it's all understood

I’m taking some sociology course; Society and the Individual I think it’s called. Anyways, the instructor brought up an interesting question, asking why college students drink. I had no answer.

I started walking around last night. I go off in one direction and decide that I’ll never come back, but then the sidewalk ends and I have to start walking alongside a speedway and passing trucks hurt my ears so I turn around. That’s generally what I do when I get pissed. I figure it’s better than punching someone in the face, and I’ll have more friends in the long run. It’s working well. I’m not even sure why I was angry. A lot of little things perhaps, but I generally hold a lot in, so when it gets to be too much, I walk. Ten miles, in fact. I guess I was really pissed. Whenever this happens I think a lot and want to start writing. I bring a notebook with me to write, but I’m too pissed off to write, and by the time I’m done walking I’m much too tired to write anything down. It’s like a kid throwing a temper tantrum for an hour and then tiring himself out so much that he doesn’t even know what he was upset about.

One of the responses to the question, “Why do college students drink,” had to do with stereotypes. Everyone knows they exist and we apply them to people we meet. I don’t care what you say, you’ve stereotyped someone before. Blah blah blah. Whatever. When we were kids, or at least when I was a kid, I would always pretend I was a superhero. I role played myself as the stereotypical superhero. Now, being older, I no longer cast a superhero image to people I meet, but rather cast the image of a typical college student. Well tell me, what is the stereotypical college student? Could it be someone that parties a lot, drinks, and goes to class occasionally? Are the majority of college students drinking because they want to be stereotypical college students? Perhaps, but on an unconscious level because no one wants to admit that they need to belong. This is though, one of the greatest needs among individuals in society. The need to belong.

Well fuck. I think I’ll go back to being a superhero.