Guys be Trippin'

By: Kelly

I have something to say to all the guys out there who create barriers and complications in their relationships because of mind-altering substances.

First of all, we don’t want to be buzz kills, party poopers, or kill joys. Usually when something bothers us, we keep it to ourselves for precisely this reason. We don’t want to seem like we are getting upset over something meaningless and we certainly don’t want to stop you from having fun.

However.

It’s not meaningless. When you are drunk, high, tripping, or rolling, you are not you. I don’t buy it when people say drinking alcohol or doing drugs brings out your true personality without the inhibitions you normally put up. Those inhibitions are your common sense and your ability to care about other people. Call me crazy, but I think those are important things to have. When you’re fucked up, you say and do things brashly without worrying about how its going to affect other people. You are somewhere else, on a different brain frequency, and you can’t intercept or send signals to someone on a normal frequency without them getting crossed or lost altogether.

There is no more lonely feeling in the world, quite frankly, than being with someone who is constantly on this other brain wave. By choosing to do get fucked up, you are ostracizing the other person from yourself, and you from them. You might say, “I’m really not that different! I’m just more laid back, more relaxed!” But the other person swallows a little harder every time you forget something yet again and every time you let a rude comment slip. “I forgot you were coming over. I’m so sorry.” Or, “Why would you say that, that’s just dumb.” The little things build up.

“You just don’t understand,” is another common excuse. “If you knew how it felt, you wouldn’t resent me for it.” Sorry, but this is not going to check out either. Trust me, I understand that reaching that other state of mind with someone can be one of the most intimate experiences you can ever have. It’s one of my best memories, in fact. But there is a difference between smoking with your boyfriend because it feels good and because you want to, and doing it because you feel like you have to in order to connect with him. No guy should ever put a girl in that position.

I was put in that position and I learned that it’s ostracize, or be ostracized. The second I know you’re drinking or smoking, I am not going to talk to you until you come back to reality. If I do otherwise, I’m just going to end up feeling disappointed and alone.

I’m not saying a guy can’t drink or smoke with his friends or his girlfriend. But if you live a different lifestyle than the one your significant other wants to live, there are going to be problems. She might go along with it for a while but eventually, you’re going to have to choose between your way of life and her. If not, she’ll choose for you. I guarantee it. And when she does, don’t you dare go to your friends and say, “She just wouldn’t let me have any fun!” Because it’s the farthest thing from the truth.

For All You Writers Out There...

By: Monica

Just a clever quote making a crucial point :)

“This sentence has five words. Here are five more words. Five-word sentences are fine. But several together become monotonous. Listen to what is happening. The writing is getting boring. The sound of it drones. It’s like a stuck record. The ear demands some variety. Now listen. I vary the sentence length, and I create music. Music. The writing sings. It has a pleasant rhythm, a lilt, a harmony. I use short sentences. And I use sentences of medium length. And sometimes, when I am certain the reader is rested, I will engage him with a sentence of considerable length, a sentence that burns with energy and builds with all the impetus of a crescendo, the roll of the drums, the crash of the cymbals–sounds that say listen to this, it is important.

So write with a combination of short, medium, and long sentences. Create a sound that pleases the reader’s ear. Don’t just write words. Write music.” — Gary Provost