Happy (belated) edge day...

everyone!

(photo by jade elliott photography)

now would be a better time than ever to talk about why i claimed the X, why i still maintain that, why i think it's been a good life choice for me (and many other people...) and maybe why it's relevant to have such a day.

I'm pretty sure that everyone at their life has struggled with the choice to consume drugs or alchohol, for many it's a rite of passage, a way for teens and young adults to be initiated, if you will, into adulthood, and into a world of decisions and consequences. It took me a long time to accept that not everyone will have the same views on drug use that I do, and that my philosophy of taking care of your body and experiencing things in a pure, visceral way without a moderation is exactly the reason why some people use drugs. Similarly, i believed that we only have one life, and to use a cliche edge reference here, we only have one chance to make our lives as good and healthy as we could. Once again that argument could be the exact reasons many people use drugs - the live, fast, die young mentality (hello M.I.A.) is appropriate in this situation.

personally, i have never seen the appeal of drugs. since i was a young child, i had a view of drugs as dirty, unsanitary, and the kind of thing for people without focus and interested in cheap thrills. my views have changed somewhat since then, though i sympathise with that viewpoint. mostly, i think that a lot of drug use is selfish. you may be experiencing something surreal or momentarily escaping from your reality, but no drug is completely free of consequences. most of the time people will use them because it fits with their idea of their self, as much as their opinions or the kind of clothes they wear, and is so tied into their identity that it's almost like a personality facet.

in my opinion, it is impossible to use something mind-altering and it not have a negative affect on someone else. be that indirectly, through glamourising it and normalising it, or directly, by offering it to someone or pressuring them to do it in order to make yourself feel better and less alone in your decision.

all of this sounds very juvenile and like i'm some sort of motivation speaker - and i've overrused the word drugs a million times - but it's just my train of thought.

the idea of growing up and going to the pub for a drink just seemed like a very stagnant idea for me. i didn't want to be like everyone else in the world who has to make yourself numb for a few hours just to deal with life. there are other ways to make yourself feel better, creativity is one of them, and i'd rather do something that has a positive outcome instead of inevitable making yourself feel worse.

in reality, drug use is inescpable. and to shut yourself off from that is to shut yourself off from the whole world. i'm aware of this. as a result, i have many friends that drink, obviously, and some that use drugs. i live in adelaide which is hardly the drug capital of the world and heroin junkies are rare so i never am exposed to that sort of environment. i'm glad of that.

for me and for other straight edgers the lifestyle is an inclusive way of saying "yes, there are other people who aren't just passive abstainers. they identify with no part of drug culture and want to spread positive attitudes about drug free living." for this reason maybe edge day is necessary. straight edge kids are such a small community (despite ignorant people claiming that it's super trendy - it's not. drug use has always been the trendy thing.) that a reminder that they aren't alone does not hurt. while there have been offsets of straight edge that have been violent, and like all movements, there will always be a few who give it a bad name by way of their obnoxiousness, it ultimately sends the right message.

i'm almost 21, and it'll be almost 7 years since i decided to take the plunge and adapt myself into the straight edge lifestyle. so many people i know had done the same thing around the same age (i was 14 for those not good at math) and broke soon after, or considered it much like a trend. i however did not make those same decisions - which is surprising because for many reasons i fit outside the straight edge stereotype, which could be seen as a hardcore tough guy with many tattoos, over-confidence and perhaps a few too many cartons of protein powder stowed away in their room.

nonetheless, while i may not fit with a lot of other straight edge people, i identify strongly with the ethics and message behind it. finding your own meaning and purpose within everything is something i've had to fight for, and i feel both comfortable and glad in my decisions.

-jxr