Dawn of a Higher Power

Compared to many of my friends, I came late to the drinking game. As a teenager, I was very caught up in doing well in school and making it into a solid college. I stayed away from most of the parties. Inevitably, though, a suitable occasion arose. When it became common knowledge that my friend Tara had never gotten drunk, a group assembled to rectify the situation. I was part of that group. I had never even had a drink, but I was too shy to admit it. So my first drink was a screwdriver pulled off a tray one Saturday night. My next few drinks followed within minutes as I tried to understand why everyone else wasn't pounding them down like I was. I felt a terrific glow inside. Before long, though, my friends had to take me home and pour me onto my parents' porch.