Alcohol

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Recommended: Why teenagers are influenced to drink alcohol

Alcohol

Drinking has always been a problem for teenagers, particularly for the past few years.

Research shows that over 60% of high school seniors drink at least once a week, although the law does not make drinking legal until age 21. In reality, kids are drinking at increasingly younger ages. The question is why do teens use alcohol when they know it's forbidden? Students give various reasons; with most saying they drink for enjoyment, to be accepted by friends, to forget problems, and to reduce stress in their lives.

During my sophomore year at Garden Grove High School, there was a friend of mine named Toni who was different from everyone else. Gifted with a photographic memory, he concentrated all his time to study and helped out other people. Including his looks and being favored by all of his teachers, he was sure that he would be very popular and well-known in high school. Unfortunately, Toni found it was very shocking to learn that he was despised by all the football and basketball players whom he longed to befriend with.

Never been so disappointed in life, he went out for a walk; suddenly, the idea of drinking just popped into his tiny head. For once, everything seemed so bright again as if Toni found a fortune, he had finally known the solution how to fit into the crowd and become the most popular guy in school. After following the other students’ ideas to drink and use drugs, he ruined himself by partying out all night. His goal of going to Harvard started to fade away and was slowly replaced by the urge to have a few cups of beer everyday. Instead of choosing a better path by using his talents, he chose to live more idly rather than going to a well-known university. Many students, favoring lying on their back...

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...ring to be accepted into the popular group of friends and yearning to forget their worries, turn to alcohol to satisfy themselves. However, alcohol does not make them special nor does it relieve their worries. My dad, Toni, and Lynn's experiences helped me see the effects of alcohol and the consequences of excessive drinking. Being at a time where they need to feel acceptance and control, teenagers choose to drink, believing that it will not only free them from parental dictation, but also gain them the approval of their peers. However, their choice does not show their independence because they are really following their peers' influence. Instead of enabling themselves to get away from their worries, they create more problems for themselves. With all the troubles that I know drinking cause, I, Yen Nguyen, will never turn to alcohol for any solutions to my problems.

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