Diary of a Mad Hippie Ch. 5
Dear Diary: I can’t believe I’m here! At Beatnik University, My mother’s alma mater. College is gonna be groovy!
I am so jazzed to be here. Not to get a good education, or help me earn a living later on. I’m not into that plastic stuff. I just want to meet new people. Of course Chance came with me, even though I’m a free spirit, we’re still pretty tight. I told him I couldn’t be in a commited relationship, I think he understood. I did catch his neighbor eyeballing him though, I’m gonna have to watch out for this chick, I can tell.
Ok, if I don’t want to be tied down, then I’m going to have to share my man. I guess. I mean, if it feels good, do it, right? If that’s always been my motto then it goes for Chance, too. But man, he flirted with her right in front of me!
She acted so coy and shy, but it was all a head game, man! She kissed him first! I’m all for free love, but man, that hurt! What does he see in that spawn of self -sim, anyway?
Sigh. But Tarragon taught me a lot about karma, and I didn’t want any negative energy turning back around on me. So I tried to stay friends with Chance and his other girl, Carley. I really did. I mean, who in the world can be more open minded than me?!
But even though I am my mother’s daughter, I’m still flesh and blood, afterall. After class one day I walked upstairs only to find Chance proposing marriage! Marriage, of all things! An old fashioned institution that benefits nobody but the government. Tell me this is just a bad trip!!
All my years of peace, love and sisterhood went out the window at that moment. Tarragon never prepared me for a broken heart. In fact, she said there was no such thing. I had never experienced jealousy before, and it really blew my mind. I totally flipped out on Carley.
Eventually though, I remembered karma, and befriended her. Against my better judgement. How can you ever totally trust someone who’s sole desire in life is to become a wife and mother? I didn’t even know such people existed in the real world. She’s such a Pollyanna, as straight as they come.
Once in a while though, I’ve starting jonesing for far out things. Like love. And fidelity. What’s wrong with me?! What happened to all that “un-learning” Tarragon worked so hard to give me as a kid? Was I suddenly conforming to society?! Was I doomed to be a sell out?!
I actually think I flipped out for a while there. I didn’t want Chance for myself. I do not want to be tied down to one man. I live for pleasure, nothing else matters. So why was I so bummed out? I needed to get my act together, to get out of this funk I was in.
The campus shrink told me to get a new hobby, this whole love thing wasn’t working out for me too well. So I decided to learn all I could about nature. I was practically raised by animals anyway, so this should make me feel right at home.
But no, nature wasn’t my bag. I needed something MORE!!
Luckily for me, Chance’s younger brother Jase came along to Uni with his siblings. Jase had dated Carley back in High School, so I imagined he felt as rejected as I did. You know what they say: “If you can’t be with the one you love, honey, love the one you’re with”.
Jase turned out to be more helpful than I had hoped, and I was stoked! Upon seeing her old flame making out with yours truly, Carley got jealous and started flirting with him, right in front of her fiance!
I didn’t want to be left out, so I pretended to be all offended too, and got in on the slapping. Carley just looked flaky. 
If I wasn’t so mellowed out, I would have felt bad. Her crying was starting to be a downer, though.
Soon after that bad scene, Chance and I were right back where we started, in each other’s arms like we belonged.
I still didn’t like Carley much though.
For the rest of the gang at Beatnik, life went on as usual. Poor fortune hungry Pepper nearly had a breakdown every time the repo man showed up. You’d think he’d be used to it by now. I told him to chill, rules were meant to be broken. 
Chance and Jase’s sister, Chase was here with us as well. I like Chase, but she’s so serious and smart, always lecturing me about something or other.
One night we all freaked out when Pepper was taken away in handcuffs. I was ready to protest, shaking my fist at the man, when Chase quietly explained to me what was really going on. How cool is that? A whole secret society, where no rules exist? Sounds heavenly to me.
I guess Carley’s shrink told her to find a hobby too, cause she took to working on some old junker in the parking lot. As long as she keeps her greasy hands off my man, I’ll be happy.
Jase discovered he had a love of dancing, and took to ballet. I love it, I love anything that goes against type like that. Who would have thought that the mohawked, pierced, tattooed rebel has a soft spot for The Nutcracker?
Speaking of against type: In my junior year I decided to do what everyone else in college does, and I radically changed my life. I decided to go against my type, and I became more family oriented. Me, the fatherless little girl who grew up on a commune. My mom was gonna flip her lid.
But I couldn’t think about whatTarragon would want right now, I knew I wanted to spend the rest of my life with Chance, and so I popped the question. He squealed like a little girl and said yes, of course.
Now that Chase was going to be my sister-in-law, I decided we needed to become best friends. She takes her chess playing so seriously though, I just wish she would lighten up a little!
Thankfully, my brother Cumin knows just how to lighten her up too!
Cumin’s always been family oriented, so he knew he was going to marry Chase as soon as he could.
She’s not very romantic, but she did say yes. We’re having a double wedding! This will be the coolest party ever!
My mom even managed to stop in and visit us on campus. Most kids would feel kind of awkward with their Mom walking in and out of their dorms, but not me. We’ve always had an open door relationship. Heck, most of the time we didn’t even have doors.
She finally got to meet her future daughter in law. I think Mom liked her, but I can already see her mind reeling with ways to loosen Chase up a bit.
If there’s one thing my Mom knows, it’s how to loosen up. Maybe too much so. Sometimes I worry about her.
Somehow Pepper became Big Man on Campus. I don’t think he’s had one date ever since we got here, but he sure did make a lot of friends!
For me, every day is the same. Study, bubble blower, dream date with the old man. This is bliss. I could do this for the rest of my life. Well, without the studying. Maybe I’ll even have a rugrat or two.
Before we knew it, it was time to graduate. My future father-in-law showed up, and I really wanted to introduce him to Mom, but by the time she arrived Greg had already left. They’ll have to meet soon, though, after all, they’re practically family now.
Carley isn’t half bad, now that she’s not hooked up with Chance. She and Jase forgave each other for “cheating” and fell in love again.
Our party was a roof raiser, of course. The fuzz had to come and tell us to keep it down, darn rule makers!
Woohoo Diary! Next stop is Beatnikville and a huge wedding party, the beginning of my new life! I don’t think I’ll ever come down off of this high.
