How can I discreetly not drink around people who are drinking?

============================================


Question from Jessy:

How can I discreetly not drink around people who are drinking?

Yeah, It's not that I care what people think, it's just that it gets annoying
because people treat you differently when you don't drink and they're always
trying to get you to have a drink!!

I really don't like to drink alcohol as it really doesn't seem to agree with my
body and rather than giving me a buzz, it tends to make me feel like crap.
I do, however, enjoy social situations that are based around drinking, such as
going to clubs, bars and parties. I have no problem being sober around drunk
people etc., I still enjoy myself fine and have fun, but people can tend to get
on my case about not drinking. It's not like I want to pretend I'm drinking so
people will think I'm "cool", but I don't want to put a downer on things always
saying, "Oh, I don't drink." I don't like to drink soft drinks either, so I
can't really just pretend a coke is a rum and coke. I also want to know what
to do if I guy sends me a drink, and I am interested, I just don't want the
drink! And what about when everyone at the table is doing shots? I don't want
to look like the boring teetotaler, because I'm not like that, I just don't drink!

If anyone has any suggestions on how I can deal with this, that would be great!

ANSWER from CigarPlayer:

Piece of cake girl. Check this out:

1. Clubs: Just ask for virgin versions of famous drinks.

Virgin Bloody Mary is tomato juice (V8) without the Vodka
Virgin Strawberry Daiquiri is without rum.
Virgin Rum & Coke is Root beer
Virgin Shot is Root beer or Jello cube
Or try Non-alcoholic beverage website like this one for more choices: http://bit.ly/6GQzjU

2. House Parties: Just drink kool-aid ice cubes or Jell-O cubes.
That's because you don't drink soda. Also, bring your own drink
mixes for non-alcoholic drinks (see website link). This way
your friends don't have to fuss and you have fun mixing them.

3. Friends: At the end of the day they should respect your wishes and just have fun.
In high school I did not drink and just substituted Root Beer a lot.

Have fun. Peace.

- CigarPlayer