Vol 14. What horror movie teaches me about drinking less

The woman crawled out of the well—wet hair plastered to her face, arms bent the wrong way.

The screen flickered.

Someone gasped. Someone else laughed.

I felt a chill crawl up my spine... but forced myself to let out a laugh instead. 

​​I was thirteen, sneaking out of my dorm to watch “Ring” at 11 pm with the “cool kids”. Pretending horror movies were my favorite, when secretly, all I really wanted was to catch up on the latest episode of Sailor Moon.

Recently, I found an old photo from that night—our young faces glowing in the TV light.

Some looked genuinely thrilled.

Others, like me, wore a brave, fake face. 

It made me think of you, my friend.

Have you ever said yes to a drink when you wanted to say no—just to fit in?