My name is Mary and I am drawing the line by telling my story in hopes that others will hear it and understand where I have been, as they may be there too! I had my first taste of alcohol when I was about 3. I took a sip of my daddy's beer and I liked it. I remember getting drunk at age 9, at a party my parents were at. I was playing bartender for my friends with an extra box of wine. I was raised in a bar, albeit a pub, for almost every Sunday of my young adolescence. I started stealing my daddy's beers after school my freshmen year of high school. I would party hard through most of my sophomore and junior years of high school. I don't really remember much from those two years of my life. One night I had way too much! I woke up to see one of my dear friends, shivering, naked and crying. I still don't know all that happened that night, and I guess I am glad that I can't remember! I know I am an Alcoholic, but proud to say I have been dry for 12 years now. Under age drinking is a very serious issue. Many who are predestined to be alcoholics can find it out early or too late if it kills them, I guess I am one of the lucky ones. Lucky, right? I like to think of it as blessed. God pulled me up and has given me the strength to fight this desire that I still have everyday. I pray that my daughters never even have a taste of alcohol, but I am not naive. I pray that I can always be honest, with them about the dangers of alcohol not just as adolescents but adults too. But, I tell you one thing, I will never accept or condone underage drinking the way my parents did, thinking it is just a phase. It was not a phase for me, it was an addiction! Bless you all.
---Mary, Glendale