The context of vomiting has changed as I have grown older, especially in a college atmosphere where alcohol consumption is an everyday occurrence.

My mom reminded me how as an infant, I would have a difficult time holding down my food and would often spit some of it out. She lovingly wiped away the chunks of smashed food from my mouth. This was perceived as cute.

At 5, throwing up would be associated with sickness and a big mess. I would not be close to a bucket or toilet when I puked across the floor. My mom and dad cleaned the mess and did not enjoy the activity much.

Early adolescence had me running quite a bit. Running long distances made me feel nauseous and made me upchuck a little in my mouth. Swallowing the regurgitated matter was essential to avoid embarrassment. Barfing at this stage was gross, but controllable.

Spewing finally had an advantage in high school. When frumpy young lasses vied for my affection, simply saying I slightly barfed in my mouth turned them away.

Then, college rolled around and I was ready for some “fun.”

As I was slapping on some cologne and a stylish shirt last weekend, I wondered if there were any good parties around town. Suddenly, a little angel resembling me pops out of nowhere on my shoulder. He scolds, “Remember what happened last time!” and poofs away.

Then a red guy with a pitchfork and a better goatee than I could ever grow says, “What is the harm in a little fun?” and vanishes faster than Rod Blagojevich’s friends.

What they were referring to is my overindulgence of alcohol. The holy guy reminded me of my last episode of alcohol abuse, which was one of many.

Beer pong and Jell-O shots screamed my name that evening. Time raced by as I was drinking, and soon my sense of balance quickly followed. I spewed outside for a while then I passed out and have almost no idea how I got home. I have not gotten dangerously drunk since that night, so I listened to the halo man, who in turn kicked the little red devil in the behind.

Sadly, some college students never learn from previous bad experiences with booze. According to College Drinking-Change the Culture’s Web site, 1,700 students, aged 18 to 24, die from alcohol abuse annually while 559,000 are injured. Our mothers tell us not to drink and drive, but us college students know better. We in turn drive from parties intoxicated. A couple of my friends are part of the 2.1 million students who drive under the influence yearly.

A friend of mine was raped while she was intoxicated – one of the 97,000. Overindulgence hurts students’ bodies with 150,000 getting alcohol-related health problems.

And the dreadful statistics go on.

Drinking is not a bad thing in itself. I still have some drinks here and there. However, I stop if I think I will vomit and lose control. Remember, vomiting is your body’s way of saying, “you had too much to drink.” And unless you’re here on a college visit, vomiting would not be cute because I don’t know of any infant college students.

Bob Bajek is a junior journalism major. He can be reached at 581-7942 or at [email protected].