Growing up I was told many things — always do the right thing, be nice to girls, never do drugs. It’s honestly funny that I’m writing for the drug issue. I feel so out of my element here, mainly because I have never been one for drugs. Honestly, substances aren’t really my thing. I don’t drink. I don’t do drugs. I’m honestly a bit mixed on partying. Of course, that’s one of the main environments people do those substances in, so that might explain why. If you ask me, I honestly think there’s nothing wrong with someone who doesn’t want to partake in any of this stuff. But, ultimately, there’s also nothing wrong with doing things in moderation.
I know I know. I sound like a preacher, saying how we must stay away from the devil’s influence by not using these terrible creations. Listen, at the end of the day, just do what makes you happy, and certainly do whatever makes you feel the most comfortable. Some people enjoy using that stuff, and some people don’t. In my experience, I’ve met all kinds of people with different philosophies on drugs. Some use them regularly, and some don’t. I’m just not a fan personally, for many reasons.
Chief among them being my folks. It’s an interesting conversation to have with them. Growing up, what were your parents’ views on alcohol and drugs? My folks didn’t drink, so they always said “don’t do any of that stuff.” But I also know some people had folks who were the complete opposite. They drink on occasion, and they even were open about drug use. They didn’t do anything crazy. They would just talk about smoking weed here and there. That was always really intriguing to me, and quite frankly also an alien experience, since I couldn’t imagine having that conversation with my folks.
But that’s what’s great, every family is unique. I remember when I was younger though, my mindset was a lot different. When I was a young kid in high school, I was on one end of the extremes. I used to think that if you drank or did any drugs you were a bad person. Yeah, I was like 14. You wanna judge me, that’s fair, but I made a lot of judgments like that back then. I felt that way because I was so naive and young, and I didn’t really experience any of it.
I remember hearing about parties and crazy ragers people in my grade would go to, and hearing that people went there and would get hammered and do whatever drug they ended up doing. I remember being shocked at the whole ordeal. A lot of the people that would go to these parties would be the people taking all the AP and Honors classes — these people who had brains that were bigger than a Thanksgiving turkey. They knew what those substances did to you. I said to myself “that’s so stupid, why are all the smart people getting wasted?”
But it makes sense. I come from a very competitive school. These people would lock themselves in a room for hours on end just studying and writing so they could get good grades. On the weekends, if they weren’t doing that, they wanted to de-stress. Ninth-grade me couldn’t wrap my head around that, but sheesh I get it now. Again, it doesn’t make you a bad person, everything is fine in moderation. Would I want to do any of that stuff? No, it doesn’t interest me. People do drugs for all kinds of reasons. Whether it’s to help with anxiety, or to de-stress, or just to feel something, there’s no catch-all.
Now if you ask me, it isn’t exactly the healthiest thing to do drugs consistently and especially not healthy to be reliant on them, but that’s another argument. Who says moderation is out of style? If you’re gonna do that stuff, be safe. But if you aren’t, hey it’s all good. I’ve gotten a lot of strange looks when I’ve told people I don’t drink or smoke, especially the drinking part, but I don’t care. Do whatever makes you happy and whatever you feel comfortable with. Whether it’s living it up or staying sober, do what you want. Don’t let anyone’s judgmental opinions change that.
Nicolas Scagnelli is a senior majoring in English.
Views expressed in the opinions pages represent the opinions of the columnists. The only piece which represents the views of the Pipe Dream Editorial Board is the Staff Editorial.