Since the State Hornet’s news and features sections began their three-part series about alcohol consumption, I’ve had to stop and think about drinking.

Well, I didn’t have to, but I was bored one hangover-ridden day, and figured it was worth some consideration.

After all, I do work at a bar three nights a week, and drinking on the job is only prohibited when it affects our ability to operate the credit card machine.

Customers find drunken cocktail waitresses amusing ?” we’re friendlier and more sociable, we take shots with you, we say outrageous things, we forget that our feet hurt and dance around the bar.

Drinking at work also makes the night pass faster, not only because we’re dunk, but also because it becomes more enjoyable – most of the time.

Sometimes it makes everything a lot worse. Suddenly, the middle-aged, mean drunks we deal with are able to hurt our feelings. Out of nowhere, we start telling our co-workers all our problems with our lives and each other, and despite our best efforts, our boss makes us cry.

But, drawbacks or no drawbacks, every night I have a drink as soon as I come in.

Then, about once a week, I go out with friends. We usually head out to the bars and, of course, I usually have some drinks.

During a recent physical, between poking and prodding, my doctor asked how often I drink. I told her, somewhat honestly, that about three nights a week I have approximately five drinks.

She gasped and looked at me in awe. “A female should only consume one drink a day,” she said. “A male can have two, but women’s livers are smaller, and that’s all they can handle.”

“I don’t consume alcohol every day,” I argued. “Can’t I drink my seven for the week in one night instead?” She wasn’t amused.

The kind of “binge drinking” that I confessed to my doctor is common among 17 to 23-year-old students, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Web site. In fact, the site reported that nearly half of all college students surveyed are binge drinkers.

So, maybe it’s a youthful habit that I’ll soon grow out of, or maybe my liver will fail before I have the chance to grow at all. Tough call, right?

My age group isn’t known for making responsible decisions. We’re not really known for anything positive, except for looking better than our older counterparts.

Even though I don’t need to drink, especially so frequently, it’s not the real dangers that make me want to change.

I’ve known for years about drunken driving deaths, drunk in public arrests and alcoholism, but I’m young and I’d never let practical concerns like those stop me.

It’s the hands-on drinking experiences and the obnoxious, childish drunk that I become, that may deter me from drinking so irresponsibly.

After all, my dear friend Captain Morgan told me to drink responsibly, and who doesn’t listen to the Captain?