Welcome to SR, Undertow! When I was 20, I just wasn't bad enough for it to be apparent to me. At about 26, it started to. I'm 37 now, and have been trying on and off to get sober for about 5 years. I do wish I could have nipped it in the bud. One of the AA meetings I go to has high school kids that attend during school hours. I'm not sure how many take it seriously, and how many are just playing along to get out of class.