Alcohol: Choosing To Or Not To

In life, we are always going to have to make choices. No matter how much we would want to try to be neutral when it comes to certain topics, the truth is that it is not possible.

My personal choice when it comes to alcohol consumption has always been not to. I was about to say that this choice comes from growing up in a family that never had alcohol but that would be a big lie, hehe! Though I lost my Dad early, I was surrounded by family members who loved going for beers even when they could have chosen to have something else.

It always felt so disgusting to watch these relatives misbehaving after having a few bottles of beer. Also the odour that follows them about wherever they go or when they open their mouths to talk was even more irritating. Some of them would always use their wives and children as punching bags, and that made them lose a lot of the respect I had for them.

As I grew older, I consciously tried not to be close friends with people who are into alcohol. Let's just say that I didn't want to be influenced into taking it. Being a female, I never wanted to get close to any guy that was into alcohol. Unfortunately, some of my female friends were dying for such guys, and I had to withdraw from such friends. Yes, I was like that, haha! 😄

However, there have been times when I ended up with alcohol intake 🙄😜. One of such times was when I was given a local medicine which was made by soaking some tree bark in alcohol. I was told it would help cure fever and stomach troubles. After taking it once, I never tried it again.
At other times, I have had to add alcohol when baking bread, cakes, and cookies so as to make them last longer and prevent losses.

A disturbing trend I see in my locality is the easy access that kids have to alcohol. Yes, I have observed this where I live in the south-western part of my country, Nigeria. The manufacturers have decided to become more subtle. They have gone from big glass bottles, metal cans to small plastic bottles and even sachets. I use the word subtle because the sachets are so cheap and look like sweets, and I see kids buying these things and taking in broad daylight. The abuse of alcohol is now on a different level altogether.

My main concern is how these kids would end up in future. Has it really become so difficult to say no even if you have to lose your friends? Do we no longer have parents and elders who could have a positive influence on the next generation?

Well, I am grateful you read my post to this point. Please share your thoughts freely in the comments even if your views are different from mine.

I, @ngwinndave, authored this post. The pictures are mine, taken with my beloved Samsung A20s.