Why: Simplified Song Interpretations: Not The Same (lyrics)

Varying and lengthy interpretations of Not The Same are not uncommon at online message boards, yet the following quotes from the archive attempt to sum it all up in one sentence:

"Not the Same," an acidly amusing story of friends growing apart...        
– High Bias

How clever. Acidly clever.  Okay, to be fair, the term "acidly," the quality of being bitter, sarcastic, or scornful, is a pretty apt description of the tone of Not The Same.  The double reference to LSD, however, was a bit much for me... though not misinformation, per se.  Plus, it assumes that the "You" in Not The Same is a friend, a supposition that could be argued ad infinitum.

Speaking of suppositions:

'Not the Same' is an epic recollection of a girl changed by a party at which someone was killed ("Til someone died / On the water slide / You were not the same after that").        
– Durham 21

What? What girl? Was the waterslide party the same party as the acid tripping, tree climbing, coming down a born again Christian party?

That one really threw me.  Then I came across these:

"Not the Same" tells the tale of a girl who climbs up a tree at a party and comes down the next morning a Christian.
– Campus Circle Magazine

And in the piano pounding "Not The Same," he references his old bandmate, Robert Sledge, while singing of a girl that escaped the party life to "find Jesus" and notes over and over that she was "not the same after that." 
– The Star Newspapers

UPDATE >> The lyrics "You gave your life to Jesus Christ/and after all your friends went home/you came down and looked around/you were not the same after that," tell of the change witnessed in a woman's life after she became a Christian.
– The Crusader << UPDATE

What gives the impression the character is female?!  When Ben has referenced this part of the song, I believe he was using "he" to describe the tree climber.  It doesn't really matter, but I just can't understand where this "girl" thing is coming from, as the person in the song is never referred to as anything but "you."

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