This isn’t high school, yet sometimes it seems like almost everyone wants to be the same; almost everyone wants to follow the stereotypical college life, specifically getting drunk every weekend. Peer pressure was a thing of high school, but it’s possible it might still exist.

I say it’s fine to be different. It’s fine to not do what others do.

I won’t claim to say I know every action I will take in my life, everything I will avoid or everything I think is OK for me to do. I’m sure I’ve made mistakes in life, and I’m sure I’ll do some things I’ll regret. But I won’t have to learn any lessons from some mistakes because I won’t make them.

I’ll never smoke, I’ll never do drugs, and I’ll never get drunk. This last one is the one that really throws people, and I have a hard time figuring out why. I’ve had many conversations revolving around this topic with one of my friends from high school. And I’ve met people on this campus who insist they are going to get me drunk.

I won’t go into the arguments. Throw any argument at me, and it doesn’t matter. I’ve made up my mind, and nothing will convince me.

My 21st birthday was just a little over a week ago now. I’ve had alcohol since then; I drank on my birthday, but I won’t drink excessively.

The common questions of the day on my birthday were, “What are you doing?,” “Are you going to the bars?” and “Are you gonna get wasted?” One response I got when I said I wanted to be different was, “What? You want to remember your 21st birthday?”

Yeah, that and every other night I have, and what’s wrong with that?

A common question after the day was, “What’d you do?” Once after I went through everything my friends and I did, someone said, “Oh, I’m sorry you didn’t have a good birthday.”

For the record, I had no problem with the way I spent my night.

I know some people who won’t even taste alcohol, so not everyone goes along with the crowd. If you don’t give in to peer pressure, most likely, you still won’t be looked down upon or excluded, but if you are, who cares?

I was at a party where we played a drinking game. The loser was supposed to drink a shot of whiskey or vodka. I said I’d drink from my wine cooler if I lost. At first I was told that wasn’t allowed, so I said I wouldn’t play. Guess who got her way.

It’s great to be 21. My roommates can’t tease me about not being able to go out with them anymore. I won’t have to be left out because I can’t get in somewhere. I can order a drink at a restaurant, and I can legally have alcohol in my fridge now. But none of that means I have to compromise myself. None of that means I have to drink to the point of excess. I’m not afraid to be different. And others don’t have to do what they don’t want to do either. It’s OK to be an individual.