The First Friday...

You can probably guess what that means around here. Having fun, in just aboute very sense of the word. Unfortunately, being stupid is also synonomous when it comes to most of the freshmen here. There's only really one aspect I dislike about the beginning of each year. I love meeting people, love moving in, love arranging the room, and all this. The only annoying thing is the way you have to basically start from square one when it comes to telling people about yourself. Barely anyone actually knows you, and even when it's people you knew before, that can sometimes cause problems.

Case in point, the infamous "alcohol" topic. It doesn't require a brain surgeon to figure out my opinion on the subject. However in this type of atmosphere, I tend to really be low key about it. Last night the guy in the single down the hall comes in and offers me a drink, and I say something along the lines of "no thanks, early class in the morning" or "I'm more of a weekend kind of guy." Not lying, telling the truth, but out of context. That's sort of the way it's been for the last few years, I never really feel the need to be vocal about my distaste for the beverage. And generally, people offer, I decline, and it goes from there. Then there's unfortunately the situations where that's not the end of it. There's prodding, pressuring, questioning, and eventually I have to be more terse about my opinions on the subject, to prevent that kind of embarrassment from happening again. Sadly, this isn't always a good thing. The most annoying aspect of it is actually when I'm with friends who are aware of my opinion, mixed with friends or acquaintances who are not. At times, the friends I've confided in on the subject feel the need to answer the question of whether or not I'll be drinking for me, and it generally comes off as condescending or ridiculing. This is why I tend to try to avoid such situations by not being so vocal about it. Just because I have a certain opinion, doesn't mean I'm going to force it down everyone else's throat. But when a friend of mine makes a big deal out of it, that's basically what it comes off as. People see me in a negative light, because I'm "raining on their parade" so to speak, even though I didn't personally say anything.

It really doesn't matter how often you tell your friends that your reasons are personal and that you'd rather they keep them to themselves, they'll still leap at the chance to answer the question before you do, pleased that they already know the answer. For some reason they're generally clueless as to the discomfort they cause. I consider myself a grown adult, perfectly capable of handling the usual alcohol related situations on my own terms. It really ticks me off when the scale gets tilted further against me by friends of mine who think they're being helpful and clever, when really they're just making me wish they hadn't been told, either.

Eventually word gets around. Luckily it's generally not when I'm present. Kind of like me and the typical explosion that happens the first time someone brings a lit cigarette into my room, and gets ousted in the most rude manner possible. Word travels, people get the idea, life is more relaxed the rest of the year.

I'm just whining, I'll deal with this type of stuff every time I move in the future, it's just one of the negative aspects I'd rather do without.