I have never knowingly drank a drop of alcohol (at least since I have been old enough to remember). There are a number of reasons for this, but it basically came down to a pledge that I made to a friend when I was in junior high. Alcoholism had made a mess of his father and, as a consequence, his family. He loved his father and considered him a genius who was crushed by the weight of the Vietnam War, the lack of treatment to veterans, and the prevalence of alcohol in our society. We agreed to not ever let a chemical destroy our minds and our futures that way. It was implied that we would wait to drink until it was legal for us to do so and then never to the point of drunkenness, and that any other sort of drug was completely out of the question.
In less than a year it was clear that I was the only one to keep the pact--and so I decided to keep it for the both of us. As we didn't bring up the pact after he broke it, it was never fully clear if we were never going to drink or only until it was legal (we had discussed both ideas on multiple occasions, but never come to a consensus). As I was keeping the pledge for two, I simply doubled the age limit and decided that I would figure it out when I got older. As the age limit (at least in Michigan) was 21 years old, that meant that I wouldn't have to deal with this issue until I turned 42.
It's been in the back of my mind ever since, with it boiling more to the surface once I turned 40. Do I continue the pledge forever (as I feel the original intent was), or do I consider the double pledge fulfilled after the allotted time? Had I stayed in Michigan (and thus not had so many interesting things to post about), I'm fairly certain this would have been a primary topic of a number of my posts and conversations.
Instead, it passed by unmentioned, let alone unheralded. It was on my mind during the weeks leading up to my birthday, but I let it pass by without bringing it up. One reason was finances. If I had ended my dry spell, I would have done it big: sampling a variety of tastes (in moderation). Like most things, alcohol gets pricey up here. I had already given up pop due to price (and later, diabetes); I couldn't afford to add something else to our tight budget. Another reason was that some of the my new medicines have warnings regarding alcohol (and grapefruit, of all things).
However, I think the main reason I let it go is that my pledge has become a part of my identity. I've held it longer than I've known most of my friends. It's been with me since before I decided to become a teacher. In a sense, holding the pledge allows me to retain a part of my youth, and a part of a friendship that disappeared a long time ago. It's bigger than an arbitrary date; it's who I am.