Cigarettes — they get me through the day, a friend’s counsel I seek. They help me deal with my inconsistencies, when I fail to ask a girl out, get drunk instead of being productive. Cigarettes were there when my first love cheated and then when she did it again. When I think about all I’ve had to experience in 21 years: a father’s death and loneliness, a cigarette has always been there as a friend. They help me deal with a burden that no one realizes we all carry, our individual crosses to bear.
It was a shock when I got the e-mail about the new campus smoking restrictions. I never realized how unacceptable some people’s habits were for others, especially those who find it their business to comment on a peer’s health. They tell you about the damage cigarettes do to your body, yet don’t think beyond those facts and wonder why someone would sacrifice his health for a sliver of mental ease.
I go above and beyond to make sure my smoke doesn’t enter another’s nostrils. When asked for a cigarette, I remind the person he or she is saving my life, one smoke at a time. Morally I don’t convince virgin lungs to smoke, but I’ll never say no to a friend who is taken to the habit on his own free will, for his own reasons.
Smoking is both a completely social gathering and also an individual activity. I’ve met a handful of people as a smoker. When one gentleman needed a smoke he knew who to turn to and vowed to repay me. To be honest I probably wouldn’t have met half the kids in my classes if none of us smoked cigarettes. Our student body could learn something from smokers, how to be sociable with others, something this campus really needs.
As a writer, smoking goes hand in hand with my profession. I usually pull at least three all-nighters a week, using cigarettes as a reward for accomplishing minor goals, keeping myself awake and relaxing for a handful of minutes with a lit cigarette.
Cigarettes are my vice, they keep me from doing actions I wouldn’t want to commit. While others turn to negative constructive activities like fighting or freaking out, I smoke a cigarette, collect my thoughts and let my stress be strangled in a veil of smoke.
Non-smokers should appreciate the fact that some people smoke cigarettes. I’ll let your let your imagination run rampant on the other activities some of us may invest our time in if not for cigarettes. Let’s just say I wouldn’t be a totally sane individual.
The smoking community seems to be basically powerless to fight the fascists who placed this restriction upon our University. While some try to defend our position, I unfortunately have a feeling that our voices will not be taken into account, but are they ever?
For those who are in the same position as I am, smoke ’em if you got ’em because we will be jonesin’ it starting in January.
What do ciggerrets mean to you? E-mail viewpoint@technicianonline.com and tell us.
