I really think you should call yourself LOLiTA.
I think you are being too harsh on Catherine and the entire culture she has become a part of. You do not know the extent to which she has fallen, nor have you actually tried it out to discern whether she has 'fallen' at all. It could be worthwhile investigating the culture for yourself. Everything tends to be emphasised when discussing an event afterwards. It's known as bragging. Also, you are biased against the event itself and have preconceived notions of what a party is, meaning it is likely that you are vilifying it and choosing to take it as an extremely negative pastime. It''s fully possible that it is, and that your judgement is correct. The point is, you don't have the necessary evidence to back this up. Remember too, you are 'straight-edge' as some people say. If you were to acknowledge that partying is not as bad as you think it is, then you would have to reconsider your point of view and your own lifestyle. Doing such a thing can be quite scary, so it's far easier to stick to your own beliefs instead of challenging them. Which brings me to my next point. You have not actually been to a party. You say "the thought of chemically affecting the way your body functions and losing control of some of your faculties, however temporarily, freaks me out." From this I gather that you have not actually tried such substances, so forgive me if I am incorrect, and disregard what I am saying. On the off-chance that I am right, then it is important for you to investigate such a culture further. The fact is that if other people are doing it, there must be an appeal to it. You do not see this appeal from the outside, so you condemn it as unsavoury behaviour, and allow it to taint your opinion of other people. If you wish to truly judge people fairly, it is necessary for you to gain a knowledge of the appeal and understand their mindset. Only once you have heard all sides of the story can you make a fair judgement of your friend, of her group and of humanity in general. That's not to say that you should go along, get alcohol poisoning, do cocaine off a hooker and get pregnant from the first guy you see. You should still retain some of your morals, for personal safety. It is, however, a good idea to go along to a party, observe others, experiment a bit and gain knowledge of Catherine's world without taint from your own bias. Presumably, at some point you had respect for her opinion, so as her friend, you owe it to her to attempt to judge her only after seeing all perspectives. Ask her to take you somewhere and to show you the ropes. If she's half the friend you believe her to be, she'll be accepting and willingly guide you around her life. Doing it this way will be far more productive than simply confronting her about her lifestyle choice, as it will give you ground to stand on if you feel the same way afterwards. Currently, if you voice your opinions to her, then it will seem as though you are attempting to close-mindedly take the moral high ground and lecture your friend for her actions. Remember, you are her friend, not her mother. A friend listens to and is willing to experience her friend's point of view. A mother makes judgemental demands, unreasonable orders and sets unfair ultimatums. Be a good friend, not a mother. Who knows? You may discover that you actually enjoy yourself. Even if you don't, it's important to get out of the house once and a while to expand one's horizons and gain more knowledge of the world and humanity, if only to better condemn it once you are again safely behind your computer screen. EDIT: lol, Daxa beat me to it. His argument is valid.
