I've had these same thoughts before, but it's even more of a problem for me.
You see, the startup/Rails/whatever community I'm in is generally quite encouraging of drinking alcohol at social events. I feel quite excluded because I am:
- Under 21
- Not interested in drinking
I'll elaborate later as to why I am not interested in drinking, but I'll summarize it now as I am not interested in breaking the law or putting myself in the position to allow sin into my life.
Therefore, I find myself less and less interested in attending conferences in the future, even though I'm a huge fan of listening to smart people talk. If anyone else has a different point of view, I'd be glad to hear it. I don't want to condemn an entire category of events, but it's hard not to.