“I was completely drunk and so was almost everyone at the party that night, I was young and I saw a cute boy (who was also equally drunk) we started flirting and seemed like a nice guy. When the party was over, people left me and the boy had decided to sleep there. That night we ended up having sex, we used a condom but the condom broke. A few weeks later I found out I was pregnant at 16, the boyfriend ran away and wasn't there for the pregnancy or the birth of his child. This story is one of the millions of stories that teenagers manage to share with their friends at the dinner table every year. While not all stories are as extreme, parties involving teenagers are becoming more and more serious. Children grow at an extremely fast rate and this is evident from underage drinking, drug use and meaningless sexual activities. Alcohol consumption is becoming one of the most serious problems in the life of a developing teenager. The benefits of alcohol for teenagers are miniscule, and hundreds of thousands of teenagers participate in its consumption. In any given month, 31% of high school students drink at least once, according to the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse. Binge eating is when a person drinks alcohol with the primary intention of becoming intoxicated. When going out, 31% of students drink with the intention of getting drunk. They also state that 11.4% of all alcohol consumed in the United States is consumed by teenagers. While drinking may seem like a cool thing to do as a teenager, approximately 5,000 teenagers die every year due to alcohol use, and death does not make a person cool. (“Teenage Drinking”) Another anonymous story says, “I drank way too much and threw up all over the bathroom… middle of paper… drugs lead to kids, prison, an illness, or even death. Ongoing problems across the country are ruining our reputation and causing harm to teenagers everywhere. It's time for teenagers across America to take a stand to improve our society. American Teens Can Improve Their Lives and Communities Wherever They Live! Works Cited Gulli, CathyLunau, KateMacQueen, KenMcKinnell, Julia “Suddenly Teen Pregnancy Is Cool? (Cover story)." Maclean's 121.3 (2008): 40. MAS Ultra - School edition. Network. 5"Know the facts." Stay a teenager. Np, nd Web. 05"Marijuana." NIDA for teenagers. Np, nd Web. 05 "Facts about alcohol consumption among adolescents. The effects of alcohol consumption among adolescents. Statistics on adolescent alcohol consumption." Facts about adolescent drinking. Web. "Alcohol-related deaths of adolescents ." - Alcohol abuse among adolescents. Np, nd Web. 05