Thank you for sharing your personal story. <3 And also, this stood out to me:
I want drinking to be a choice, not a right of passage.
This is such an interesting, and relevant thing to point out! Having your first drink is seen as a really big deal here--I wonder what the percentage of 21-year-olds who don’t drink alcohol on their birthday is? It is so normalized and encouraged. Really appreciate your perspective on this, and ya, I totally agree, I wish the choice to not drink wasn’t associated with so many negative connotations!