Was your first drink memorable?
The first time you had an alcoholic beverage, was it given to you by a family member, and was it done openly or secretly? What messages did you imbue about moderation, maturity, and intoxication with that first drink?
Did you have your first alcoholic drink on the day you became legally able to drink? Who else celebrated this milestone with you?
For some people, alcohol is a part of family life, but not all these associations are positive: alcoholism also runs in families. Was your first drink the beginning of a relationship with addiction?
In other families, alcohol is taboo, for religious and other reasons. Have you rebelled by taking drink outside the home? Tell us the story of your first secret drink.
What did you drink, that first time? What did you think of its taste? Its effects? Did anyone else notice whether you were intoxicated?
Was your first drink also your last? Why?
The Good Life on The Good Men Project seeks your stories about taking your first drink for an upcoming series. Send pitches, queries, and submissions to Justin Cascio at [email protected]. Final submissions for this call are due Saturday, March 23 are Sunday, March 31. (Call extended.)
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Update: The series on My First Drink has run on The Good Life. Want to contribute to the conversation? Email your pitch to Justin Cascio at [email protected]. (Edited 5/15/13)
Read more Calls For Submissions.
Image credit: Karen_O’D/Flickr
I think the first time, it was at a family party when my father gave me a sip of beer… I was six. Then, for my actual first drink, my father, my brothers and I had gone to a sports bar to watch a soccer game and we all had a full beer. My father is not with us anymore, but when I see my brothers, we take the time to go to a bar and have a drink together.
I was twelve when my mom gave me wine with a lot of water during dinner. Didn’t like it so much but said nothing cause I got to do something only grown ups did. From that moment on it was a regular occurence around dinner. The water became less and the wine more. Mom teached me the wine regions, the grapes and I developed favorites. For me alcohol was always associated with dinner. Never got overly drunk or developed any kind of adiction. Cheese however is a problem, can’t go 3 days without it while I am sure it isn’t… Read more »
I can remember it like it was yesterday. Growing up in the 60’s, alcohol was a part of suburban life. Dad came home from work and had a ‘cocktail’ or glass of wine before dinner, and after. anyway, our domestic water well clogged and we had to drive a new one. In the basement with a slide hammer and 4′ sections of 2″ pipe, we drove a 40′ deep well (I was 16 at the time). Afterwards, my father broke out a case of beer for all of us who drove this well(me, my dad, and a couple of my… Read more »
I was of legal age (18 was legal at that time) and in college the first time I took a sip of alcohol. My dates/boyfriends/sorority sisters insisted I did, so that’s what I did: took A sip of the alcohol that was given to me. I did that perhaps three or four different times, until I decided to stop doing what I had no need to do.
The first actual time was probably when I went to mass for the first time at 19 and I didn’t know that communion involved actual wine. My real first time was at our engagement party with some of our good friends. I was still underage at the time, but we broke out some champagne. I remember actually saying out loud, “I feel funny. Is that burn-y feeling the alcohol?”
The very first time alcohol ever passed my lips was probably a sip of my dad’s or grandfather’s beer. The first time I ever actively drank alcohol was probably drinking vodka mixed with red kool-aid, memorable because it was in my parents’ basement with a group of kids I wouldn’t normally be drinking with. I suppose “normally” isn’t appropriate in that example- we were high school freshmen, but still. These were choir geeks (not derogatory, I was one too) and not who I would “party” with as the years wore on. There was someone there who thought they knew this… Read more »