Jiara Laine Montano

Sir John Gappy

SA21
25 October 2016
Diagnosed: Booze goggles on
Teenagers are usually described as these hormonal kids who try to rebel every chance
they get. They break the rules and lie about doing so. Although this is not completely right, I
do admit that I have committed my fair share of breaking the law and lying. I had my first
taste of alcohol when I was 15 years old. In the Philippines this would be illegal since the
legal age of drinking would be 18 years old. It was a friends birthday that day and some of
my high school barkada bought alcohol (i.e. Emperador Light) from the convenience store.
The person in charge of buying was the person who looked the oldest. He was the youngest
amongst us but with his over six feet height, people always mistakes him as an adult. My
friends started drinking. Trying to quench their own curiosity. I, too was curious that night but
I tried resisting to drink. I did not want to get in trouble with my parents. My friends were
jeering at me however, encouraging me to drink. I wanted to look cool. So as we played
drinking games, I slowly tilted my head again and again as I drank shots after shots of
alcohol. We finished over 3 bottles of the gag-inducing drink. I was drunk as a skunk that
night. Throughout high school, I often hanged out and drank with these friends of mine. We
would go to a friends house saying we had a project to do. Although we actually did not have
a project to do, my friends and I would often project our inner thoughts, issues and problems
with our relationships (i.e. romantic and filial relationships) after a few drinks. Some of my
friends would even cry from the stress and pressure they get from their family and some
would go crazy, climbing cars and whatnot. Evidently, this barkada of mine often calls me to
go out, drink and have fun.
This group of friends, while studious always leave things to the last minute. Meaning,
they procrastinate hard. Study hard, Play hard they always say. They start working on their
papers five hours before the deadline, study for an long test the night before and leave the
work onto their group mates. I, on the other hand, do not really like doing this. I study for a
long test a week before, a paper at least 3 days before and take on the brunt work when it
comes to group projects. However, whenever we I study for a test they usually discourage me
to do so: Next week pa naman ang deadline, bukas mo na yan gawin. Gala muna tayo I
would get guilty because I feel like I would be left out of the group if I did not follow them. I
feared that I would not be in it anymore. It is so difficult for me to say no to them but
whenever I miss out on drinking session, they would guilt trip me the next day. They would
say Sayang wala ka, andami pa namang nangyari and talk about all these inside jokes and
topics. They intentionally make me feel left out. They try to make me participate with the
activities of the group by doing these. However, when we have gone out consecutively at one
point that I found it really suffocating and unhealthy, I tried searching out for a new group
also be a part of. This way I can regulate my own activities by having two groups of friends.
In one group I could be let wild and act like a classic rebellious teenager and in another I
could be more grounded and realistic about my own situation and life.