I'm in Such a Hot Pickle! My daughter was invited to another party but this is after the fact. Now her birthday has come and gone. My heart is broken! The thought of another party that the birthday girl will not be attending, is truly a shame. Now, for her 16th birthday, they are asking her if she would like to invite more friends? To me this is a party the birthday girl should not be throwing... I mean she's 16... But then, maybe I'm just a stick in the mud for not wanting her to participate in anything that would involve drinking, dressing inappropriately, & dressing scantily, regardless of age. When I was younger, I was always invited to all the parties in school, because I was the most popular girl in school. It came easy to me. Now, I'm not so popular anymore. In fact, I haven't really made many friends lately. No one wants to take the time to get to know me; they just want to get to know everyone else, and of course they don't have the time to invest themselves in me. I'm at the bottom of their priority list when it comes to time. It makes me feel like a stranger in a strange land. The reality is that for many of these kids, they may never get to experience the college parties, or high school parties for that matter. I think I'm the only one with memories of those parties... The first time I went out to a nightclub was when I was 16. I wasn't really old enough to drink alcohol but I was with my dad so he bought it for me and drank it with me anyway. We drove around town and parked and went into the bar. We were met with a bunch of kids, I didn't know any of them, but they said they had just been out to a wedding in a neighboring town so we went with them. They got a few rounds and the night passed by rather quickly. I don't recall anyone asking me if I wanted a drink or if I wanted to dance with any of the boys. I was always invited to all the parties in school, because I was the most popular girl in school. It came easy to me. Now, I'm not so popular anymore. In fact, I haven't really made many friends lately. No one wants to take the time to get to know me; they just want to get to know everyone else, and of course they don't have the time to invest themselves in me. I'm at the bottom of their priority list when it comes to time. It makes me feel like a stranger in a strange land. The reality is that for many of these kids, they may never get to experience the college parties, or high school parties for that matter. I think I'm the only one with memories of those parties... Not all that glitters is gold, if you will. Many of us would have had the same experiences that you have had. Not all of them had the experience of a parent that felt the same way that you do and would not have given in to the peer pressure in spite of it being so difficult. Sometimes kids will push limits that we think are unacceptable even if it isn't the thing that makes us personally uncomfortable. The first time I went out to a nightclub was when I was 16. I wasn't really old enough to drink alcohol but I was with my dad so he bought it for me and drank it with me anyway. We drove around town and parked and went into the bar. We were met with a bunch of kids, I didn't know any of them, but they said they had just been out to a wedding in a neighboring town so we went with them. They got a few rounds and the night passed by rather quickly. I don't recall anyone asking me if I wanted a drink or if I wanted to dance with any of the boys. I was always invited to all the parties in school, because I was the most popular girl in school. It came easy to me. Now, I'm not so popular anymore. In fact, I haven't really made many friends lately. No one wants to take the time to get to know me; they just want to get to know everyone else, and of course they don't have the time to invest themselves in me. I'm at the bottom of their priority list when it comes to time. It makes me feel like a stranger in a strange land. The reality is that for many of these kids, they may never get to experience the college parties, or high school parties for that matter. I think I'm the only one with memories of those parties... Not all that glitters is gold, if you will. Many of us would have had the same experiences that you have had. Not all of them had the experience of a parent that felt the same way that you do and would not have given in to the peer pressure in spite of it being so difficult. Sometimes kids will push limits that we think are unacceptable even if it isn't the thing that makes us personally uncomfortable. I would say that we all have had that moment, and then others who have not. I am not saying that this is right and okay, only that many kids will and do drink from other sources of supply, from their parents to party promoters. And there are many parents who don't realize that their underaged kids are doing it. I would say that we all have had that moment, and then others who have not. I am not saying that this is right and okay, only that many kids will and do drink from other sources of supply, from their parents to party promoters. And there are many parents who don't realize that their underaged kids are doing it. You are correct in that, in our current society there are plenty of kids who see parents drinking and do it themselves... and I am not referring to the underaged drinking (which is a different topic entirely). There is an epidemic of parents binge drinking while socializing at bars and clubs and that does include beer. In my opinion, there are too many people who have never gotten enough discipline in their life and never have learned the social skills to properly interact in these situations, but then are surprised at how many different ways there are to be rejected, left out, or made fun of when they are around other people. There's nothing wrong with having social skills; it's about not being a jerk or acting like a jerk when your are around others. I would be surprised if there is any kid who would not want to hang out with you when you are able to do that. When I was younger, I was always invited to all the parties in school, because I was the most popular girl in school. It came easy to me. Now, I'm not so popular anymore. In fact, I haven't really made many friends lately. No one wants to take the time to get to know me; they just want to get to know everyone else, and of course they don't have the time to invest themselves in me. I'm at the bottom of their priority list when it comes to time. It makes me feel like a stranger in a strange land. The reality is that for many of these kids, they may never get to experience the college parties, or high school parties for that matter. I think I'm the only one with memories of those parties... The reality is that your memories are all you have. There are always those that didn't and don't drink, some have alcohol in their systems, some did it to fit in, and some actually get a chance to live their dreams for a few minutes and never forget. Alcohol does make things easier to enjoy and make someone more relaxed to do certain things. The more confident, the better. I know I could have done a lot of things if it weren't for the alcohol that was a requirement. One mistake that you don't want to make is making you something you don't want to be. If you don't make mistakes you won't learn how to be great. I was just thinking of this the other day. One of my friends, who is also in my high school years, is a senior in college now. She always used to tell me about how she was the most popular girl in her high school, and it was because she's so easy to talk to, and if someone would talk to her about something, she could always relate. I couldn't make the same connection she could make with her classmates. I don't think drinking should be a "requirement" of the society at all. If someone who is underaged is willing to be controlled or at the very least responsible enough to know how much they should be drinking in order to not get themselves into trouble, more power to them. If the person drinking is not able to control themselves and know when to stop, how to stop, and not get hurt, then it's not the person drinking's fault it's the other people who are giving them access to alcohol, or the person in charge of who is drinking, or if there are drugs involved, or underage driving, etc. As far as whether I would recommend drinking, I don't have an answer for everyone. I believe it depends on what you're most comfortable with and what you have learned about yourself. Some people are more mature and responsible than