I've always wondered what the deal is with people who think it's cool to pretend to be a vampire. It's like they've only focused on the - for lack of a better word - lighter aspects of vampirism, such as immense power and prolonged life span (which also has some very negative aspects to it.) Why yes, it is so cool to dress in black and only go about at night. You're so awesome, what with your stark-white makeup caked over olive skin, heavy eyeliner, and bright red lipstick which supposedly resembles blood. Now, don't get me wrong. There's nothing inherently wrong with wearing that kind of makeup; it's when you start to believe that makeup is actually a part of you, that it actually defines you, when you start to believe you are actually a vampire that it crosses the line.

Tell me, if you had the choice between dying or becoming a vampire, which would you choose? In all honesty, I don't see the sense in choosing to become a vampire. You still age, and you certainly aren't going to live forever. You're neither alive nor dead, rather stuck in an in between state. You can remember what it was like to be alive, what it was like to belong, but you can never really belong or feel alive again. After a hundred years, everyone you knew will have died, and you will be left completely alone. You almost end up losing your compassion for humans in order to cope with being so isolated. When you get right down to it, vampires have no place in the world.

Tell me, when it came right down to it, would you be able to murder someone simply in order to gain more power? How would you be able to continue that already dismal existence knowing that you'd completely and utterly destroyed a life so selfishly? Moreover, would you want to inflict the same torture that you were experiencing on another soul by siring them?

I'll concede a few points in favor of the romantic view of vampirism. One of the most beautiful and exhilarating things in this world is a clear night out in the country, where there are no lights to get in the way of the stars. There is a certain beauty in death. After all, death is nature's way of remind us that when all is said and done, we're really all the same; I suppose you could call it "nature's great equalizer." However, I don't see the allure in this extreme isolation, no matter how much I try. Sure, you live for a long time, but you're never really alive, so what does it matter?

No, I'm fairly convinced that these so-called vampires have been too caught up in the romantic aspects of vampirism to give much thought to the truly darker side of it.