Tasha Dhanraj is already past being rebellious

I’m 19 now! I’ve been of legal drinking age for a year and I can honestly say the novelty of being able to buy my own pint of Guinness wore off around 11 months ago. Mainly because I hate the taste of Guinness and Fosters… and pretty much all alcohol for that matter. Well, after I’ve kept down enough units, I suddenly appear to like cider. I recall many nights in pubs staring in amazement at my pint glass and asking how anything could taste so appley. Truth is I just don’t think drinking is for me.
When I first discovered alcohol in my youth (well, I was 16), I took it every time it was offered.

“I felt so grown up, sophisticated and rebellious.”

I didn’t drink very often, though. There was certainly no chance that I would ever be featured on YouTube in a video entitled ‘Broken Britain: Drunk Youth Pukes on Pavement’. But as soon as I was old enough to actually drink, it quickly dawned on me that while a vodka and orange is all very well and good, it doesn’t remotely compare to just an orange juice, straight, shaken, not stirred.

In fact, if I’m really honest – the only alcoholic drink I really love is a Cosmopolitan and even then there’s only so many times you can pay £12 for one drink before deciding it is probably tastier and more cost effective to just have a chocolate milkshake.

Is drinking just one big conspiracy? Does anyone actually like the taste of a bitter? Even the name suggests that our ancestors sat in their breweries making the stuff thought it tasted nasty. There’s a reason people need to have a slice of lemon when they take a shot. And in all seriousness – I don’t think I know a single person who is a better version of themselves drunk. I for one am exceptionally annoying after a Sauvignon Blanc.
I think I’m hilarious and endearing when really I’m jittery and invasive.

So yes, I might have been of legal drinking age for a year, but I’ve also been verging on teetotal for a year and very rarely interested in it. That was until New York a few days ago. Suddenly being in a country where I am two years below legal drinking age makes the whole thing more tempting. I didn’t drink, but it made me realise that even though I’m not a fan of alcohol, I’m still a teenager and I’m still raring to be rebellious.