First Semester of Freshmen College

[Omega]

Here is my gut-wrenching disgusting description of first semester: The majority of once peaceful night was filled with complete and utter silence. Only the majestic nightingale’s delightful serenades echoed through the still, quiet night. That is until the unholy sounds of a thousand hymens being violently torn and brutally shattered filled the noiseless night. That and the blood-curling, agony-laden screams. Yes. Especially the blood-curling, agony-laden screams. Then the nocturnal predators---flamboyant, Snookie-esque, type-A personality frat boy ---returns to their dark den of doom and despair to sleep off their collective hangovers.


Pretty accurate description of what I'll be seeing?

[Loki]

It depends on your roommate/flatmates/neighbors. The number of the types of people you mentioned is grossly overstated (and most live in frat houses).

[Omega]

Drinking age is 19 in Canada. Alcohol isn't terribly difficult to find since the police is rather lax and the judges rather lenient.

[Loki]

85% of American high school seniors drink.

[agamemnus]

Freshman.

[Catgrrl]

Unless you're a Peeping Tom, you won't be "seeing" any of that

[Omega]

Only 85% willingly admitted they drank. I can guarantee it's at least 90%. What about the noises? Will I be hearing it?

[Dreadnaught]

So wait, is this what you saw or what you expect to see?

My first year had a bit of that, but it wasn't overbearing as long as I didn't try too hard to "go with the flow". Because everyone can tell when you're trying too hard.

[Omega]

Well this is obviously a hyperbole, an extreme exaggeration. I keep a writing diary and this came out frightfully more eloquent than I expected (I expected it to be utterly disgusting) and I find it humorous. So I decided to bless your existenceshare it. But as far as hooking up goes, I'm not into it. Hell, I haven't even drank a single ounce of alcohol in my eighteen years. The bacteria-annihilating alcohol I used on any wounds and scrapes obviously doesn't count.

[Dreadnaught]

So you're an acetic?

[Omega]

Isn't acetic some kind of caustic compound? You're going to have to explain what you meant; I don't quite understand what you mean.

EDIT: even after looking up the definition, I still can't decipher what you stated.

pertaining to, derived from, or producing vinegar or acetic acid.

Dictionary.com

[littlelolligagged]

He meant ascetic. I'm sure you knew that and were just making fun of Dready, though.

[LittleFuzzy]

Here is my gut-wrenching disgusting description of first semester: The majority of once peaceful night was filled with complete and utter silence. Only the majestic nightingale’s delightful serenades echoed through the still, quiet night. That is until the unholy sounds of a thousand hymens being violently torn and brutally shattered filled the noiseless night. That and the blood-curling, agony-laden screams. Yes. Especially the blood-curling, agony-laden screams. Then the nocturnal predators---flamboyant, Snookie-esque, type-A personality frat boy ---returns to their dark den of doom and despair to sleep off their collective hangovers.


Pretty accurate description of what I'll be seeing?

Someone's a romantic. Or at least a drama queen.

[Omega]

Not really. I've never even heard of that word before. My question was a genuine inquiry rather than a condescending mockery. but hey, I learned a new word.

Dread, i don't drink because it makes people dostupid stuff.

Fuzzy: or I'm just very bored/have too much free time on my hands.

[NGS]

Dread, i don't drink because it makes people dostupid stuff.

But you don't know it will make you do stupid things. In fact, until you actually know how you behave under the influence you can't make a definitive statement like that. I know, I know, you could say the same thing about cocaine, but alcohol is slightly less dangerous.

Hey man, I'm in the same boat as you, incoming freshman, and I gotta say you're going into this with a less than optimal attitude. If you keep fantasizing about all this horrible shit your mind will be too clouded to enjoy all of the good times you're forgetting.

[LittleFuzzy]

But you don't know it will make you do stupid things. In fact, until you actually know how you behave under the influence you can't make a definitive statement like that. I know, I know, you could say the same thing about cocaine, but alcohol is slightly less dangerous.

Alcohol is literally a poison. There is absolutely no positive biological facet to its use. Anything you can do with alcohol, you can also do without it, with a less artificially-dulled mind and an unabused liver.

[GGT]

Use ear plugs or head phones while in your dorm. Or get out of your dorm more often. You might still have imagery of broken hymens, though.

[CitizenCain]

Use ear plugs or head phones while in your dorm.

A set of really loud speakers and some noisy gay porn work better, at least in my experience. If you ignore it, they won't stop doing it. On the other hand, if you crank up the gay porn to 100 dB every time someone's blasting their crappy rap collection, well, you end up hearing a lit less crappy music through your walls. Although, come to think of it, I didn't make any friends in my dorm building, and the RA was always hassling me over something... might be related.

But yeah, definitely get some headphones and something to listen to through them. Otherwise you'll end up hearing some crap you don't want to, either way you approach the problem.

You might still have imagery of broken hymens, though.

Yah, I remember being worried about hooking up with a virgin at Waterloo when I visited there. Turns out I should have been more worried about getting trampled by a herd of unicorns.

[GGT]

Yah, I remember being worried about hooking up with a virgin at Waterloo when I visited there. Turns out I should have been more worried about getting trampled by a herd of unicorns.

What a guy.

[coinich]

Never a problem in my dorms. Probably because most of the girls are as buff as the guys...

[Catgrrl]

Plus, depending on your university, you'll probably be living in freshman dorms the first year, and I think they have all sorts of rules. I know at UVA the guys were on one floor, girls on another. Not that it stopped much from happening but not as wild as the frat row or off campus apartments would be.

(I didn't live on campus; my university is only a 15 minute drive from my parents' so I commuted. But I did spend quite a few nights there when hubby was living in the on-campus apartments. I think we had more sex there than his frat roomie; he would do his evil deeds elsewhere.)

[GGT]

Oooh, Cat was a UVA Townie!?

[Catgrrl]

No, my sis and bro are both UVA alumni. I'm not quite as savvy as those two My school is a bit less popular.

[Dreadnaught]

Except for the studies suggesting moderate alcohol can be good. More importantly, it can be fun and make things fun. Which leads to long-term happiness. There's a value to that, both social, mental and physical.

[LittleFuzzy]

Except for the studies suggesting moderate alcohol can be good. More importantly, it can be fun and make things fun. Which leads to long-term happiness. There's a value to that, both social, mental and physical.

Yes, some varieties of alcohol have things like antioxidants which are good for the heart *along with a host of other, less toxic consumable items* in small doses. Are you going to suggest drinking in college provides health benefits? Perhaps we should compare rates of heart disease between drinking and non-drinking college students. And while we're at it we'll also compare toxicity-related deaths in the same populations.

For the psychological benefits, if alcohol is what makes something fun, I would suggest that it is not actually fun and people are enduring its boring or painful nature through the ingestion of a substance enhancing the release of dopamine and serotonin. Wouldn't it make more sense to do something that actually is enjoyable?

[CitizenCain]

Yes, some varieties of alcohol have things like antioxidants which are good for the heart *along with a host of other, less toxic consumable items* in small doses. Are you going to suggest drinking in college provides health benefits? Perhaps we should compare rates of heart disease between drinking and non-drinking college students. And while we're at it we'll also compare toxicity-related deaths in the same populations.

If you want to dissuade young folks from using alcohol, don't warn them about death or illness. Teens, as a group, are generally invulnerable and immortal, so scare them off with things that could actually happen. Like whiskey dick, or a face covered with permanent-pen penises or waking up to find all your clothes hanging from the tree in the front yard/common area... and that's just for starters, for drunken shenanigans so common as to be universally applicable.

For the psychological benefits, if alcohol is what makes something fun, I would suggest that it is not actually fun and people are enduring its boring or painful nature through the ingestion of a substance enhancing the release of dopamine and serotonin. Wouldn't it make more sense to do something that actually is enjoyable?

There's a lot more to it than that. First of all, like Minxy points out, alcohol does a lot more than just release endorphins. It puts you in a better position to enjoy social activities. Secondly, recent animal studies on "lesser" mammals (deer and other common herbivores) suggest that seeking out altered states of consciousness is ubiquitous among us mammals (if not animals in general), so, as a matter of fact, being drunk is its own reward. Engaging in enjoyable activities while drunk is just a bonus. Thirdly, there's a reason people tend to combine pleasure-causing activities (drinking and smoking, drinking and sex, sex and smoking, sex and eating, eating and smoking, ... ). The effects may be [or at least feel] cumulative, and it's a good way to turn a couple of mundane activities into a marginally pleasurable time.

And, just because I can't let such a good opportunity pass... if you're going to rag on alcohol for being a toxic way to have a good time, you need to be fair and make the same criticism of women. Alcohol may kill you slowly and make you stupid, but women also expect half your stuff when you're done with them.

[Enoch the Red]

And, just because I can't let such a good opportunity pass... if you're going to rag on alcohol for being a toxic way to have a good time, you need to be fair and make the same criticism of women. Alcohol may kill you slowly and make you stupid, but women also expect half your stuff when you're done with them.

I don't think that's a problem for Fuzzy.

[LittleFuzzy]

If you want to dissuade young folks from using alcohol, don't warn them about death or illness. Teens, as a group, are generally invulnerable and immortal, so scare them off with things that could actually happen. Like whiskey dick, or a face covered with permanent-pen penises or waking up to find all your clothes hanging from the tree in the front yard/common area... and that's just for starters, for drunken shenanigans so common as to be universally applicable.

[i[Nothing[/i] is going to scare them off. Because they do think they're immortal, invulnerable, and everyone else can't have a clue. I don't care about dissuading them. But pointing out how stupid something is? Well that's an activity that I find enjoyable.

There's a lot more to it than that. First of all, like Minxy points out, alcohol does a lot more than just release endorphins. It puts you in a better position to enjoy social activities.

Isn't that an effect of the released endorphins though? So something that can be replicated by doing something which is constructive rather than destructive?

Secondly, recent animal studies on "lesser" mammals (deer and other common herbivores) suggest that seeking out altered states of consciousness is ubiquitous among us mammals (if not animals in general), so, as a matter of fact, being drunk is its own reward.

That conclusion is several jumps ahead of the presumed data. I could just as easily say that it's evidence that mammals are in fact dumber forms of life.

And, just because I can't let such a good opportunity pass... if you're going to rag on alcohol for being a toxic way to have a good time, you need to be fair and make the same criticism of women. Alcohol may kill you slowly and make you stupid, but women also expect half your stuff when you're done with them.

Kane, remember who you're replying to.

[CitizenCain]

Nothing is going to scare them off. Because they do think they're immortal, invulnerable, and everyone else can't have a clue.

You sure about that? Or is it possible that factors like social embarrassment or "peer acceptance" might succeed where the [relatively low] risk of physical harm fails?

I knew a chubby chick once who'd rather use Phen Phen or cocaine to lose weight than some legal, OTC aids, because "blow and Phen Phen don't cause 'anal leakage.'" Seriously. (Personally, I think either a leaky anus or an exploding heart are worse than carrying the freshman 15 around, but I'm weird like that.) Having your heart explode is preferable to social embarrassment, for a whole lot of teens, so I'm not sure it's a matter of nothing working, so much as it's a matter of physical injury just being a factor that the teen mind manages to dismiss out of hand.

Isn't that an effect of the released endorphins though? So something that can be replicated by doing something which is constructive rather than destructive?

No, I think it's something about alcohol. Nicotine releases similar levels of the same endorphins, but doesn't grant the same relaxed confidence or desire to socialize that come from drinking. Opiates and [most] "painkillers" also release a whole host of endorphins, but don't make you confident or want to socialize. Probably more examples too, just none I've experienced that jump to mind at the moment.

That conclusion is several jumps ahead of the presumed data. I could just as easily say that it's evidence that mammals are in fact dumber forms of life.

Another acceptable, and possibly correct, interpretation of the data.

But one that will probably fall apart once "animal studies" routinely move beyond the fuzzy, cute, mammalian forms of life we tend to focus on. I have every confidence that science will eventually discover that humans, deer and lizards are equally dumb, at least in the case of the average members of each species.

Kane, remember who you're replying to.

Fine, relationships in general. I suspect slutty guys can be much more toxic than a bottle of Jack, but have no experiences in that arena to draw on. Though, come to think of it, I was once told that a glass of cyanide was preferable to my company, and that supports my theory, right?

[GGT]

There's a lot more to it than that. First of all, like Minxy points out, alcohol does a lot more than just release endorphins. It puts you in a better position to enjoy social activities. Secondly, recent animal studies on "lesser" mammals (deer and other common herbivores) suggest that seeking out altered states of consciousness is ubiquitous among us mammals (if not animals in general), so, as a matter of fact, being drunk is its own reward.

Catnip!

And, just because I can't let such a good opportunity pass... if you're going to rag on alcohol for being a toxic way to have a good time, you need to be fair and make the same criticism of women. Alcohol may kill you slowly and make you stupid, but women also expect half your stuff when you're done with them.

Your solution (again) is to go with guys. No pregnancy, no female drama, and you like guys with guns. Problem solved!