There is an article that I found interesting that connects social psychology with cognitive psychology. One of the reasons I personally enjoy this is because being a psychology major, you didn’t see many people applying two schools of thought to solve a problem or gain more knowledge. Check it out.
So basically what this is telling me is that I have a big amygdala. Or perhaps I consider it a big amygdala because I feel like I have a lot of awesome friends in my life. One of the reasons why I think I am able to be social in new situations is because I have the physical ability to do so. A lot of people have to make the effort to be social where as it is something that comes naturally to me.
A lot has changed in the past 6 months of my life. And let me tell you how this incorporates psychology and weed.
I have recently moved away from the sunny-palm-tree infested-land of C——– to the slippery-urban-frozen-tundra of C——. It may not be a foreign country, however it is at least cross country. That being said, I left my parents, brother, future sister-in-law, friends, and all familiarity behind. I already knew a lot of cool people in the frozen tundra (haha… get it, cool people? frozen tundra?), however, they have their own lives and would not be able to meet my needs for a social outlet. One of the things that I made into a goal was to be able to find a group of friends that I could go out with and have a good time/ do activities with.
Today is actually the 4 month mark of moving to this new place. Although I have made new friends, there is still a giant part of me that yearns for the things I left behind. There are moments when I am so homesick that I honestly just hide out for hours on end and sit by myself. There are other times that I cry it out and put a smile back on because I know that this is just something that I have to do. At the end of the day, I also know I can always go back home, however that is not what I want to do just yet. I know that I will be ok because I have places to go and things to do with my new friends and ultimately, I am finding my place. In other words, I am adapting and settling into a new life.
The first few months were pretty hard because I was trying to just work out the details of moving my life cross country. I was spending a lot of time with family and coming up with excuses (of COURSE I was studying for the GRE) to keep to myself and not have to go out and be social. I realized that this was going to involve a lot of time and effort and although I feel as if I have all the time in the world, it was the effort part that I didn’t want to have to deal with. The hard part was that a lot of the people I was interacting with already had their preexisting relationships which I was not yet included in. I would have to take the time to get to know them as well as give them the opportunities to know me. Over time, we started to get to that point where we could joke and I am glad to say that I MADE FRIENDS! This is the part where I thank my amygdala for not letting me down and allowing me reach this goal.
And this is the part where I thank weed for being the catalyst in my attempt to make friends. While only a few of my friends in the frozen tundra smoke weed, it has given me the opportunity to discuss my views and show my personality to them. Within a couple months of me being here, it was pretty much out in the open that I am a firm advocate of the consumption of cannabis for medical and recreational purposes. There are some people who look down upon smoking weed, and then there are my “brothers and sisters” (pretty much, anyone who is down to smoke). Once I discussed where I stand personally, politically and socially on the issue and got a better understanding on where other people stand, everyone pretty much concluded we were all friends. Then the smoke outs began…
One of the few things I miss about home, besides my friends, the warmth and sunshine would have to be the weed. I would go so far to say that, C——— is known to have some of the best weed in the nation. One of the things that I am constantly asked is whether or not the weed in C——— is as good as they say it is. And after smoking the stuff out here, I would have to say that it is. I love that card carrying people can go into a dispensary and order what they want and not have to worry about it being cut with something. Or the ability to go and order an indica or a sativa based on the type of high that you want. Those luxuries do not exist everywhere, especially not here. However, what does exist out here is the same connection that people have when they smoke.
One of the reasons why I personally enjoy weed is that no matter the circumstances, smoking a few bowls with a few friends is a familiar and comforting experience. There is definitely a camaraderie among people who smoke weed together. And in a place where sometimes it feels like nothing is familiar, spending time with good people while smoking a little weed and having a few good laughs is all that is necessary to make things a little less cold and a little more like home.
