What's student life at Boston University like?

How to have a social life without binge drinking?

• I'm 22, everybody in my social circle binge drinks, or takes drugs. I've been binge drinking on weekends since I was about 13. I've never took drugs. I didn't have a bad upbringing, Im a professional Monday to Friday 9-5, the drinking has no interference with my work life at all. im pretty fit and athletic. go to the gym 5 days a week. (which binge drinking has begun to take its toll on recently) I have really cut back. instead of going out every Saturday night, drinking 20 pints of beer, uncountable amounts of shots, getting so drunk that my body actually forgets to make me vomit to get rid of the poison. I have started to limit my drinking. most weekends i don't even bother any more. i pick up overtime at work on satuday/ sunday morning. (working in a medical environment with lives in my hands, if I turned up drunk, hungover or smelling of alcohol id be dismissed instantly) i go out once or twice a month now, and limit myself to under 10 pints when i do go out. the problem is. my social life really is none existent any more. I hardly get invited places now, due to the fact im usually more sober than the guy who's driving. apparently that's just not 'cool' people ask whats wrong, when you go out and drink coke/ J2O/ water. insist on buying you a drink. pour shots into your drink when youre not looking. try every attempt to shake you off and leave you ( its not paranoia, ive been the guy who pushes booze onto people and shakes off the sober people) I live in a northern city in the UK, of about 300,000 habitants. everything which involves socialising with people under the age of 30, involves binge drinking. go to a rugby/ football game- drink before, during and after. go play pool- drink play sports- celebrate a win by drinking. or rebound from a loss by drinking even more. go to a gig/ play a gig- everybody gets sloshed. whilst i was at university- binge drink. or be a med student/ foreign student and turn your nose up at everybody else. everything else imaginable- everybody is old enough to be my parents/ grandparents. i don't really play games much. i like to be up and doing stuff, rather than hiding behind a play station. i go out with my work colleagues a few times a year. but they're mainly middle aged women with kids my age. there isn't a lot available to the youths of my area. the north east is really dumped on. the other problem being, spending the last 9 years socialising through drink, i have actually developed very poor social skills when im sober. often struggling maintain conversation for longer than a few sentances. or feeling awkward around people. not really having any social behavioural instincts. although i am pretty confident and outgoing. im fairly loud, and have quite a presence. but then again, it is difficult to socialise with drunk people when you're not drunk. 40 year olds when youre 22. or people who give you the cold shoulder because you're not introverted and quiet like they are. I know there is a massive problem in the UK with the youths binge drinking. im not alone. it is genuinely because we have nothing better to do. im really struggling here. its one extreme or the other. drink youre life away. or have no life. its even hard settling down with one woman. they're either too old or they binge drink. does anybody have any solutions apart from play war-hammer or spend Saturday night pretending im a virgin watching films with my mother! anything youve got- greatly apreciated! or beter still, anybody who has been in my boots and turned theyre life around. there must be somebody out there.

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