Your thoughts and life experiences with alcohol... positive, negative?

I have been considering the course and events of my life as of late, and to tell you the truth I feel as though these events would have been very, very different if I had not had a drop of alcohol in my life.

Some background: I did not start drinking until I was 18.5yrs and I drank adequately while I attended college, which is something I was indoctrinated in to through my sports team and other organizations. Had I chosen to not drink at all, some of these life events would have been seriously lacking or missing entirely, while other negative outcomes and repercussions of consuming alcohol would have been avoided. For example, I would not have gotten into relationship-ending fights with my then-girlfriend while sober, but at the same time I would not have met her (which was at a bar and the alcohol I’m sure certainly aided our coming together), something I do not regret at all.

So my question is: What are your experiences with alcohol? and Do you think it is better to be a non-drinker or an imbiber in our society?

I understand that it is different for everyone depending on what they want and what their goals in life are, but as I am not sure “what I want from life,” I am curious to hear your opinions.