Why Not Drink Before I'm 21?

Any good reasons? Try these on for size:

It can make you less mature. You are striving to become more mature, more adult in your behavior. Alcohol shifts you into reverse. When you put your brain to sleep with alcohol, you are less apt to try to cope, and less able to cope.
It can damage your hypothalamus. My what? It's part of your brain that controls your "autonomic nervous system." It regulated heartbeat, breathing, and other bodily functions. If you drink before that part of your brain is mature, you may permanently damage it. If this happens, you will never reach your full potential. And it may make it easier for you to become addicted to alcohol.
It can take away your natural inhibitions. As a teenager, you naturally have developed less control over your behavior than mature adults. Alcohol removes more of your control, so you do silly things that you may be sorry about later--like saying the wrong thing to your date, like passing on a hill or curve, like taking more alcohol or other drugs.
It is illegal. In Illinois (and many other states), it is illegal for a person under 21 to buy, possess, or drink alcoholic beverages. When you drink a beer, you make yourself a criminal--whether you get caught or not.
You could become an alcoholic. The younger a person is when she/he starts drinking, the quicker and easier she/he becomes an alcoholic.
You have influence on your peers. By not drinking (or using other drugs), you can be a good role model for your peers and for young children. Think about it.