Tufts University has a serious cocaine problem. Ask any upperclassmen and they'll tell you about shady sessions in bathrooms, deals that went bad and the time they just couldn't stop grinding their teeth. Or they won't and they'll discuss sober nights at the movies and this year's Presidential election, but most of the time, anyone you ask will be aware of our school's new fastest-growing party drug.
I remember my first time seeing people doing lines. I remember thinking it was very strange and that I would never take part in it. It seemed like they had crossed the line between simply having fun and needing a drug to have fun, and at the time that felt wrong to me. But here I am, a few years and hundreds of lines later, talking about the thing that people whisper about at parties as more or less an expert on the subject.
Anyone who has tried it will tell you how fun it is because, well ... because it is a whole lot of fun. You know it's a nice feeling that's being brought on by a drug and you're also aware of how wrong and bad that is, but you know what, you don't care. It's another secret club to be a member of and it's another indication that you're young and out of control and rebellious. In short, it makes you feel alive. And you laugh at people who don't agree.
At this point, I don't know if I'm right or wrong in trying coke. I feel like I'm in control, but at the same time, I have ample evidence that I'm not. Is this normal of heads? Probably. There are many stories of people who had their lives ruined by cocaine and other similar drugs, but on the other hand, there are many stories about people who have lived their lives to the fullest in every way imaginable and have only gained because of not worrying about things like restraint, sensibility, or tomorrow. The hard part is figuring out which camp you belong in, or in other words, whether or not you're killing yourself.
When I look at my friends, I see highly intelligent, open minded people who have more fun at convenience stores than most people are capable of having at their bachelor parties. They're the people who draw on Plato to argue about "The Matrix," the people you see smiling and laughing at parties, the people you ask for advice on which classes and which professors are worth your time.
Yes, my friends, and myself included, are all of these things, but we're also not angels. We drink, we party, we do drugs, and most of all, we don't look for forgiveness because we don't feel that any of these things are wrong.
And we don't look down on those people who look down on us. I'm aware of the fact that some people will read this article and think that I am a bad person and that I should be avoided, but you know what, I'm not a bad person and I don't need to be be avoided. If anything, I'm a spectacular person and should be given alcohol and cigarettes on sight. I'd appreciate it.
Just because I'm willing to risk my health and freedom to do a drug doesn't say anything about whether or not I'm a good person. The only thing it shows is that I'm young, a little adventurous and a more than a little dumb.
That last part is important, though. I'm dumb because cocaine is not a good thing to get into. It's expensive, addictive, illegal and, in general, a bad idea. Plus, it changes people. I hate to admit it, but it's true. I myself used to be a little bit less intense and, even though I hate to use this word, a great deal less sketchy.
I don't regret anything I've done, however, because at the very least I've managed to qualify myself to write this article, and that's more than someone who has never tried cocaine can say.
To me, it's more important to try things out for yourself and not to rely on what other people tell you. I honestly think cocaine is a bad thing to get into, but as always, the choice is up to the individual.
The most important thing to remember though, the one thing that I would like people to take away from this article, is we shouldn't look down on people who make different decisions than we make. If someone is into cocaine and you're not, it does not mean that person is bad in any way. And likewise, it's not uncool to stay away from coke.
We're all just people trying to make it through one of the most difficult times in our lives, and it seems like cocaine is stupid thing to draw lines over.
