A couple times a year I get into a conversation with someone who loves weed. Inevitably, the conversation sways towards me and my intake of the substance, where I regretfully inform said weed lover that I , in fact, do not partake. This is typically met with a face of disbelief and a noticeable physical retraction from the other person. What follows is not unlike a senate hearing where I am asked a rapid fire bunch of questions , where the weed enthusiast tires to either disprove that I actually do not enjoy smoking weed or find out why. The “It’s not for me” response is never enough for them. So, i go on to tell them about how I used to smoke weed regularly in my 20’s. I had a window where I loved it. I would smoke, freestyle with my friends, eat a shit ton of terrible food and then watch tv or listen to music. In it’s essence, that’s what weed was good for with me. Those specific things. Everything else? Not so much. I never enjoyed it socially and it never made me feel smarter or deeper. In fact, it made me feel like a complete idiot 95% of the time. As i grew older, it got less fun and more uncomfortable. It fucked with my sleep. It made me anxious. Around 28 I decided “fuck this shit” and stopped. Since then, I have tried it maybe once or twice a year just to be sure it hasn’t turned around for me. The last time I smoked. I almost had a panic attack. So, when the weed lover hears all this, they immediately go into how weed has changed and the different strains that do different things yada yada yada. This is generally where I stop them and say “hey man, it’s cool…I don’t have to smoke weed for you enjoy it”. And that kinda brings me to a point. We , in general, are obsessed with wanting everyone to feel and see things how we see them. When someone has a differing view point, it often rattles our fragile ego and leads to someone trying to shove their ideals down another persons throat even more.

Like, say I love Dr. Browns Cel-rey Soda (I do). I offer you a sip, you taste it and spit it out immediately cause it’s some soda made from celery. I would be crazy to try to then convince you that, even though your mouth rejected it, it’s actually amazing. No, the proper thing to do is shrug it off and accept that Cel-rey is an acquired taste. Here’s the thing….everything is an acquired taste. Chocolate is an acquired taste. Sex is an acquired state. A mothers unconditional love is an acquired taste. So, we gotta stop trying to force our own shit down other peoples throats.
Recently, Trump made statements about how people who burn the flag should lose citizenship or go to jail. Obviously, he’s a complete moron and lunatic but the point remains. He feels this way, so everyone else should too. And, to be fair, this works both ways. Liberals are no less guilty of this mindset either. cause it’s human nature to want other people to agree with you and connect on things you hold dear. But human nature can be petty sometimes.

I’m a guy who loves cities. I like the activity. I like the people. I like the availability of things i desire. I don’t like nature that much and things like skiing, boating and camping are not things I have any interest in. Now, just as i wrote that, I guarantee a decent amount of you rolled your eyes and thought of nature situations that i couldn’t possibly not enjoy. This is cause, to you, what you get out of such things is infallible. A sunset. A scenic landscape. Wildlife. The feel of the wind rushing over your face while you slide down a mountain on a wood plank. All that shit. And that’s great. But what is for you is not always for me and vice versa.

Do you play basketball?
No? Well, you should. you’d love it.
Oh, what? you’re not into sports and have no athletic ability?
Whatever dude…just do it. It’s basketball. How could you not love it.

So, yeah, the point of this rant is to just say “love what you love but don’t ever think anyone else should be expected to feel the same way”. After all, without these differences , how can we properly judge one another. And judging? That’s the real fun shit right.