First, let me tell you who I am. I'm Lily, I'm 13 years old, I'm in high school. I have an eyebrow piercing, I used to have a smiley, my lobes are stretched, and am soon going to get a navel piercing. But you're not here to hear about me, so I'll shut up about myself. If you really want to know more about me go to my IAM page.
At A Glance Author Lily Contact [email protected] IAM moonlightsilhouette When N/A I review experiences and I see some experiences that I'm not sure whether they ever get accepted or not, which really doesn't matter here, but they diss the "trendies" and the kids that shop at Abercrombie and Fitch. To quote one:
"I don't where A&F, do I want a fancy car (okay maybe just a tiny bit), and think exactly like them."
Many of the modified, or just plain "not trendy" seem to act as if they're better than the "trendy" people or the "normal" people, or at the very least against them. There's nothing wrong with wanting to fit in. It's human nature, it may not be a conscious effort, but we all do it. Whether it's trying to fit in by dressing in what magazines call "this summer's later fashion" or trying to fit in with the "anti-fashion" crowd by dressing in something that isn't trendy, we all still try to fit in.
So what does this have to do with modifications? I see many of the modified complaining that the "trendy" kids or the "popular" kids or the "normal" kids don't accept them. People won't accept you until you accept them. If you can't accept that someone shops at "trendy" stores, they probably won't accept that you have modifications. Why are we so "modified vs. unmodified", as erynnelisabeth puts it?
Is it because you automatically think that because they're not physically like you, that they're going to pre-judge you on how you look? Maybe it is. Maybe they will. Maybe you'll never know if you pre-judge them first. If you rant about how people don't accept you for how you look (i.e. modified, odd hair colors, etc....) but in the next second say that they're stupid because they wear A&F or because they're a cheerleader or a football player, you're just like the people you hate on the inside. Believe or not, most people, no matter how they look, are really nothing like their stereotype, not just the modified. In fact, I really don't know how stereotypes started, as I've never seen an accurate one yet, but that's another story...
There are so many people out there that popular as they may be, or as many A&F clothes as they may wear, or as much football as they may play, they are so nice. Although it's also human instinct to think something of someone the second you see them, what truly matters is if you let that affect any future with may have with that person. My friends don't look like me. None of them have pink hair. None of them have any facial piercings. Lori cringes every time she sees my ears and Lauren wouldn't take pictures of me where she could see my smiley. (from my yearbook: "That piercing in your mouth is sooo gross, eww! SICK, SICK, SICK, SICK!! But I'll get used to it...") But they're still my friends. They don't judge me on the fact that they hate my piercings, my clothes, and my hair, they've been my friends for two years. I don't judge them on that they wear the "latest fashions" or that they're band geeks. We're friends because we like each other's inside . Hard as that may be to do, would you rather be friends with someone that had virtually nothing about them that you liked, but looked just like you, or with someone that may be that best friend you never had, but he or she on the outside is as different as you can get - the type that you would think would shun you? If you don't let that impression of how they look sway you too much, you may find a lifelong friend. If you do, well, I suppose all I can say is that I feel sorry that you can't accept that not everyone is going to look like you.
What am I trying to say? If you judge someone on how they look, you'll never know if they were going to hate you for how YOU look. They could be the most open-minded person in the world, but if you hate them for wearing A&F, will you ever find that out? Probably not.
I can't change your mind, but I can tell you what I think and let you decide if that will change your mind or not. My opinions are not necessarily correct, but there is no real "correct" on these kind of issues, now is there?