I'm going to be starting a new term at a new college I have never been to before and I intend to keep my drug use secret from everyone as I have found out the hard way that telling anyone that I use drugs is a VERY, VERY bad idea.

I want to make my myself look as much like an average person as possible, on the front cover of a newspaper there was a story about a man who got addicted to heroin and on the left of the newspaper there was a picture of him when he was 12 and under it it said he was 'clean-cut and intelligent' and then to the right of the newspaper there was a picture of him when he was 26 and he looked terrible and under the picture it said that 'heroin turned him into a monster'.

I want everyone to look at me and think 'That person doesn't use drugs', I don't want them to suspect that I might be a drug-user. I try my hardest to look clean-cut, I wear what I think are average-people clothes and I always have no facial hair and I have short hair but not super-short hair.

What should I wear to make myself look like a person who is appalled by gutter-dwelling-druggies? How should I act? What colour should my hair be? What should I pretend my hobbies are? How often should I smile or frown and what emotions should I focus on showing?

No use pretending, don't fake your life. Just don't advertise your activities openly.
Really, blending in the exact opposite of what college is about.

Cultivate your interests, grow in who you are. Meet new people who help you do these things.
Suppressing yourself is the surest way to handicap yourself and insure college is a complete waste of time and energy.

Freedom is a great gift, use it, enjoy it.

^^^^ +100

Good advice. Just be yourself man. Other peoples opinions about you are their business. Not yours.

Seraph, do not fear my friend, i am constructing for you a papier mache mask so you can appear professional and normal as society expects and likes.

-Joking apart, just relax, cos dmt won't ruin your life and make you look like a druggie, NO!!- it will make you appear wise and visionary!!

I shaved my head. I keep my beard nice and short. I wear clean clothes that is common for other humans to wear. I think I look "normal" until you start talking to me and notice the fire burning behind my eyes. I personally get off and think it's a good idea to blend in with this weird world. I can always tell, regardless of a persons clothes, if they have been to the other side. It's in our body language. It's in the way we move and see. Dress the way you want. Dress however makes you most comfortable. If that's "clean cut" then go for it.

I am very happy to hear you are going to school Seraph! Be well, man.

I'm 100% with this. If you saw me in RL, you'd have no idea I use mind-expanding substances. I work in the professional world and learned pretty quickly the best defense is blending in. I hate to say it, but cops (and others) tend to completely ignore the preppy white kid in a polo/slacks. I'm all for radical self-expression - but not at the expense of my freedom. My mind is radical enough.

Congrats on school. That's a really good step in making you feel good/accomplished.

I wish you the best of luck, Seraph.

Everyone pretends to some extent. If you feel you want to mindfully blend in with the clothes you wear, I guess that's just another way. I relate to what House said as well, about fitting in. If you really don't fit in, it's still good to appear as though you do because otherwise, there is unnecessary tension and conflicts on things that will not be resolved anyway. It's just about learning to go with the flow, and realizing how to avoid conflicts.

Anyway, I suspect that if you seriously have to ask this question, you are probably one of those people where you can "just tell". It doesn't matter though, just don't say anything specific if you don't want to talk about your opinions on entheogens, etc. I ask other people what they think about certain things, but still have not yet told anyone in person about my own views. It's funny, I actually could imagine House having these unmistakable burning eyes, but like Alpha, I doubt he would peg me down as anything in real world.

Anyway, to appear normal, I would say; cut your hair short (0.5-3 inches), shave everyday, try to wear clothes without symbols or logos, and don't wear all black, and shop at mainstream stores.

I dress how I want. I have my hair cut how I want. I do, however, care for my appearance as much as I can and I think this is enough on the basic end of things.

There are other ways to keep yourself subtle. As said before much is down to body language. Learn how to use posture and eye contact properly. Don’t look stoned or away with the fairies. Keep your head up high and be observant. Stay on the ball.

I have worked in a lot of different situations and have kept my lifestyle to myself quite easily without changing the way I look wholesale.

This has been a gradual change and has had a lot to do with my change from a youth to an adult and a change of scene, not some false change of myself in a flash. I am not sure whether this can truly work anyway.

Other things I do to keep myself to myself are:

Having a nickname, not something that can just come about (well you can just tell people you are now to be known as xxxxx, whether they will or not is another matter!), they are things we gain. I think having a name for the street and a name for official situations has gone a long way. Even people that have known me for 2 decades out and about do not know my real name and people I have worked with do not know who I am until I tell them.

Not showing obvious signs of drug use, partially this is back down to the posture, eye contact thing, but also things such as not roaching your papers (causes endless arguments with people, tobacco smokers use roach too, blah, blah) this will stop the main thing people think about (weed smoking) until you decide you want to share it with them.

Where I am maybe I need to do less to be subtle (I live in a very liberal place with a lot of unusual people) but I don’t know if changing your appearance totally will be that useful at all. Just keep on the ball and be as observant as you should be being goes a long way.

I would like to add that like the whole "everyone knows I am tripping" thing (they don’t!), actually most people don’t have a clue. On a lot of points there is not as much to worry about as you might think.

I think it can depend on the area your in or the environment
You associate in . Generally I think its better to blend in and
Not to draw unecissary attention. My drug explorations are important
To me so I do not need to advertise it to anyone or risk any
Unecissary inquires. That includes the car you drive and obeying
All traffic rules etc. In fact I believe in blending in as much as possible.
I know who I am and what I believe in . I have nothing to gain by drawing
Any kind of suspicioun to myself .
I would think a college would be a more open minded atmosphere unless its a sports
Scene where a drug look wouldn't fly so well .

I broke my rule the other day and was sporting my hunter Thompson Hawaiian shirt look .
I must of been a site when I emerged from a swamp trippin balls . Naturally there's some nosey
Fucker out near a road watching my every move . Lucky its near my house so I quickly left the area .

short hair, and clean and nice clothes with no words on them.

Hehe, well I do the short hair bit, but I went out with a t-shirt that said 'trip' on the front on Saturday.

This is kind of exactly what I wanted to say.
Just be your self and don't talk about drugs to the wrong crowd. Don't tell people what you are up to unless that person has become a friend with similar interests.

I exact a somewhat perverse joy in finding ways to work my perspective into the "normal" world and "normal" conversation WITHOUT mentioning that I love psychedelics.

Psychedelics keep me connected to the earth. I live my life as passionately for the Earth as possible. This attracts like-minded people. It's not hard, then, to A) build relationships and B) discern at what point in these relationships disclosure becomes possible.

I am sorry for whatever happened, but the biggest meditation I have kept since I drank Ayahuasca recently is to ALWAYS be myself! To be myself as much as possible... even when the environment isn't choice. When I am myself, everything flows easily.

When I hide myself I feel very depersonalized and suffer.

Another way to think is seductively: drug talk is like sex talk. If you think somebody might be into it, test the waters, play, flirt. Say something silly. If you see someone eating a portabello, tell them you think mushrooms come from outer space. See where it goes. You can indirectly dig around for interest without having to give away the fact that you're interested.

I swear you can event tell over distance...

That's the approach I take

Talking about psychedelics with someone you think might also be interested in them is like flirting in a way. Subtleties and nuance, secretly dancing around the issue.

When I was younger, I really enjoyed just blurting things out about psychedelics. That got me into trouble a couple times. I learned to keep my mouth shut for the most part.

Dress however you wish to. Don't live up to someone elses expectations. Blending in to me feels too much like conformity. Like defeat. I strive very hard not to be like most "normal" people, so trying to look and act like them is the farthest thing from my mind.

I shave my head. I wear plain clothes most of the time, but I'll wear a shroom necklace. Or some little trinket that might catch the eye of someone "in the know". Again, a subtle dance, putting up a flag that most people might not take notice of, but someone with similar interest couldn't help but notice. Like the t-shirt I have with Terence McKenna's face on the front of it

I just recently let something slip about my interest in mushrooms. Actually, it was a friend of a coworker who overheard me talking to someone else. The guy was very shocked that I would know anything about such things. He said I don't look at all like "some hippy druggy". I took it as a compliment

Yes and don't do drugs in the college area of course.

Why on earth one would seriously want to look different just so other people would accept your look? I think this is a weakness of character. One should strenghten the character instead of adjusting to other people's preferences. Especially if the people are so called "babylon slaves"
Just be yourself and don't talk about your hobby and if you do, make sure you talk about it while sober and to a good friend with common interest




So this is a joke, right? Or are you serious about living your life in lie? Ridiculous

Be yourself. If you want to be smarter and more discrete, then so be it. Most of my friends and family know what i get up to, and if they don't like it, that is their issue, we love and trust each other in all other areas, and I know they won't shop me in.

My friends are fine with it though, even encouraging, you just need to find a crowd that are on your level rather than forcing yourself to fit in and pretend. You may be surprised how many smart, decent people like to flirt with psychedelia - your proffesors / lectureres being prime examples! I bet at least a couple of them are mash artistes!

But yes, be discrete around those you don't know, this is prudent. Being arrested is no fun.

Best of luck in this new chapter, it is an opportunity to surround yourself with like minded people

Seraph, i just think that you just need to be brutally honest with yourself. Be yourself!

-You are young, so act young. Don't overconcern yourself with what others think, but just have a healthy view instead. Part of growing up is to find your own path, so although everyone here has good advice, you still have to decide for yourself, and be happy with your decisions, and change as necessary along the way.

-It's called self-confidence.

> Take time out to decide what kind of person you are. What your dress style is. What your views are, etc- and find your own way of xxpressing yourself in a " family friendly " manner. For example, there are some cool DMT t shirts around, that are trendy, and hip, and not scruffy and shouthin " this guy is messed up", etc.

--Better still to keep this to yourself, or put this on hold till when college is over and you have your own place and freedom to do as you wish as a mature unhindered adult, etc.

Every environment has its own sense of appropriate and non-appropriate. Someone accustomed to working on the trading floor would have a hard time 'fitting in' with Google. The trick is to find a career, geography and/or college that aligns with your sense of who you are.

Reading a bit between the OPs lines, I sense a bit of resentment for having to conceal dmt use-- and that is a drag. But, pretending hobbies? I have had to learn to be polite (complete with small-talk) in conversation ranging from sports to Republican candidates, but I have never been required to practice an 'acceptable' hobby-- and I'm very much the business boy. In some very tight-knit groups (military, legal firms) folks sniff each others butts a bit more, but basic business professionalism tends to leave personal matters at home.