The Affect Drinking Has on Kids

Most people today start thinking about alcohol early in their chilled hood. The average age for a kid to try alcohol for the first time is 11 years old for the boys, and 13 years old for the girls (focusas1). I am a 19 year old girl, who has never drunk a beer in her life before, until now.

When I think of beer, I think of a large, bald, biker-man, that's in a bar with a whole bunch of other bikers, swigging back some beers. I'm not old enough to go to a bar, so I asked my parents if they would go buy me a beer. Now my parents aren't drinkers, but the do like to collect the unique bottles, and cans. They asked me why I wanted one and I told them, "well, I've never had one before, and I want to know what all the fuss is about." They didn't seem too surprised, but they did want to know why I came and asked them. So I told them, "Would you have rather had me drinking with some people, some where unsupervised?" They said "no, I guess we can't argue with that." Then to my surprise my dad asked me "what kind I would like?" I said "I don't know, get me something popularly known." He leaves and tells me that he'll pick me up one. Right after he leaves I anticipated his arrival, wondering if I should eat anything or not. He came through the door and handed me silver and green can. "Heineken" it says right on the front of the can. I start to read the can. "Brewed and canned by Heineken Brouwerijen B.V., Amsterdam, Holland." It looks like a little silver barrel, painted with a green stripe.

Beer making is a 4 week process. First you buy all of the equipment and then buy the ingredients. All beers are different in some way, but you can usually fin some of the similar ingredients in them. Like Extra light Malt extract, Roasted Barley, 120L crystal Malt, and Northern Brewer Hops. Some people alter these ingredeance to create their "own beer". Usually an old family recipe is one of the great ones that turns into a big company, and makes a ton of money selling their beer.

My very first thought when my dad gave me the beer, was 'god, I'm really going to drink this thing.' My mother said "drink by the sink, so you don't puke on my floor." Of course my mother would worry about her floor more that me. My dad said "no, she can drink it right there." I look at in my hand; everyone is staring at me like I'm going to eat a worm or something. I take a swig, it taste like empty pop with no kick, and fizz. My head feels funny. I take another swig. It kind of taste like hair spray, after you've sprayed way too much in a bathroom, and it gets on your tongue. I take another swig. My 11 year old sister says "your gonna die!" then she laughs, and so do I. I think to myself 'why do people like these things, they're nasty.' I take another drink. My tongue feels kind of numb. Mom asked