In the words of Darth Vader, “If you only knew the power of the dark side.”

In the last week, I’ve felt a bit of my own dark side, believe it or not. Through some practical jokes, witty humor, and a bit of deceit, I’ve stayed entertained in my college social circle.

Take Grace, for example. She’s the definition of calm, levelheaded, and steady–unshaken by the world around her. Naturally, I’ve made it my mission to crack her. I’ve tossed questions at her like darts, lobbed random objects across the room, and even attempted a subtle trip or two (unconfirmed, of course). But no matter what, she just laughs. I can feel my chances of getting her to even raise her voice slipping, as my efforts are dismissed as a joke. My quest is probably already doomed.

Then came Saturday at the cross country meet. My parents brought the puppy–this fluffy, wide-eyed creature basically begging for my attention. I walked right by. Didn’t pet it. Didn’t even acknowledge it. If that isn’t the mark of a true villain, I don’t know what is. When some friends asked why I wasn’t paying any attention to the puppy, I responded simply, “I guess I’m evil.”

As if that weren’t enough, I also decided to test out my creative writing skills on some unsuspecting friends. I made up entire events that never happened and told them with all the confidence in the world. Did it work? Not really. It was more of a jumbled mess than anything else, but somehow everyone walked away laughing, shrugging, and still willing to hang out with me.

Which is maybe the point. Even when you try to be “evil,” good friends don’t buy it. Well…except the puppy. It barks at me now. I’d assume we both don’t like each other equally.

So maybe I haven’t been the best friend this past week, or maybe perception really is everything.

I’ll keep trying to summon my dark side, but after all, I’m just Jonathan.