Article July 14, 2014 Issue

Satisfied: not interested in pot

Sam Soetarman

The only light came from a lone street lamp and the periodic flickering of cheap convenience store lighters. There were about 15 high schoolers in the park. But of them, I was the only one who wasn’t smoking marijuana.

I’ve been a Christian Scientist my entire life. When I was younger, I accepted Christian Science because it was how I was raised. Prayer was something I used mostly when I got sick. There was always the nagging feeling that maybe religion was just a waste of a Sunday morning and nothing more. But through the healings I’d had, I knew there was more to Christian Science, and that evening my trust in God was tried.

Lexi (not her real name) and I had become friends because I had made her laugh at school. The first time we hung out outside of school, she asked me to come to a party at a park near her house. I left my bicycle in her garage, and we walked to the park together. I didn’t know anyone else at the party, so I was nervous about fitting in. I was looking forward to the rest of the night until she turned to me and asked, “So, do you smoke?”