pursuit of the niche: cultural idioms and mainstream thoughts
As my mind continues to work and move toward more sane and stable behaviors, one of the neat things is moving beyond the obsession of listening to maybe 3 songs on loop all day; to do more than just quote and discuss and listen to that same Pink Floyd or Smiths cd. I know I sort of have done similar with Sleater-Kinney and Wild Flag.
As I type this, I am wearing my new Wild Flag shirt. I went to see them for the second time last night. Even if it had an anti-climactic feel, I still enjoyed myself, the opening act, the free apple, the poster, the shirt, the record, etc. I also enjoy that I got to see a friend and that it went so well.
Even though I am in a good spot, I don't want to rest here. There is so much room for growth and development. After years of instability and numbness, I am embracing the fact that I can feel and that life is a pretty darn good gig. One of my struggles, though, is breaking through those limited perspectives. It may sound silly, but I am trying to figure out what it is I like, culturally speaking.
Because I tend to live in a bubble, I tend to forget things like that Wild Flag and Ween arn't "mainstream;" I forget that to many people, "liberal" is a terrible scourge; and one of the deadlist assumptions is that people will automatically empthasise with me.
My basic needs, wants, and desires are very human; I've got to empathsise with others and understand that I'm into some esoteric stuff. Even if Ugly Americans has a Croatian man character, the fact is I am teaching students now that don't know about Croatia and were born during the period that Yugoslavia was falling apart amid civil war. The wars I protested in the early 2000s are an accepted reality; many were in kindergarten when that was going down.
I suppose I'm just continuing to grow up. I've got to avoid the trappings of throwing out cultural references that people don't get. Conversely, I don't have to read Hunger Games or listen to Adele.
Who knows. Maybe my obsessing over this stuff is still part of unhealthy thought processes. I just know that I like the fact that I am varying my music a bit more and that I'm working on reaching out. I'm going to continue to reach out and try to laugh more often.
I want to feel good and I want to make others feel good, too.
As I type this, I am wearing my new Wild Flag shirt. I went to see them for the second time last night. Even if it had an anti-climactic feel, I still enjoyed myself, the opening act, the free apple, the poster, the shirt, the record, etc. I also enjoy that I got to see a friend and that it went so well.
Even though I am in a good spot, I don't want to rest here. There is so much room for growth and development. After years of instability and numbness, I am embracing the fact that I can feel and that life is a pretty darn good gig. One of my struggles, though, is breaking through those limited perspectives. It may sound silly, but I am trying to figure out what it is I like, culturally speaking.
Because I tend to live in a bubble, I tend to forget things like that Wild Flag and Ween arn't "mainstream;" I forget that to many people, "liberal" is a terrible scourge; and one of the deadlist assumptions is that people will automatically empthasise with me.
My basic needs, wants, and desires are very human; I've got to empathsise with others and understand that I'm into some esoteric stuff. Even if Ugly Americans has a Croatian man character, the fact is I am teaching students now that don't know about Croatia and were born during the period that Yugoslavia was falling apart amid civil war. The wars I protested in the early 2000s are an accepted reality; many were in kindergarten when that was going down.
I suppose I'm just continuing to grow up. I've got to avoid the trappings of throwing out cultural references that people don't get. Conversely, I don't have to read Hunger Games or listen to Adele.
Who knows. Maybe my obsessing over this stuff is still part of unhealthy thought processes. I just know that I like the fact that I am varying my music a bit more and that I'm working on reaching out. I'm going to continue to reach out and try to laugh more often.
I want to feel good and I want to make others feel good, too.