For The Girls Who Drink Vodka

There are wine drinkers, and there are whiskey drinkers. There are beer drinkers, rum drinkers, jungle juice drinkers, and everything in between. There’s something to be said about all drinks and the people who drink them. We choose drinks partially out of taste, but also as a silent categorizer. Our drinks can introduce us before we can open our mouths. (Don’t try to tell me that you haven’t made up your mind about the guys taking tequila shots in the corner. You know those guys without even talking to them – you know them from the lime wedges and the salt shakers.) 

This is for the girls who drink vodka — the girls who choose the clearest and harshest of liquids. The girls who are deceptively complex. The girls who appear transparent, but are deeper than you think. 

The girls who drink vodka don’t care about what you think of them. These girls are members of a pride; their fellow lionesses surround them and create a barrier that is impenetrable to any scrutiny. Cloaked in black and glitter, they toss their rainbow hair and raise their hands high in perfect synchrony with the music. They dance without vodka, and they dance harder with it. 

The girls who drink vodka are worker bees by day, partiers by night. But their definition of “party” doesn’t always mean what you think it does. They understand the appeal of a sweatpants party – they love to swim amid takeout boxes, top knots in place. They reserve their energy for the big nights that matter, and they appreciate the low-key ones too.

The girls who drink vodka understand that there’s a time and a place for everything. When they drink, sometimes they elect the most sugary strawberry flavor, and sometimes they deliberately choose a vodka without any mixers or chasers — just the hard flavor straight up. It’s impossible to appreciate the sweet without the bitter.

The girls who drink vodka are lovers, but they work hard to protect their hearts from breaking. They prefer to stick to witty banter, because it’s safer than conversations that broach too far over their walls. These girls can throw down the best pop culture references and will one-up you in 12-year-old humor every time. If you get close enough to see beneath the silver and gold exterior, you’re one of the lucky ones. 

The girls who drink vodka are marked by their histories. They breathe music and bright lights because it’s sometimes easier than remembering. For every secret, there is a song that makes sense. For every scar, there is a lyric that describes its origin. Vodka drinkers are a storybook in and of themselves, consistently turning the pages to move ahead.

The girls who drink vodka find solace in their resilience. They are willing to accept the harshest of realities, and they embrace both strengths and weaknesses because it makes them who they are. These girls are a mashup of the details that color their lives – they are comprised of their choices, their conversations, their relationships, their daily routines. They are a million things at once – consistently imperfect, yet always stronger than they appear.