One-Night Stands and Ramen

Last night, my friend Crystal asked me, “Who do you like hanging out with more, your Asian friends or the lax-bros?”

To make this story less interesting, I actually couldn’t choose. But I did realize that I like the two different cliques for opposite reasons.

You see, many people associate collegiate lacrosse players with chugging beers and being in a perpetual habit of wearing sunglasses. At best, some complain about how the lax-bros are constantly wearing sweatshirts and listening to Biggie Smalls. At worst, the lacrosse team is perceived as weed addicts who fail every class and only chat about one-night stands.

…Not that there’s anything wrong with one-night stands…

All jokes aside, it’s a bit disheartening when I see others categorize lax-bros with these qualities. Such generalizations take away from what the team really is about. Plenty of my teammates choose not to smoke or drink, and a few more are even at the top of their Organic Chemistry classes. Besides, I enjoy sitting around in the locker room because we all value friendship and respect towards each other on the field, and with everyone else off the field.

Sure, there might be a couple assholes, but I bet even the Swiss curling team has their share of womanizers.

Now, on the contrary, hanging out with Asians is fun because we really do fit our stereotypes.

Perhaps it’s my odd sense of humor, but I always seem to find laughter in labeling when they are spot-on accurate. I mean, once, we really did get together to slurp cups of ramen late into the night. The scene of five Chinese students gorging on “Oriental” foods must have been a bit ridiculous. Through the hungry silence, Crystal would giggle in-between bites. Not even a Garfield comic-strip could have been funnier at the time.

Sure, any slightly chauvinistic individual would’ve laughed and jeered at us. But would I laugh with that person? Absolutely!

After all, if we can’t laugh at ourselves, we could never appreciate how comical life can be.