Parents will be parents.

I'm almost 25 years old and today, over dinner, my mum casually commented that people who go clubbing frequently, like I do, can only be doing it for one reason - drugs. She looked at me, saw my reaction and quickly amended her statement that most people must be doing it for that. My parents have never understood the attraction that clubbing has held for my friends and I, not comprehending that I truly do love the music and enjoy dancing to the melodic beats the DJ provides, and that I also occasionally enjoy showing off just how good a dancer I am. Of course, I also love drinking and dancing allows me to drink that much more.

Instead, they've concluded that people who go to Zouk (what other club in Singapore does anyone my parents' generation know?) must be on drugs. And then, they started to ask me: Who is it that I go clubbing with? Are they old school friends or people that my parents don't know? Do I know everyone in my clubbing group well? Can I say for sure that people around me - and not just my friends - aren't on drugs?

If you're wondering what prompted this, it's because, apparently, my parents read an article in The New Paper which reported that ecstasy is now available in liquid form (EDIT: my parents were confused, liquid ecstasy is GHB, a date rape drug, not the same as MDMA aka ecstasy), and my parents are worried that some unscrupulous arsehole may try to spike my drink. And I agree with their concern. I used to be very careful when in clubs, never allowing strangers to buy me drinks, but lately, because I've got to know so many different people, I tend to drink whatever's offered to me, as many other people will be drinking from the same jug.

In the end, after one more failed attempt of explaining to my parents why it is I go clubbing so often and what I like about it (the drinking and the dancing, which led to another lecture on alcohol), I told them I have never done drugs (true), I have never even smoked (true), I have never been drunk (untrue, but what else did you expect me to tell them?) and ended off by acknowledging that there are freaks out there and that I will be more careful from now on.

I do sometimes hate the uncertainty and extra caution one must take being female, as well as the incredible double standards levied on us (the age-old "stud/slut" comparison made between guys and girls who indulge in the same kind of so-called promiscuous behaviour). I really do wish I could enjoy life without having to worry about these sorts of things... and having to put up with these extended lectures from my parents in which they claim they're not trying to control my life.