Addicted to Life.

So the other day I was in the car with a friend, stuck at a traffic signal, and we saw this group of three weird-looking guys - about 21 or so - wearing these God-awful hoodies (olive green, among other colors) that had random phrases like YOLO and "Sup Bitchezzzzz" written all over them. And that got me thinking. And this was BEFORE we noticed two of them smoking. The scene looked suspiciously similar to the one from the movie American Gangster. Naturally, that got me thinking. Why in the name of the great Heavenly Father would someone willingly do that kind of crap?

I mean, how can this POSSIBLY hurt?

We live our lives as addicts. Whether we're addicted to waffles, or drugs, or sausages, or alcohol, or chips, or cigarettes, we all try to find something that makes us happy. My issue with drugs and smoking aside, the driving question behind this article is HOW exactly we end up addicted. I mean, no one just randomly picks up a bucket of paint-thinner and tries to sniff it.

This article goes out to one of my best friends - Shashank - who I recently had this fascinating conversation with about drug abuse. He's always hated it, which is why I felt only too justified in dedicating this one to him. :)

The fact that both of us look completely stoned here is entirely irrelevant.

So we were talking about this the other day, when suddenly the answer dawned. 

And with it, disillusionment melted away like snow before the summer sun.

IT IS US.

WE cause our own addiction. Us and our desire to be "cool." Its weird really. The minute a movie showing some ridiculous kind of drug abuse releases, we start hearing about similar cases of abuse in the newspapers. Take Down in the Valley, Dream with the Fishes, or even Eyes Wide Shut.

Its human nature, actually. Because we think actors are cool, we tend to emulate whatever they do. Don't believe me? Britney Spears started the whole "pants six inches below the waist" craze. Most stars are have admitted to being addicted to some form of drugs or other - Lindsay Lohan, Daniel Radcliffe, Demi Lovato, Robert Pattinson, Justin Beiber; tell you what. Find me ONE actor/star who ISN'T addicted to either drugs or alcohol, and I'll dedicate my next article to you.*

*Conditions apply.

And its not just drugs. We see forms of celebrity influence everywhere. I mean, the "duck" pout didn't just magically appear out of thin air. Nor did the aforementioned "pants six inches below the waist" phase, or the mirror self-shots. Humans tend to blindly imitate what we see other people doing, without regard for whether its actually beneficial or not.

Truer words have never been spoken.

You know, sometimes I tend to wonder why or how we began to consider ourselves at the top of the evolutionary ladder. I mean, we still copy what we see so called "lower life forms" do. Because - and I'm sure you'll agree - the act of chewing on weird-looking spotted mushrooms can only have been initially observed in a lower primate.

                          

Either that or a Super Mario game.

So anyways. A standard part of any addiction debate is the question part. The part where we ask: "But what can we do about it? How do we make sure we don't get addicted to anything?"

The answer is quite simple, really. Just ask yourself three questions:

1. Do I fully understand what this person is doing? Do I have any doubts that I want to be [sniffing the liquid normal people use to dissolve paint/putting leaves in my mouth, setting them on fire and breathing in the fumes/whatever else]?

2. Is doing this going to harm me in any way?

3. Would this help make me a better person/the world a better place/spread some happiness around?

4. Is doing this going to embarrass me later?

If the answers to any two of these questions is yes, then DON'T DO IT.

"Go on. Its completely safe." Said no one, ever.

Remember, we've been given brains. Its about time we used them.

See you in a week!