claricelecter@hotmail.com
Drinking is normal, at least many people say it is. There is no party where alcohol is not present. Okay, it’s part of our culture to have a few at the party, in fact, many don’t consider a gathering successful unless there are the typical drunken stereotypes, the one who is dancing like crazy until they fall, the one who is making a scandal with their partner, the one who is crying because the other left them, etc.
The thing is that it is not normal for everyone on us to be drunk. Personally, it’s not something I really like. It doesn’t mean that I don’t enjoy it when I drink, I know how to have a few beers or tequilas with my friends, but it is not a priority for me to get drunk every single time I leave my house. The idea of losing control is something that scares me a lot, therefore I generally prefer to keep it calm. Between eating and drinking, I prefer food a thousand times…
In fact, on more than one occasion I have been told that I am not normal for not drinking. Generally, I was the one who drove, so I preferred not to look for trouble and I would drink mineral water so as not to have any problems. I still remember that once I went out with my ex’s friends and when they were in the middle of a party, a girl asked me what I was drinking, when I told her what it was, she looked at me with great disapproval on her face and said «you are so boring». She was someone who believed that she was going to get into my car to take her and her boyfriend home. I think the taxi was quite expensive for them…
Curiously, I have a lot of fun without needing to drink alcohol. At a party I give the impression of being drunk because I am laughing, joking or dancing as if the inhibitions were diminished with a few drinks. What people don’t seem to understand is that this is how I am, I’m not inhibited and I don’t need liquid courage. There are people who tell me that without beers they cannot have fun. I have nothing against them doing it, but that doesn’t mean it works for me.
And this is not a discourse against alcohol, far from it. Actually, I am neither concerned nor interested in what people do with themselves. I take care of my yard and let everyone take care of their own. The annoying thing is that others want me to adapt to them, to their need for additional substances in their bodies in order to enjoy life. And then they come up to me to encourage me, telling me not to be a fagot. Yes, I’m a fagot, actually, so what? What they don’t seem to understand is that just because I don’t drink doesn’t mean I don’t know how to do it. I can hold my liquor better than most. My sobriety is elective. I don’t drink because I don’t want to, not because I can’t.
The most annoying thing about being sober at a party is having to put up with drunks. There are all kinds, from the funniest to the most idiotic. The funny thing is that the angry ones are the ones that usually follow me. I remember a New Years party where I had to put up with a particular idiot who tried very hard to see how annoying he could be that to this date, almost two years later, I still avoid talking to him even when he’s sober. That’s how disgusted I was about this guy. I didn’t like him that much to start with, but being up all night hearing him scream, punching tables, fighting with a senior neighbor, urinating in front of a house, in front of the owner to show how macho he is, and falling on the street is pathetic. And then, to add insult to injury, when he walks in his senses, he spends his time boasting how little he cares and that he does what he wants. I’ll take a pass with this type of people.
Another stereotypical drunk that follows me is the depressed one, what’s up with that? It turns out that they are drowning in tears and for some reason they feel they have the right to be heard. They want to whine that they were left, that life is cruel to them and that their cat can’t open their eyes, really? I came to the party to have fun, not to give therapy. For my friends I do whatever it takes, but someone who I don’t even know wants to talk to me about their life because they don’t can’t figure it out is very unpleasant. And to make it worse, they want you to hold them while they weep, wetting your shoulders with their mix of tears and saliva. And even if you get up and sit somewhere else, they generally follow you to continue talking. That’s not nice.
And yes, I am boring for many people. I like to laugh and have fun. I love to get together with my friends and have a coffee and talk until my breath runs out. The rare times I drink, I only do it with the people I feel safe with. My best friends have seen me drunk, but I must point out that I am one of the happy ones, I like to dance and talk, not to cry or bother anyone. My best friend and I laugh like donkeys and sing like Pavarotti and Mónica Naranjo according to us and I am Mónica, of course.
I understand that many people don’t understand what my fun is. I’m weird, I know, but that’s how I love myself I’m not trying to tell anyone what to do, but don’t ell me what to do either. I don’t understand how people demand that you respect their decisions as they try to tell you what to do at the same time. It is not consistent. It is worth saying «I believe» or «my opinion is» but don’t come to me with «that’s the way you should be» because that marks the end of the conversation.
So dear drunk, be yourself, I’m not trying to say what you should do, I’m just asking you not to tell me how to enjoy the party myself. Just because it is how it works for you, it doesn’t mean that I want the same for myself. And if you decide to drink until you drag yourself on the ground, I respect it, but please don’t bother me. I am not responsible for your actions or your tranquility. Neither do I want you to ask me the next day why I didn’t take care of you. That’s why I don’t drink myself. I want to spend the evening without drunks that insist on talking so closely that I drown in their breath. Do what you want, but leave me alone. It is not a privilege to have your attention. If you want to know why people avoid you at parties, I invite you to ask yourself why.
Personally, I am sick of dealing with drunks, I have enough to deal with dealing with myself…
And you brothers, sisters, what do you think? Share… if you dare…
Kind regards.
Mostro.