Forced to Grow Up

My friends often ask me why I do not drink alcohol.

You are going into college and you need to experience it, they say.

Little do they know.

Little do they know the pain that alcohol has caused in my life,

Little do they know that alcohol caused a family war.

Little do they know that I used to go with my mom to pick my drunk aunt up in the middle of the night.

Little do they know that my uncle came home drunk one night and threatened to kill my dad.

Little do they know that I had to wedge myself in between my uncle and my dad to get them to stop fighting.

Little do they know that I had to run outside and comfort my distraught sister while fighting my battle internally.

Little do they know that this happened when I was 12 years old.

Little do they know that I was forced to grow up at a young age because of the traumatic event I had witnessed.

Little do they know the anxiety I get when I am around people who have had one too many.

Little do they know that alcohol never leads to good in my life.

Little do they know that I do not drink because I have never witnessed a positive outcome.

Little do they know.