Growing up, children were influenced to believe high school would be the greatest years of their lives — throwing parties and declaring independence.

Sure parties seem harmless, but some teens take it the wrong way by using it as a gathering to drink alcohol, either because they were pressured to by peers, or they’re using it to proclaim they’re mature and independent.

For some reason, people view drinking as a sign of maturity and responsibility, even though it can cause many issues, especially in young people.

A study from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism shows drinking leads to death by vehicle crashes, overdoses, falls, burns, drowning and suicide for people under the age of 21.

Drinking alcohol at such a young age can interfere with brain development by affecting its structure and function. Due to the decrease in brain growth, it will affect performance in school and ruin a student’s chance to get into a dream college or achieve goals after high school.

This can lead to depression or more physical assault toward loved ones or others, thus causing issues with relationships, friendships and relatives.

If a teen wants to establish independence, drinking is not the way. A teen can take up a job to show they can manage their time and earn pay. There’s also connecting with healthy communities either with clubs at school or faith-based organizations.

If a teen is being peer pressured by those they’re close with, they need to establish boundaries with their friends. If they won’t respect these barriers, end the friendship and find people who will. Create healthy, positive and a calming environments with people who won’t pressure harmful activities.

In the end, high school is not a time for students to be wasting away drinking and partying — it’s a time to learn to survive in the world, to form your opinions, to establish healthy relationships and find out who you want to be.