We hear stories at school about some crazy parties and the easy access to alcohol or drugs. We see pictures uploaded on Facebook or Instagram of the great time someone had. It’s normal to hear about underage drinking, and television or movies don’t do a great job of highlighting the danger in drinking alcohol.

Reports pop up everywhere of deaths involving high school or college students caused by binge drinking. According to National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism 5,000 people under the age of 21 die each year in situations related to alcohol and more than 190,000 get sent to the emergency room.

Just because other teenagers do something, does not mean it’s cool. It’s not cool to get arrested, making your parents pay a fine and waste time attending court. It’s not cool to risk your life, and even the lives of others, when you leave a party drunk or push a friend to drink until unconsciousness.

I don’t see the fun in stories people tell about the migraine and nausea they woke up with the following day, or not remembering anything they did the night before.

Scientists for the NIAAA have discovered teenagers who drink between the ages of 15 and 17 have a 50 percent higher chance of becoming an alcoholic. If alcoholism runs in the family, the chances are even higher.

It’s too easy to put a person’s life in danger and the possible consequences far outweigh the supposed fun times that come with underage drinking.You can still go to parties, just don’t drink. Have fun while sober. Wake up the next day remembering what you did the night before and don’t succumb to peer pressure.