Today is my 21st birthday. Yes, after years of longing, anticipation, dodging MIP’s and at least one confiscated fake ID, I am finally able to consume alcohol legally in the United States. And while I had all intentions of writing on relevant current events such as the war in Iraq, the war in Iraq and well, the war in Iraq, my mind seemed to meander itself back to the simple fact that I would be turning a new page in my book of life. Here’s a candid look at the perils and privileges of being a legal drinker.

So what can I really do now that I couldn’t do yesterday? I earn the opportunity to visit any bar of my choice, and purchase as many overpriced drinks as I can afford. I also am able to purchase a lottery ticket in Iowa, with the abundance of money I possess, where the odds of winning are 1,000,000 to 1.

It really seems to me turning 21 is anticlimactic, being as after this birthday there are no more cool things to celebrate, and a birthday will just be another year, instead of a countdown.

Of course, there are a few ongoing privileges of turning 21. I am just now realizing the responsibility I have to myself to be smart about alcohol and drinking, since it is now readily accessible to me. Chalk it up to the whole growing up and becoming mature thing.

Don’t laugh, but this insight came to me when I received a little card from GSB in the mail. Thinking it was hate mail regarding my last column, I almost disregarded it. The card was from B.R.A.D., a nonprofit organization founded by the family and friends of Brad McCue, a student from Michigan State who died of alcohol poisoning on his 21st birthday.

B.R.A.D. stands for Be Responsible About Drinking. I wonder if my family and friends would make a cute little acronym from my name (Alcoholics Should Have Less Everclear Yearly?) if I died from alcohol poisoning. Anyhow, B.R.A.D. sends out a friendly reminder disguised as a birthday card about responsible drinking on your 21st birthday, complete with a convenient wallet-sized alcohol-poisoning guide.

While most students would have had a good laugh and wrote it off as a failed GSB attempt to care about the well-being of its student body, I decided to dig a little deeper. I visited B.R.A.D.’s Web site, www.BRAD 21.org, and was surprised to find some sobering facts (pun intended) about alcohol.

* Ethyl alcohol, or beverage alcohol is made by fermenting and distilling fruits, vegetables and grains. I doubt this counts as your daily allowance on the food pyramid.

* Alcohol goes directly to the bloodstream, which is why it affects every system in the body.

* Excessive drinking decreases testosterone, leading to impotence. Sorry, guys.

* A daily glass of wine will add 10 pounds per year.

* Alcohol is a depressant, but also a solvent, local anesthetic and an irritant. Imagine a dentist asking if you want alcohol to numb your cavity.

* One third of homicides, suicides and drownings, and one half of car accidents are associated with alcohol misuse.

* Approximately 1,400 college students die every year from alcohol poisoning. This is 5.5 percent of the ISU student body, or enough students to fill Curtiss Auditorium three times over.

* Since women’s bodies contain more fat than the average male, and fat contains little water, women have less water to dilute the alcohol, so a higher concentration of alcohol remains in women’s bodies. So try as we might, it’s difficult for us girls to outdrink guys.

* Alcohol or drugs was a factor in 75 percent of reported rapes on college campuses in 2002, and poor judgment is a natural outcome when consuming alcohol. Now that’s scary.

Drinking can be fun, especially in a celebratory manner, but we also need to maintain a certain level of responsibility to ourselves and others. Irresponsible drinking can lead to serious consequences such as alcoholism and depression.

I am not saying that I won’t party like a rock star tonight, but I will remember the words inside my B.R.A.D. birthday card — “We want you to turn 22.” I have a responsibility to keep myself safe and alive, and I intend to do just that.

Turning 21 really is a huge milestone worthy of much celebration. But, with privilege comes responsibility, my mom always tells me, and she is rarely wrong. Happy birthday to me!