I'm almost 19, I live in California. I have to say, it gets prevalent around freshman year, or even junior high here. I mean, truly prevalent around 10th, like someone mentioned. I didn't drink more than a white russian or a screwdriver until probably a week ago. If you're just with a few friends, it's much easier to just get a little buzzed and let it go. I don't particularly like the idea of drinking too much at a party with people I don't know - too much that I could be impulsive about and end up regretting. Plus... being the sober person with a lot of drunk people is incredibly funny. With that said, I don't really care about alcohol, and I don't think drinking is cool or special (slight chance I inherited Hepatits C from my mom at birth, look it up if this confuses you) since it could just kill me by age thirty if I go even slightly overboard on it. Or even if I don't, haha. There's a fine line between plenty and too much, and if you're capable of not being too habitual, all is well. I know some people who probably shouldn't be drinking too much because they have incredibly addictive personalities (and a family history of alcoholism). @ Jane; do you mean beer? Because I'm with you on that, the stuff tastes absolutely terrible. One of the reasons I mostly go for flavored vodka and rum =X (and I'm a strong advocate for having fun without alcohol, but eventually staying in and having some with friends isn't a bad thing...definitely don't do it too early in life though =| )
I used to drink when i was new to drinking alcohol. I rarely drink nowadays, probably once or twice in a month or two.