Who wants to be the guild master?

[LadyRainixis]

How long have you been a member of Gaia, and spent time in the forum community? Originally, I joined in 2004 but things got busy in my life and then when I came back, I forgot all my log in stuff and I no longer have access to the email I set it up with. I post almost daily, especially if there is something really interesting going on. biggrin

Do you represent yourself well? I feel that I have and I do. I try to never offend anyone, lest they be someone important to me later in life or in my next one.

Do you find your logic to be sharp? Being the guild master of a smoking guild brings a lot of heat. Are you going to be able to debate with non-smokers while maintaining your good image? I have had a lot of practice with debating with non-smokers as I myself have been a smoker for 5 years. I feel as if everyone is entitled to their opinion and decisions. I will emphatically stand up for my choices and beliefs.

Give me reasoning behind why some people smoke. Think hard. I for one think there are many reasons people smoke. I want you to elaborately name 5.
1. Stress. Daily life can be hell. Sometimes things happen that are out of our control and smoking is something we can control, therefore it calms us down.
2. Addiction. Nicotine has been scientifically proven to be an addictive substance. So some people aren't strong enough to kick the habit (or want to, really).
3. Habit. Addiction aside, there are people that have been smoking for so long that even if they try to quit, its so ingrained in their daily life that they do in subconsciously (unconsciously?). Its like locking the door when you leave for awhile.
4. Rebellion. A lot of the time, this is the reason behind teenagers picking up the habit. Its deemed "taboo" by their parents and so they do it, just to piss the parentals off. Not a wise decision but hey, whatever floats their boat.
5. Peer pressure. This kind of falls in line with rebellion, but it also can stand alone as a reason. You see people smoking and they look cool, or they seem to have everything going for them, etc. So our minds think that smoking = success/coolness/whatnot.

Please explain to me what you can do for this guild once becoming guild master. I can help people with their problems, both concerning smoking and not. I can also make sure that we aren't victimized by die-hard anti-nicotine people. Like I said before, people are entitled to their opinion but sometimes, it goes too far.

List some of your beliefs of the many illnesses that go along with smokers, and your opinion about why you still continue after seeing the evidence. In other words, how can you smoke happily knowing of these illnesses? I know secondhand(haha, pun intended) of what cigarettes can do to people, from family members contracting illnesses. My grandmother worsened her asthma, has chronic bronchitis, and has to be hooked up to an oxygen machine for the rest of her life. My aunt will cough up blood if she gets just a cold, because her lungs are so jacked up from smoking for so long. My father has a raspy voice because he developed throat cancer but thankfully, they were able to remove it before it became too bad. Yet even with all this evidence right in front of me, I can't seem to quit. I believe that it is due to the stress of my life, the nicotine addiction, and the fact that it is a habit of my daily life.

What is your age? I would like someone 18 and above, but if your wit is sharp and you seem mature, it will be enough. I'm 20 years old, and a 5-year veteran of Nicotine Usage

How do you look upon people that don't smoke? I really don't care. Its their choice to not smoke, and that's cool. As long as they don't rail on me for smoking, things are good.

Would you give someone that doesn't smoke a cigarette in hopes that they start? Not at all. If they want one, and I know them to be of age, I'll give them one. But I will never try to persuade someone to take up the habit.

Then procede to tell me something about yourself. I'm 20, an Army Wife, a mother to a darling little girl who is 4 months old. I love to read, write, and sing. I tend to be a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to things I'm creating, which results in a lot of half-finished projects that I abandoned because I couldn't get it to be what I wanted. I am a Camel smoker, with some Kools thrown in due to my husband. smile