Yesterday morning on my way to work, I saw two girls bright shinny dresses, limp hair and their dates eating outside at McDonalds. They looked tired and happy. This morning I saw two girls hanging out in the parking lot of Billa in their prom dresses. They however looked sad and pathetic. Billa wasn't open and their make up was smudged on their faces.

What I really wanted to tell them was go to home and go to bed--the party's over. But I just smiled and thought: phew, it's hard work being young.

It's prom season in Bulgaria. Heck, I guess it's prom season all over the world.  What does this mean in Bulgaria? Well, I'd say it's American prom to the extreme.

Prom is a big deal. A <em>really</em> big deal. There are big dresses but also plenty of skin even bigger hair and lots photos, honking of car horns and all around cheer. Oh and there's plenty of alcohol.<!--more-->

I get it. Graduating from high school is a mile stone as is prom.  But is it a <em>big </em>deal? I guess for some of us it is while for others, we knew all along we'd graduate. Is it fun? Absolutely. But what's the role of alcohol in all of this?

The big difference seems to be that in Bulgaria our seniors are generally 19 years old as they start school a year later than we do in the States. And, and this is a big and, it's legal for our 12th graders to drink and drink they do. They also like to stay out all night and then show up the school the next day--no sleep, still drunk and in their party dresses.

Yep, you read that right.

Sure and the whole thing is tradition and I like traditions, a lot. But this one, it makes the adult in me tired just thinking about it. It also makes me wonder how a tradition like this condones and reinforces poor choices and bad behavior.

It's also gotten me thinking about the role of alcohol in a celebration like this.  Now, don't get me wrong, I am not a <a href="http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/teetotalism">teetotaler</a> but it's hard for me to get my head around high schoolers drinking legally. Clearly a huge part of this has to do with the fact that I am an American and grew up in a country where the legal age of drinking is 21.  But moreover, I see these students every day and they just don't always make the best choices.  Which makes me wonder what kinds of choices these students make while drinking.

What's most interesting to me though is how socially acceptable it is for our students who are normally so level headed to engage in this potentially dangerous and reckless behavior. Sure, far fewer of them can legally drive but it's not as if alcohol is risk free if you're not driving.   But that doesn't keep you from making bad decisions.

I guess the thing that keeps you from making bad decisions are the people who teach you about drinking and who model good behavior for you. In the States, these people tend to be our peers because we learn about drinking either underage as high schoolers or at university.  In a word, we learn away from home.  On a whole, we drink in secret. We binge drink. We drink to get drunk.

But tonight, I can't help but wonder is it really any different in Bulgaria? Who teaches you how to drink? Does anyone model good behavior for you? What does that look like? What was the role of alcohol in your teenage life?