One of the more interesting parts of this section of reading
for me was about health and the dichotomy between being in the best health of
your life versus putting your body through the hardest (and arguably unnecessary?)
health trials.
The notion that in early adulthood you are at the peak of
health and strength, yet this seems to be a period when drinking and smoking seem
to be of such importance – is this related to the footloose and fancy free
socializing lifestyle that happens because of a new freedom from parental
rules? The remnants of the
teenagers sense of immortality is still in evidence at this point.
Coming out of teenagerhood and likely out of the parental
home for the first time, it seems unlikely that a young adult has a
particularly healthy diet.
Learning to cook for yourself is a lot of work (that might not seem like
a priority when you are starting university and making new friends and have a
new sense of freedom without parents monitoring most of your movements…)
Furthermore, I was interested that sensory and visual acuity
are at their peak – does this contribute to the appeal of drinking and smoking
and possibly doing drugs? Does it
make it more effective to alter your perception at this stage of life?
I admit I was never a heavy drinker and I never smoked
(something about watching my mom die of lung cancer…) so I imagine I am a
little naïve about the appeal of both.
But in thinking about it, I imagine it did affect my sociability – I didn’t
have much interest in partying.
Hanging out with a bunch of drunk people is not that thrilling when you
are sober. And in turn because I
didn’t drink or do drugs etc I was not someone who was invited out to many
parties…
Anyway interesting readings about this… Looking forward to hearing some
comments on Angel about it all!
Ingenuity, art and creation has often been affiliated with those who suffer the most--Pioneers of romance and independence have often been fragile, damaged creatures. Some of the greatest musicians die young from drugs, or suicide.
ReplyDeleteSubstance abuse is the fight against the status-quo. To revolutionize behavior and attitude toward existence. It's odd, but studies have been done showing that women that have earned degrees are far more likely to have alcohol issues, or drink heavily compared to their uneducated counterparts. (Obviously not the case for everyone, as yourself.) But it's interesting how that statistic plays out.
Complacency is a sign of the unintelligent. The truly educated, I believe, see the world for what it is in a larger picture and drive themselves against the grain; And sometimes it isn't such a pretty picture. I think the lure to substance abuse is that it is a sign of heightened awareness that is often emulated without regard to actual intelligence. That people are attracted to the lone souls that occupy the damaged and beautiful planet, killing their bodies like martyrs of their generations, and drive themselves to fit the image.
Elitism of thought drives us further toward the lure of super intelligence, and the collapse of inhibition; all driven by the idea that your pursuits and identity are misunderstood by the masses. The famous egocentric hipster would say, “You don't know me”.
Substance abuse is a celebration of self, and friendship. It's escapism toward a world without failure or mishap--A working man's paradise. A truly social vice, of which every member shares the same disdain for the same cookie cutter cultural expectations.
I believe many drink because they believe the world has not enough to offer to nourish their talents and abilities. (For instance, a play-writer who lives in a small town that doesn't appreciate plays--or have a strong program for an outlet--may cause him to drink. “If I can't do what I want to do, I'm going to do it drunk”, so to speak.) It's the disconnect.
My own personal excuse for drinking and smoking is I did it going up and it just kind of stuck around. I don't continue with it today, but I did well into my 20's. And yes, I did it because I was lost, and felt misunderstood, but more so because I wanted life so badly, and just didn't really know where to find it.