Addicted

I can't think of a moment in my life when I haven't been addicted. As far back as I can remember with clarity, I have always been addicted to something (there was TT in school, movies in 11th, pool in 12th, alcohol etc in I year. I stop here cos this is possibly where my current addiction took over. There isnt a very clear demarcation and the timelines get grayed. These are just approximate outlines). Most of the time it was harmless, but sometimes it's just degenerate and destructive. My addictions seem to pass only when I find something else to get addicted to (which happens when I get 'bored' of the previous addiction - for instance, I now see no point in playing pool as I have gotten decent at it and don't feel the drive any longer. Or the fact that over 96% of the movies and TV I now watch, I can predict the story to precision halfway through latest - which pretty much beats the purpose of watching it) It's a complete vicious cycle, which I just cannot break. 

This got me thinking. What is the cause of addiction? As always, I find all my answers in movies. I always feel that when in doubt, turn to art. Quite surprisingly, I find my answer in a very unlikely source. The movie is 'Road Trip' (yeah, it's one of those teenage adventure shitty crap - which makes you chuckle at how crude they can possibly get - this one is quite old and therefore, isn't so bad - it's surpisingly funny actually - nothing like band camp/naked mile/superbad). In this one of the characters (part of the main four) is constantly smoking weed. In one scene as he speaks to Grandpa Manilow - 

Grandpa: Are you gonna pass that doobie, or what?
Doobie? Yeah. Yeah, sorry.
Uh, thanks.
You know what your problem is?
You're all brains. Not enough cock and balls.
Actually, uh, people have been telling me that my whole life. In the sixth grade I got so worried about the situation in lraq, that I was on an adult dosage of Xanax. And by eighth grade, I was in therapy three times a week. And the truth is, weed is the only thing that could balance me out. (Source)

I think the root cause of all addiction is simple. It's boredom. All other causes (peer pressure, curiosity - well this stems from boredom anyway, emotional weakness) are secondary or may be triggers, at best. It all happens because you're bored. It is due to this that you seem to look for some way (by doing or consuming various things), to induce a chemical reaction that keeps the brain occupied (the aim being to get over the boredom). This leads me to believe that intelligent people are more suceptible to such addiction. It's a lot easier to bore an intelligent person than it is to bore a stupid person. 

Perhaps that is just it. We are constantly in a state of balancing our instant gratification with long term gain. This is possibly because we find ourselves without an aim, a direction. So many people feel there is no point in working (or living) as there is no passion in their life or there is really nothing to expect, except drudgery (myself included). 

But I digress.

I'm not addicted to weed, cocaine, alcohol, nicotine or tobacco. It's something that could either be far more serious or far less. For once, I feel helpless and totally out of control over it. Maybe the time has come to finally swallow my pride and ask for help and support. Maybe not just yet. I've gotten through everything else myself, I see no reason why I can't get through this one (oh yeah, that's still the pride talking - I haven't resorted to the 12 step programme yet, no reason to start now). 

Law school definitely doesn't help with any of this. It takes something as unique and interesting as the law and with te 'brilliant' teachers makes it as interesting, engaging and exciting as golf. Perhaps what we need are younger teachers, teachers who can better relate to students (NOT the juris freak, who'll just burst into tears if we asked him a doubt he could not answer). Courses need to be more engaging and should be taught with more vigour. Most teachers are so unenthused that students themselves feel there's absolutely no point in studying or bothering about the course ('scamming' being an easier, more efficient, quicker and possibly more rewarding way of dealing with courses). Criminal Law, wich is possibly the most intriguing of all laws was made into a drawn out lull, a dull ache that needed to be ignored (of course it did end with a bang for most of the batch). Quite simply, instead of cribbing about drug addiction in law school, the admin is much better off trying to understand why it happens and for god's sake improve the state of affairs in academics. If that is sorted out, everything would fall into place. Is it truly that difficult to find good teachers? What happens to all those fees we pay anyway?