Cassie Forsyth | Arts & Life Co-Editor

As a 21 year old, it feels that birthdays are becoming anticlimactic. They used to seem so thrilling to me with the thought that all the people I love would be wishing me a happy birthday and a great day, but after my most recent birthday, I have found that this birthday has some sort of new meaning. Insulting comments and judgmental assumptions were thrown in my face all day. For many people, turning 21 means they are legal to buy alcohol or drink it. For me, that’s nearly the furthest thing from my mind, but even though I have always been this way, people wishing me a happy birthday didn’t seem to understand.

It seems that since high school, I have been surrounded by people who dabbled in the acts of underage drinking. It wasn’t that I judged them for doing so, but I never wanted to be a part of that, and in some cases, I lost friends because of it. It became difficult to spend time with my friends when they would rather drink, and they knew I didn’t want to be anywhere near the presence of alcohol with underage kids. There are so many pressures in life, and I take pride in the fact that I’ve avoided this one, so when people assume that I’ve been waiting impatiently to turn legal, I’m insulted.

My first experience with alcohol was when I went to Ireland this past summer, where the legal age to drink alcohol is 18. I had my first drink there, but there wasn’t much more to it than that. I didn’t like it. Even there, my peers kept encouraging me to drink and try new things because “that’s what I was there for.” Being legal to drink was the very last reason I took this opportunity to travel to the country, yet the activity still seemed to be shoved in my face. I wanted to experience Irish culture, and drinking is part of that, so I tried it. Why couldn’t we just leave it at that?

In weeks leading up to my birthday, I received a preview of all of these comments by my friends who asked questions like, “Does this mean you’re going to party?” Some of my friends over the age of 21 joked about how drunk they were going to get me once I turn 21. But why? These are the people who know me and know I don’t drink, yet they still think I’ll turn into some completely different person just because I’m 21. Even in the moments leading up to my birthday, someone asked if I was already drunk because I was simply happy and excited. It seems that now I’m not even able to act energetic without others assuming I’ve been drinking. I used to simply laugh these comments off, but after I actually turned 21, I’m offended by them.

Many times during my previous birthdays, people said to me, “Have a good day!” My response was always that I would, just as I would say any other birthday. But on this birthday, I got the response of “I’m sure you will” assisted by a wink as if the person knew exactly how I was going to spend my day. Along with these words, I received many messages that read “Be safe!” or “Behave yourself!” Just because I turned 21 does not mean I’m going to drink, and it didn’t seem like many people realized that.

What offends me most about this birthday is the day after. So many times I received that look of “I know what you did last night.” However, I spent the night going out to eat and watching a movie with my friends, and none of these events included the presence of alcohol nor did I want them to include it. I may have stayed up late spending time with my friends, but the assumption by a professor that I was hungover in class was what really struck a nerve. I have always been so careful of my elders’ perception of me, so to hear that these people thought I was engaging in these acts really bothered me.

I’ve realized that upon hearing that I’m turning 21, people start to look at me differently. There’s a distinct look as if these people know exactly what I’m thinking, but clearly they do not. I can’t be certain if I will ever drink or not, but I hate knowing people automatically assume I do just because I’m of age.