It starts with you telling friends “just one”. It ends several hours later with a kebab you don’t remember buying, £50 missing from your bank account, and a Sunday spent apologising to people you didn’t even realise you’d seen.
Just one?
These two words have somehow become the biggest lie in modern social life. Because you can’t go out and not drink, can you? Telling your friends you’re sticking to non-alcoholics on an evening out is basically just inviting interrogation. Are you driving? Are you on medication? Are you pregnant?
No? Then why aren’t you getting a vodka coke?
So, you have one. Just to fend off the questions. Just one. And then.,.
One turns into two – because now you need to match your friend’s vibe. And two turns into three because someone mentions BuzzBallz and, really, it would be rude not to.
Soon enough, the idea of going home becomes extinct, the bar feels increasingly magnetic, and – what’s this? – it’s 2am and you appear to fancy the kind of kebab you’d cross the street to avoid if you were sober.
All from “just one”.
The problem is that, these days, people view drinking in moderation as a personality flaw. Or at least my flatmates do. One girl consumed nearly a litre of vodka in a night, another woke up on a bench; and my personal favourite? Someone speaking in numbers all night.
Where are you going? 32.7
What do you mean? 19.63
This probably isn’t okay. Drinking too much can results in loss of self-control, increases the risk of accidents or dangerous situations, and, long-term, can cause major health issues like liver damage and heart disease.
So, maybe me and my flatmates should tone it down.
Although…what’s this? Eight Jagerbombs for £10 tonight? Go on then – perhaps I’ll come out. Just for one, of course.
