up to New Years Eve.

We’ve invented drinking games galore including these 14 Insanely Fun Drinking Games You’ve Never Heard Of (Some of these are crazy!) and are obsessed with what and when we’re next going to drink.

I don’t drink very often. My husband doesn’t drink at all. We both used to love to party and get drunk. I hated what it did to me the next morning. I hated feeling weak, dizzy and missing out on life because I was hungover. I love life. I don’t want to miss out on any of it and I finally realized that getting drunk was not worth my time.

Do I still crave a drink? Of course. It’s addictive! Do I still drink on occasion? Yes, but not very often. I’m not a martyr. I’ve had my share of nights I can’t remember. I’ve simply made a choice that I’d rather be healthy, than hungover. You might think me a hypocrite because I just recently wrote about about my two new favourite wines! I can assure you that even though I really enjoyed those wines, I probably won’t buy them more than twice in the next year. How many people spend a good majority of their food budget on alcohol every week? What other amazing things could they do with that money? Will I break this promise to myself…probably. I’m only human. (Just invite me to a party.)

I’m an introvert. Alcohol definitely makes it easier for me to talk to strangers, but it also makes me a little too touchy feely. Everyone is affected by alcohol differently and some people definitely shouldn’t drink at all, but, I’d like to seriously ask…should any of us? Is it really necessary? The older I get the more I realize that I can have confidence and talk to new people without needing a drink in my hand.

So why are we so obsessed with getting drunk? When did this obsession start? Frat parties and keggers and needing a glass of wine for mommy to survive the hard day? Why are we using alcohol as an excuse for needing a way to relax and unwind? How else could we de-stress from our crazy, overworked, 20th century lives? Do we really deserve it? Is it really what we want?

Maybe not. Maybe we don’t deserve the drunk drivers, cheating spouses, broken bones, twisted ankles, blood poisoning and more that come from a night of going off?

Getting drunk certainly isn’t a new thing. One trip to the pubs of Ireland made me realize that. It’s a very old tradition and people love it! I really don’t understand why. Sure…it’s fun! But it wears you down. For as long as I can remember getting drunk has been an event almost everyone I knew PLANNED on doing! It seems insane to me that we would plan to kill our brain cells, make ourselves sick and possibly hurt the people around us, and yet I did it.

Since I’ve stopped worrying about what party I’m going to go to, what people are doing on Friday night and why I don’t always have alcohol in my house (in case you drop by) I’m much more relaxed and happy. Sarah Dawe sums it up perfectly in her post: Now That I’ve Quit Drinking, I like myself better.

So tell me? Are you planning on getting “trashed” on New Years Eve? Why or why not? Do you think our society drinks too much? Or am I overthinking the whole thing?