The Lincoln Log

As we get older we think that we can do anything. We think that being 17 is the same as being 21. Just because we are going to college soon, have a little more freedom, and act like adults doesn’t mean that we are adults. We want to do what the adults are doing, like going to the clubs and drinking alcohol. However, we can’t go to those clubs and drink that alcohol because we are of the proper age or at least we don’t have to the proper identification that says that we are of age to do those things. More and more teens are buying fake I.D. cards and going to clubs. What they don’t know are the dangers when they do that.

Sure, when teens see their older legal siblings getting ready for the night on the town they always think “why can’t I go?” and “I can’t wait until I turn 21 and I get to go to all the hot clubs.” What’s not to love? There’s that freedom and the excitement of being in a place with adults. It’s the smell of alcohol, bright lights, and the booming music that draws you in, but it’s the room filled with strange handsome people that keeps you there.

This image of parties and dancing is all around the high school teens. Its in the movies we see where there’s always that one guy that throws that great party where everyone gets drunk and hooks up with someone. Its in our music that we listen to where we hear raps about booze, chicks and sex. Now it has infiltrated into our television. Reality television shows has made big ratings by sending messages of all night partying. With all these examples, of course teens are going to want to go to the clubs even though we aren’t allowed there. So how do we get into these hot spots? Two words: fake I.D.s.

I can’t believe that even young Hollywood starlets have even gotten into these trendy night clubs even thought they are the same age as me. What I really can’t believe is that they are actually getting paid to show up to these night clubs and party then they are photographed to death. If the police were really bored they could just stand outside a club and wait for a high profile actress or actor to roll into the club to arrest them. But that never happens because the next night those stars are rolling into the clubs again.

Even if you did get that perfect fake I.D. and you passed that large body building guard in the front, you get inside and everyone around you are in their mid- to late- 20s. You would like a fish out of water, its hot and sweaty because of the all the bodies in there, no place to really dance and even there are people asking if you have any illegal drugs. Not the perfect picture you would imagine.

What I really want to know is why are we so eager to grow up? Sure, it looks like fun and exciting but these are our prime years that we will never get back. Maybe the law is trying to protect us from something that we are not mentally ready for.

The dangers of owning a fake I.D. are serious, you could get arrested when you try to test out your new age, or you could become addicted to the nightlife, which is more serious than you think. Becoming an addict to the nightlife puts you in a bigger hole than you can dig yourself out of. You find yourself blowing off your homework on a weeknight so you don’t have to worry about that weekend crowds to go to that hot spot to get drunk, hit on a few cuties, and dance the night away. Then your crawling to school with a huge hangover and that’s when you know that you could have waited to party when you were old enough and didn’t have school.