Dear bullies- thank you

Advice for young people part #2

Advice for young people interested in alternative lifestyles pt#1

My personal advice for young people getting into the "goth look"

Honestly the Goth look or many other "alternative" looks just don't look good on many people because they think they have to go overboard on the "mallrat" look. Stop "overdoing" and poorly applying makeup, stop it with the mismatched armwarmers, too many chains, too many cliche band tees, and stop trying so hard to "shock". In my opinion go for the "aesthetic" if you genuinely want to pull it off well and tastefully. That's just my opinion and I think "Goth" encompasses a vaiety of ideals and looks (believe it or not) and I have an open mind about it, but I'm just irritated by the people who take themselves way too seriously, label themselves far too often, try to hard when it comes to fashion, and generally don't pull off the look well because of their own attitude. This mainly refers to babybats but I got past those years, have learned from it, am guilty of it years ago, and have grown into my own skin per se. Don't get me wrong I don't hate kindergoths/babybats but they need some "guidance" and steering in the right direction when it comes to their attitudes about life or fashion. I guess that's most teenagers in a sense no matter what their "affiliations" are. But I just disdain the mallrat look paired with the nasty attitudes. I know I sound completely judgmental and I'm not trying to be but my point is that the Goth look should probably be more tasteful, perhaps more aesthetic oriented, and less chains, cliche anarchy signs and symbols, less mismatched incorrectly done arm warmers, less cliche band tees, no overdone and distasteful makeup, and tone down the tripp pants with everything else going on. Don't get me wrong I was guilty of this at like age 12-13 but I learned that with a simple black tee, maybe some tasteful tripps (depending on the occasion), better simplistic black makeup, perhaps minimal necklaces and bracelets, and just an overall tasteful approach to the Goth look can do wonders for someone that's into that stuff. Again I don't mean to sound rigid or judgmental but I just think babybats need to be steered in a better direction and given some advice, no offense to anyone and it's cool to habe your own style your'e comfortable in but I'm referring to the "overdone"/amateur looking stuff. But if your'e comfortable with that look then who is to say "Don't do it" if you like it go right ahead, this is just my personal advice from experience/ trial and error over the years.

"Your child is a goth if" -MY RESPONSE and commentary

So this is the infamous list from St. Mary's Catholic church about all the "warning signs a kid is probably Goth (or what they think one to be like). Needless to say this is pretty well known online and has been made fun of countless times because several "warnings" describe most teenagers and are kind of ridiculous. Needless to say they probably didn't do research very well, aren't familiar with "normal" teen behavior, or what Goth is really like. This is laughable so I counted all the things on the list I fit or am guilty of past or present (sadly). I'm just doing it because it's so insanely laughable and stupid and those are the nice and tame things I can personally say about this monstrosity and lulz some ignorant people have shat out. I'm thoroughly amused with this.

A Fair Warning from St. Mary's Catholic Church:

If Your Child is a Gothic, Reform Through the Lord!

Listed below are some warning signs to indicate if your child may have gone astray from the Lord. Gothic (or goth) is a very obscure and often dangerous culture that young teenagers are prone to participating in.

The gothic culture leads young, susceptible minds into an imagined world of evil, darkness, and violence. Please seek immediate attention through counselling, prayer, and parental guidance to rid your child of Satan's temptations if five or more of the following are applicable to your child:

-Frequently wears black clothing. Guilty

-Wears band and/or rock t-shirts. Guilty

-Wears excessive black eye makeup, lipstick or nailpolish. Guilty

-Wears any odd, silver jewelry or symbols. Some of these include: reversed crosses, pentagrams, pentacles, ankhs or various other Satanic worshipping symbols. Guilty of the ankh and "odd silver jewelry because it's pretty

-Shows an interest in piercings or tattoos. Guilty I have thirteen piercings, two tattoos, and can't get enough of them

-Listens to gothic or any other anti-social

genres of music (Marilyn Manson claims to be the anti-Christ, and publicly speaks against the Lord. Please discard any such albums IMMEDIATELY.) Sorry but GUILTY and they probably think "anti-social genres" are anything other than gospel and classical music lol.

-Associates with other people that dress, act or speak eccentrically. Guilty, an everyday thing! Because not everyone can be boring wallflowers that have no personality.

-Shows a declining interest in wholesome activities, such as: the Bible, prayer, church or sports.Not really, I don't play sports but I read the Bible (not enough but I do) and I pray every night.

-Shows an increasing interest in death, vampires, magic, the occult, witchcraft or anything else that involves Satan. Ummmm guilty?  Death is a natural part of life and doesn't death let us leave this world and go to a "better place"? Without death we'd be stuck in a hellish world forever according to some beliefs. I am interested in "occult things" I'll admit because I want to know and understand ideology other than my own and begin to understand life more. But I think that's just called being open minded and intelligent.

-Takes drugs. Not Guilty

-Drinks alcohol. Guilty? I have a "drink" occassionally but with temperance and without intentions of "partying". I'm not going to lie about this but I've never actually been drunk, high, etc.

-Is suicidal and/or depressed. I'm ashamed but I'm Guilty as sin. I won't deny it I'm mentally ill and have a major depressive disorder that developed during my early teen years as I was continually bullied by "Christians" and I began to believe that God did hate me and I made a terrible and immature decision I regret forever. I'm honest and I have a major flaw that I'm not proud of. Everyone gets depressed sometimes because we are human and have emotions and personally I'd be scared for someone that never felt anything other than happiness. It's okay to be sad and talk about it because it's normal (unless it isn't and it's chronic but you know what I mean). I've even heard everyone thinks of suicide at least once in their life anyways. Sure it's unhealthy and it's not healthy, productive, or even a wise choice necessarily. Yes, I'm ashamed of my actions as a child but I know I'm guilty and I'm not afraid to come out about it anymore, in fact if I said nothing about it ever and let it fester I'd be worse than I am today.

-Cuts, burns or partakes in any other method of self-mutilation. (This is a Satanic ritual that uses pain to detract from the light of God and His love. Please seek immediate attention for this at your local mental health center.) Guilty in my youth sadly. But ummmmmm, this is a major issue that can affect anyone, not just children involved with a subculture. It's common, stereotyped, and not talked about enough. If your'e kid is doing that you should talk to him in a comoforting manner, ask them why they are doing it, and seek help as well as guidance and love on the road to recovery. Self injury can touch anyone and it excludes no one, even Christians.

-Complains of boredom. Guilty Everyone does this! But then again maybe your kids are bored because they live in such a sheltered environment or have to put up with the parents taking this seriously.

-Sleeps too excessively or too little. Guilty, I'm in college and this is normal for young people. And the last time I checked many "elderly" people sleep a lot. lol

-Is excessively awake during the night. Guilty presented without comment.

-Dislikes sunlight or any other form of light. (This pertains to vampires promoting the idea that His light is of no use.) Ummmm I like sunlight and daytime but I sure as hell don't like sunburn, hot weather, sweating, or tanning. So guilty perhaps?

-Demands an unusual amount of privacy. Guilty, I'm introverted anyways and most teenagers do this.

-Spends large amounts of time alone. Again Guilty and introverted.

-Requests time alone and quietness. (This is so that your child may speak to evil sprits through meditation.) Normal teenage thing. Guilty but this kind of sounds too stupid to be a serious thing and I smell trolling.

-Insists on spending time with friends while unaccompanied by an adult. Guilty, Every kid does this.

-Disregards authority figures; teachers, priests, nuns and elders are but a few examples of this. Not guilty. I respect everyone or try to.

-Misbehaves at school. Not guilty.

-Misbehaves at home. Not guilty (but maybe when I was younger)

-Eats goth-related foods. Count Dracula cereal is an example of this. Ummmmm Guilty? It's good cereal but this is too lulzy to be serious I swear.

-Drinks blood or expresses an interest in drinking blood. (Vampires believe this is how to attain Satan. This act is very dangerous and should be stopped immediately.) Not guilty.

-Watches cable television or any other corrupted media sources. (Ask your local church for proper programs that your child may watch.) Guilty everyone does this almost. It's most Americans and perhaps they should refer to "Faux" news if they want to talk about "corrupted" media.

-Plays videos games that contains violence or are of a role-playing nature. Guilty, many people do this that even look "normal" or may not even be in a subculture per se.

-Uses the internet excessively and frequently makes time for the computer. Welcome to 2012 Guilty.

-Makes Satanic symbols and/or violently shakes head to music. Ummmmm, Not guilty?

-Dances to music in a provocative or sexual manner. Not guilty

-Expresses an interest in sex. This is every teenager and it's normal sorry but guilty.

-Masturbates................................ no comment

-Is homosexual and/or bisexual..............Sorry but guilty.

-Pursues dangerous cult religions. Such include: Satanism, Scientology, Philosophy, Paganism, Wicca, Hinduism and Buddhism. ? I don't pursue religions I have my own faith and I'm comfortable expressing and sharing ideas with other faiths.

-Wears pins, stickers or anything else that contains these various phrases: "I'm so gothic, I'm dead", "woe is me", "I'm a goth". Not guilty but I still sense a troll behind this.

-Claims to be a goth. I identify as one so guilty?

If five or more of these apply to your child, please intervene immediately. The gothic culture is dangerous and Satan thrives within it. If any of these problems persist, enlist your child into your local mental health center.

~St. Mary's Catholic Church

Stop turning "individuality" a competition

I'm not necessarily "individual" if you look at the bigger picture, there are plenty of people who do similar things as I do. Nor am I going to whine about being the most "unique" person in the world because I'm not. I just do what makes me happy and don't really care what people think necessarily of it. Stop saying "I'm the most individual of all", because in reality you sound like an egotistical, spoiled, suburban tween. I'm not trying to be rude but I hate it when people won't shut up about how "unique" they are and how "they don't care what others think" (when in reality they do), but then they argue about how unique they are on the internet and end up being apart of a group just because of their teenage identity crisis and end up conforming while whining about how they "don't conform". Everyone alive conforms to something, no one lives a totally unique lifestyle, just shut up about it, and you should just do what makes you happy instead of totally donning and conforming to a label in every way. My point is stop making your "unique" lifestyle a conformity competition within itself, then fighting about it online, and just start actually being yourself. I'm sure I was guilty of this at age 12-15, but I grew out of that idiocy.This has become major pet peeve of mine now, that I will probably proceed to rant more about it later. Being "yourself" is just doing what makes you as a person happy, not doing every single thing a little group does. Sure, I identify as "goth" but if I HAD to do something I didn't believe or didn't make me happy to be apart of a group, I wouldn't do it, mainly because it's stupid and the logic collapses in on itself. Again, I' not trying to call anyone in particular out but just the little kids online who whine about how individual they are by naming obscure bands, how big their hair is, and how many duckface pictures they have on the internet; simply is annoying and childish. If you were really being yourself you wouldn't give a damn and wouldn't be getting all butthurt about something calling you "conformist". Really, just get a grip, stop being a whiny egotistical child, and just start doing what makes you happy instead of clinging to a supposed groups every move and like/dislike. Really just do what makes YOU happy, and stop making "individuality" a competition. Everyone is unique in some way or another because we are all different people, stop trying to make it any other way. And while I'm ranting, stop excluding other's from your little clique because you don't want someone to impede on your'e "epic amount of individuality". Really, why do you care if someone has the same interests as you? And why should that determine friendship status? Just start accepting yourself and everyone else and please grow up about it. Finding yourself is about finding what makes YOU happy, not anyone else. And this is what too many teens/tweens just don't understand.

(I'm sorry if this offended anyone but this is excessively annoying to me because it's on every other site I see and gets pretty ridiculous, illogical, and hypocritical if you look at the bigger picture. Kids need to start actually being themselves and doing what makes them happy and no one else. I just think being unique has itself turned into a competition of conformity, with cliques and more crap like that. I just think it's immature even though I'm sure I did it when I was little but grew out of it. Everyone is guilty of it basically but it's sad how far it seems to have gone. I wasn't trying to be mean, I just can't sugarcoat this for anyone, mainly because it's stupid, disrespectful to oneself, and despicable in my opinion. Again, feel free to disagree with me, your'e opinion will be valued, not bashed. And I would like input if you have any. But yeah, this is just how I feel personally and it's kind of stupid what the hangup on "uniqueness" has become. Just saying)

Is Education really supposed to be about making money?

Honestly, money and a job isn't my most important goal in continuing my education. One of the most important and core reasons I dig for even more "wisdom and knowledge", is that I live in a world even I fail to comprehend and I'm searching for truth or what transcends truth in a world of uncertainty and unpredictability. I also search for knowledge in order to help turn a world around and to make my life mean something. What most people seem to have forgotten, is that money and materialism is temporary, so is your career, your "American dream", and your life; but the more education and knowledge you gain during this finite lifetime can help you change the world, and if one changes the world and is remembered for something other than money and the things that lie within the themes of "vanitas", then they're not truly dead and gone, but their memory truly does become somewhat "infinate". Education has turned into a monopoly in the game of Capitalism, when it should be used to help turn the world around and bring our world into an age of peace and understanding that should transcend the confines of worldly possessions and ideas. Sure money provides, but so does compassion, love, and an understanding and education about the current state of man. Education transcends money, but it seems our society has blinded us to this.

(What I'm trying to say is that education shouldn't truly be about finding a job and making money in my opinion, it needs to be put to better things that will help humanity. Any objections?)