Another Soul Lost To Peer Pressure

2003-04-14

1. Do not go to the village at midnight. Things that are freaky look even worse at night and with your mind spinning out of control.

2. Do not go to a store called �Freaks� and ask the clerk for something cute, such as a Hello Kitty shirt. You will be given a dirty look.

3. Do drink a lot of water.

4. Don�t have a contest on how long you can hold the water in your mouth.

5. Upon seeing a Rufus Wainwright CD, do not burst into your rendition of �Hallelujah� in a music store. You will be given a dirty look while being escorted out.

6. Do hold on to your friend for support when you feel your legs have turned into jello.

7. Momentary space out is natural. However don�t do it in the middle of the street.

8. Do prepare for a horrible headache the next day, like the one I�m having now.

Truth is that was the first time I used drugs. That wasn�t even a whole pill I took. Monica figured since I had no prior experience, she�d give me half and we�ll see what would happen. If I got that messed up on half a pill, I�m scared to imagine what would happen if I took the whole one. The feeling was the same as if I drank a lot of alcohol. Except without actually going through the process of drinking. I found myself touching my neck a lot, digging my nails into my skin just to get the feeling. By the end it was all red and swollen. My mouth kept hanging open while I stared into space a lot. Best thing about it though was how the village took on a new light. It was midnight yet there was so many people out on the streets, mostly NYU students. On St Marks, everybody was out just standing on the streets and with my mind going crazy, everything looked a light show with an audience. Though I�m probably the same age as most of them I felt like a little kid especially with my American Eagle pullover while they�re there with their �Fuck The Government� t-shirts. The train ride back to Brooklyn by myself was interesting. I found it amazing how I can stare at people and not really see them. Or that the rhythm of the train reminded me of a Jay-Z song. And while walking from the train station to my house I laughed at how my hand bounced of my hip like a lifeless piece of meat.

And to think that all those Partnership for Drug-Free America commercials didn�t work on me.