Instead of giving you the history and definition of straight-edge like you see on most straight-edge pages, I thought I'd give an explanation of why I choose to be drug-free as well as why I choose to label myself straight-edge. If you don't know what straight-edge is, e-mail me or read the definition as defined on straight-edge.com.
I've always believed that there is something wrong with drug and alcohol abuse. In middle school and high school, when my friends were experimenting with drugs and alcohol, I always had a feeling inside that there was something about it that just wasn't right. As I put more and more thought into it, I realized that getting high or drunk would be disrespectful to myself in a couple ways. First, such behavior would be obviously destructive to the body, and I had no reason to engage in self-destructive behavior, I was a pretty happy kid! Second, I figured that people got high or drunk to fill a void in their lives. They did those things as a way to have fun or as a way to escape reality. I thought that drinking, or smoking up, or whatever, would've been like telling myself "Hey, your life's not good enough. You need to put some chemicals in your body to make yourself a whole person." I respected myself too much to ever sell myself out like that.
Well, that was sometime during
my freshman year of high school that I made that realization, and
I still believe what I believed then. However, I have not called
myself straight-edge for all this time. In fact, I did not claim
straight-edge until my sophomore year of college. The reasons I
claimed straight-edge are a bit more complicated than the reasons
I chose to abstain from drug use in the first place. I used to be
a little reserved about labelling myself, and for a while, I
thought it would've been pointless to label myself straight-edge.
But as I looked around at the society that surrounded me, I saw
so much that was wrong, so much injustice and inequality. I
wanted to make a change and I understood that I had to educate
others to bring about change. I knew that there was no better way
to teach others than by example, so I decided to take a stand
against those things that contribute so much to the sickness of
our society. My first action was claiming straight-edge. I wanted
a solid ideal to cling to that would let people know that I
didn't approve of putting my mind to sleep, because there was too
much to live for and too much to be done to spend one minute in a
chemical haze. I wanted to be a positive example for others and
show people what it means to have a sense of self-worth. Drugs
and alcohol have destroyed too many lives, and I don't ever want
to have anything to do with something so destructive. In
retrospect, I think it was one of the best decisions of my life,
a decision I'll never turn back on because I know it has helped
me and will continue to help me to positively influence the lives
of others.
As a sidenote, I would like to make it clear that I don't pass judgement on people who do drink or use drugs. I don't think it's a good idea to do those things, but it is not my place to pass judgement or look down upon someone if they choose to get high or drunk. Straight-edge is simply a personal decision and I do not try to use it as a moral high ground. As for those straight-edge kids who sell out...well, read my thoughts on that here.