Im 18 years old and currently attending college. I have never had a drink in my life, and don’t intend to for that matter. My question is…what is the real logic behind drinking? It seems to me peple would realize that when you drink in excess the following will happen: 1.) You probably won’t remember a damn thing that happened the night before. 2.) You could end up doing something you’ll regret for the rest of your life and 3.) No matter what problems in life you had, when your sober again they’ll still be there. So…who wants to seriously try and explain the logic behind getting so drunk you end up sitting in the bathroom wasting a perfectly good night puking your guts out. What do people get out of this??
And you get this little factoid from where, exactly? The majority of social drinkers do not have black-outs of any sort. You also need to define, “in excess” more clearly. The base definition is to the point of inebriation. However, I would say for the majority of college drinkers, the point of inebriation is the goal. “In Excess” is far exceeding inebriation and nobody aims for that state.
In my years of partying I have only ever had one black-out and that is of a 1 hour period, I remember everything else from that night. And it was because I was drinking in complete excess, I started at about 3pm then didn’t stop till about 5am.
“Not remembering anything” is more like lame sitcom and romantic-comedy plots, not real-life.
You can do regrettable things while sober too. Drinking lowers inhibitions yes, but I would hardly call the type of shennagins you can get into while drunk to be life-long regrettable. The only exception being drinking and driving, which people will universally agree is idiotic.
People don’t just drink because they have problems. There are many reasons. You seem to have this “Leaving Las Vegas” view of drinking. For all the alcoholics there are thousands of others who drink responsibly and do it for fun not to “smother” problems. Alcohol is a depressant/hypnotic the majority of people use it to relax and unwind.
Nobody aims to be puking their guts out. Experienced drinkers know and can feel their limit and know when to stop drinking to avoid this. They know they shouldn’t drink on an empty stomach, mix massive amounts of liquors etc.
Your whole post sounded very bitter, like everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves except you… and you just “can’t figure out why”. As the saying goes, “Jealously breeds contempt”. The only way you’re going to know is to try it. You don’t have to go to a bar or a raging frat kegger, just get together with a few friends at a quiet Pub or at somebody’s house and have a few beers. If you’re never drank before, about 4 bottles of 5.0% would probably give you a decent buzz without making you sick. Before you go to sleep that night drink a couple glasses of water.
Its a social thing, its a chance to feel different from everyday and enjoy the visceral sensations.
It’s fun.
Remember there are many different levels of intoxication. Yeah there are loads of downsides, but these are the positives as I perceive them:
A couple of beers and you can feel friendly, happy, relaxed.
A few more, and you can interact with friends and strangers in an uninhibited way.
A few more and you can feel on top of the world, that everyone’s your friend; you can be the life and soul of the party. Political discussion takes on a greater passionate and emotional depth.
“Regret for the rest of your life”
You only regret it for the first few hours of the following day.
(Especially if the Beer Monkey managed to break into your house again…a joke, BTW)
Then you start drinking again and forget how it was. 
"I have never had a drink in my life, and don’t intend to for that matter. "
Why condemn alcohol as the ‘bad guy’ without first partaking in a few sociable drinks with friends? You should learn not to judge something until you have tried it.
That attitude will never allow you to experience anything new or different.
If you think the object of having an alcoholic drink is to try and see who can puke the most, do the stupidest thing or have the worst hangover, you have completely missed the point, unfortunately. College is a time for trying new things.
And, as jjimm said.
“Beer monkey” - great concept!!! 
I find getting drunk makes it easier to ignore children who think they already have all the answers, yet disingenuously pose their personal preferences as requests for information.
Dinsdale, that one gets you a big thumbs up from me.
And from me as well. Very good, Dinsdale.
I felt very much like rayray when I was that age, so understand where he’s (?) coming from, but all I can say to answer is “Don’t knock it til you try it.”
I agree with JJimm… Its fun. If social drinking and even partying weren’t enjoyable, people wouldn’t do it.
As a youth I did my share of drinking, possibly someone else’s share as well. No black outs or barfing binges. The only things I regret are a few hangovers and a couple of beautiful Sundays I spent asleep.
As an adult I enjoy the taste of a good drink. I stock my bar with good beer, wine and liquor. It’s still fun. Now I have the money and time to appreciate the taste and artestry in fine liquor, wine and beer; much like well prepaired food.
As an aside, I would suggest enrolling a course in logic. While you use the word in your post, the actual concept seems to have eluded you.
What is the logic behind eating chocolate, listening to music, flying a kite… What are you, a Vulcan?
Unless you get pregnant or raped, or wrap your car around a tree (or around someone else).
I never understood the point of getting plastered, either. I did it once in college just to get everyone off my back (it took about 2.5 drinks, BTW; I’m a lightweight), in the privacy of my own dorm rooom with a few trusted friends. I didn’t like it, either during or after, so I never did it again.
I still have the occasional glass of wine (I also make a MEAN mango daiquiri!), but don’t understand binge drinking at all.
What Dinsdale said.
I’ll bet your a real hoot to hang out with. Sorry, I cant stay long. I’m gonna go out and get drunk and screw. I will leave you with some of the best bumper-sticker wisdom I can recall:
“Beer: Helping Ugly People have sex since the Stone-Age!”
“The drunker you get, the prettier she look.”
“A 2 at 8 is an 8 at 2”
Q: Why did God invent alcohol?
A: Fat girls need love too!
What Dinsdale said.
I’ll bet your a real hoot to hang out with. Sorry, I cant stay long. I’m gonna go out and get drunk and screw. I will leave you with some of the best bumper-sticker wisdom I can recall:
“Beer: Helping Ugly People have sex since the Stone-Age!”
“Being drunk is the best feeling in my poor world!”-- Uncle Gabby
“A 2 at 8 is an 8 at 2”
Q: Why did God invent alcohol?
A: Fat girls need love too!
Guy in a bar: Hey, baby! Wanna fool around?
Gal: Not with you! Your a drunk!
Guy: Yeah? Well, your ugly, but tommorrow, I’ll be sober!
As others have pointed out, there’s a big difference between binge drinking and social drinking. I very rarely get drunk, but I often drink (about 4 drinks a week, on average). Why? I like the taste of beer and wine, for starters. Having a beer or glass of wine helps me relax after a day at work. It makes me feel cheerier and more sociable. I could easily give up alcohol, but why should I?
I’ve thrown up a few times as a result of drinking, and that part isn’t fun. But very few people go out with that intent, and relatively few social drinkers reach that point on a regular basis.
I agree with other posters who’ve suggested having a quiet beer with friends. It’s extremely unlikely that you’ll wind up puking your guts out or dancing around with a lampshade on your head. It might give you a bit more understanding, and if you don’t like it, at least you’ll know why.
**
Funny how many people end up puking their guts out, then. I mean, once or twice I could understand – they were inexperienced and overdid things. But as any dorm resident knows, there are people who puke their guts out every weekend.
Or maybe he’s bitter because the bathroom on his hall is a disgusting mess by Sunday morning, and he can’t study with drunks shouting in the halls at all hours. For a new college student this sort of thing can be very irritating.
**
Funny how many people end up puking their guts out, then. I mean, once or twice I could understand – they were inexperienced and overdid things. But as any dorm resident knows, there are people who puke their guts out every weekend.
Or maybe he’s bitter because the bathroom on his hall is a disgusting mess by Sunday morning, and he can’t study with drunks shouting in the halls at all hours. For a new college student this sort of thing can be very irritating.
I’m drinking right now. I’m going to have one beer. It’s delicious. I’d drink it if it didn’t have any booze in it at all, frankly. I rarely get drunk, but I have a drink pretty much every day. I just enjoy the taste of beer.
Plus, every once in a while, it’s fun to get a nice buzz, go to a party, and have a good time. And what everyone else said.
I frequently drink a lot. I have never forgotten what happened (OK, sometimes the details are hazy) or done anything I regretted for more than a day. I have very rarely puked.
Of the dozen things I’ve done in my life that I regret (that I can think of off the top of my head) doing, not one of them is alcohol related. Sure I’ve had bad experiences drinking, but I’ve had more GOOD experiences. As with most things in life, don’t knock it until you’ve tried it.
I don’t drink in quantity (usually), but I do drink regularly. I find it relieves the stress of work/kids, tastes good and is often more enjoyable than going to the gym! At parties it is a “social lubricant”, and can often lead me to talk to interesting people I would not normally talk to. I’m normally a very quiet person. Have I ever blacked out? Once. Have I ever done something I’d be ashamed of for the rest of my life? I shaved my head once, and broke a couple of bones another time. Big deal. On the flip side, I met my wife of 13 years when she invited me to her dorm room for some ice cold Budweiser and Tequila.