I'm a 7-9th grade woodshop/welding teacher and I get pretty tipsy every night.

Let me first say that if you were to think of the worst version of yourself it would probably be when you were between 13-15... Am I wrong!? Your kids come to school WANTING to pick a fight with their teachers. Well, in a shop situation I have to have a zero tolerance policy for their bullshit, if any of them push or shove their classmates, or pull some random shenanigans, someone could lose a finger and I am not about to have that!

The amount of stress caused by those little teens is almost unbearable, I would love to say that everyone is well behaved and all the kids understand the repercussions of carelessness around heavy machinary but that would be a lie. There are only a handful though. I have another, larger group of kids, who say that it's their favorite class and find any excuse to come and work on their projects for extra credit. However, the other small handful of kids who are set on getting the attention of their peers in a negative way make it dangerous for everyone. So I have no choice other than to kick them out of the class. I wish there was another way. I want every kid to take my class and have a good time, but in the end, I will not risk the safety of the class in the name of a few students who can't control themselves.

So with that understanding, the toll I takes on me is pretty hefty. I would never compromise the safety of my shop by showing up drunk or even slightly hungover. But, if I can chose how I unwind every night, it's gonna be a tipsy time playing competitive video games, swearing, and bitching out the competition. I need a hard core outlet that matches the severity of my craft. Let me tell you, your kids are at the same level of severity as drunken video games, at the very least! I've been known to compete in local E-Sports and this gives me a level of validation I can't otherwise experience.

So call me irresponsible, but I have been doing this for years and have yet to report an incident in my shop classes. Kids and teachers say hi to me in the halls and I have a few kids who stay after school to hang out and work on their projects. I love my job and I enjoy my lifestyle. So should I feel guilty or am I doing a bad job?