If you're familiar with the hardcore music scene you're probably familiar with the term "straight edge". For those of you not familiar with the term "straight edge", it essentially means that you refrain from using alcohol or recreational drugs. Some have taken it a step further and have included not using any prescription drugs, eating a strict vegan diet and refraining from promiscuous sex. That all sounds fine and well, right? Well, maybe. But maybe it's not for you and that's okay.

I was in a strange place in my life when I first decided to be straight edge. I was transitioning from high school into college and I was feeling really alone. I had heard about straight edge when I was in high school, but never really gave it a thought. I had no opinion about it. When the idea came back to me in college, I gave it a lot of thought. I absolutely loved the idea of a community of people who lived their life without any drugs or alcohol. I had witnessed drugs ruin some of my close friends in school, so I was more than interested in living life without drugs. I started claiming edge not too far into my freshman year and was really into it.

It has been two years since I stopped claiming edge, for various reasons. One of the biggest reasons was the label. Throughout my high school career I was very anti-label, and to an extent, I still am. My initial problem I had with the straight edge label was that there are some negative connotations tied to it. I had noticed some straightedge people in my local music scene just tear others down for not being straightedge or not being the kind of straightedge person they felt like they should be. At one point, I was on the receiving end of the berating when someone found out that I was on prescription medications.

Another thing that I was learning and am still continuing to learn is moderation. Everything in moderation. In high school, many of my peers would just drink to get drunk. I never understood it and I still don't understand it. On the contrary, I didn't think about how you can have a drink once in a while, or with dinner and not drink to get intoxicated. As I grew older and turned 21, the idea of having a drink every now and then seemed nice. It's all about moderation.

What I'm trying to get at here is that straight edge is not for everyone and that's okay. If you want to swear off alcohol and drugs, do it and be awesome. If you want to have a beer with your friends or wine with dinner, do it and be awesome.