Cool Is A Myth

namkcuR · 07-10-2005, 11:05 AM

Cool is a myth. The idea that you can somehow achieve cool by wearing the 'right' clothes, talking in the 'right' way, listening to the 'right' music, watching the 'right' TV shows, and being friends with the 'right' people, is a myth. It's absolute rubbish.

The inherent irony with cool is that cool is unique by definition, yet most kids in middle school or high school view cool as being what you have to do to fit in with everyone else - the opposite of being unique.

It is my view that anything that is ever cool starts out in the underground, uncool. But then maybe a buzz about this thing starts going around and a few kids in school start doing/wearing/watching/listening to it. There are people in marketing divisions of many companies whose job it is to look around middle schools and high schools, and other places where kids that age would hang out, and try to spot not what's already the fad, but what is about to explode from the underground to the mainstream. They go back to their companies and report back to them so that they can manufacture/produce what they think will be the mainstream in six months. I believe that that is more common than a company JUST producing whatever the fad is right now. And in six months they'll do it again. In a year, again.

The point of that previous paragraph is to illustrate that what kids percieve as cool is a fleeting thing, it's liquid. It's never solid and it never stays the same. It's an image that changes every six months to a year. Like an illusion. It's not real. You can't put so much importance on achieving this fake coolness now when in six months it will render you a has-been. So you have to destroy that mindset. It's the only way you can ever hope to find what you're looking for in 'cool', at all.

Wanting to be 'cool' is simply wanting to be accepted. The more you want to be cool, the more insecure you probably are about yourself, and the more you want to feel less insecure about yourself. That's all cool is, really. It's feeling comfortable in your own skin. And the only way you can really be 'cool', is by not caring whether you're cool or not. That's the irony. As soon as you start caring whether or not you're cool, you've moved further away from 'cool'. You have to just be yourself, regardless of whether that's accepted as cool in a school or not, and regardless of whether or not that meets the criteria to be any clique a school might have. Cliques are crap. They are a way of letting one or two out of god-knows-how-many personality traits, define who you are and who your friends are. Your friends aren't neccessarily the people that dress like you, your friends aren't neccessarily the people that make fun of other cliques with you, and your friends aren't neccessarily the people who sit at the same lunchtable in the cafeteria as you. Your friends are the people that would want to be trapped in an elevator with you. Take that to the bank.

So, what I'm saying is, if you're in middle school or high school - you need to stop caring what people think of you, and do it as fast as you can. You won't see 99% of your miiddle-school and high-school mates ever again after you graduate, so impressing them or being accepted by them is of little consequence in the long run. The important thing is that the 1% - the person or two that want to be trapped in the elevator with you - might last for a long, long time.

Cool is a myth. Be yourself. That's all.

BVS · 07-10-2005, 12:13 PM

Long threads are very uncool.

2Hearts · 07-10-2005, 12:30 PM

Teens should also be aware that their brains do not fully develop until they reach the age of 17. So they're all sort of mentally impaired.

Decision making skills and the ability to control impulses are lacking until we reach that age. It's too bad that it takes so long, alot of pre-teens and teens make decisions and act in ways that they simply are not equipped for.

impy13 · 07-10-2005, 01:16 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by namkcuR

So, what I'm saying is, if you're in middle school or high school - you need to stop caring what people think of you, and do it as fast as you can.

I stopped giving a shit my senior year, and as a result, it was one of the best years of my life.

That being said, I think you're cool, Rucky.

Cassis · 07-10-2005, 01:47 PM

you are not cool, threadstarter

indra · 07-10-2005, 02:12 PM

No one's cool in middle school or high school. They might think they are, but they aren't, they are just kids.

True cool requires experience and maturity, not flash or "the right" material possessions -- and very few people ever really achieve it.

But good post, namkcuR.

Vorsprung · 07-10-2005, 02:24 PM

Cool is beer served at the right temperature

angelordevil · 07-10-2005, 02:32 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by indra

True cool requires experience and maturity, not flash or "the right" material possessions -- and very few people ever really achieve it.

Yes...(sigh)...it's very lonely at the top I must say.

...

Oh, hi Bono!

At least we have each other...

07-10-2005, 11:05 AM	#1
namkcuR ONE love, blood, life Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Kettering, Ohio Posts: 10,610 Local Time: 05:39 AM	Cool Is A Myth Cool is a myth. The idea that you can somehow achieve cool by wearing the 'right' clothes, talking in the 'right' way, listening to the 'right' music, watching the 'right' TV shows, and being friends with the 'right' people, is a myth. It's absolute rubbish. The inherent irony with cool is that cool is unique by definition, yet most kids in middle school or high school view cool as being what you have to do to fit in with everyone else - the opposite of being unique. It is my view that anything that is ever cool starts out in the underground, uncool. But then maybe a buzz about this thing starts going around and a few kids in school start doing/wearing/watching/listening to it. There are people in marketing divisions of many companies whose job it is to look around middle schools and high schools, and other places where kids that age would hang out, and try to spot not what's already the fad, but what is about to explode from the underground to the mainstream. They go back to their companies and report back to them so that they can manufacture/produce what they think will be the mainstream in six months. I believe that that is more common than a company JUST producing whatever the fad is right now. And in six months they'll do it again. In a year, again. The point of that previous paragraph is to illustrate that what kids percieve as cool is a fleeting thing, it's liquid. It's never solid and it never stays the same. It's an image that changes every six months to a year. Like an illusion. It's not real. You can't put so much importance on achieving this fake coolness now when in six months it will render you a has-been. So you have to destroy that mindset. It's the only way you can ever hope to find what you're looking for in 'cool', at all. Wanting to be 'cool' is simply wanting to be accepted. The more you want to be cool, the more insecure you probably are about yourself, and the more you want to feel less insecure about yourself. That's all cool is, really. It's feeling comfortable in your own skin. And the only way you can really be 'cool', is by not caring whether you're cool or not. That's the irony. As soon as you start caring whether or not you're cool, you've moved further away from 'cool'. You have to just be yourself, regardless of whether that's accepted as cool in a school or not, and regardless of whether or not that meets the criteria to be any clique a school might have. Cliques are crap. They are a way of letting one or two out of god-knows-how-many personality traits, define who you are and who your friends are. Your friends aren't neccessarily the people that dress like you, your friends aren't neccessarily the people that make fun of other cliques with you, and your friends aren't neccessarily the people who sit at the same lunchtable in the cafeteria as you. Your friends are the people that would want to be trapped in an elevator with you. Take that to the bank. So, what I'm saying is, if you're in middle school or high school - you need to stop caring what people think of you, and do it as fast as you can. You won't see 99% of your miiddle-school and high-school mates ever again after you graduate, so impressing them or being accepted by them is of little consequence in the long run. The important thing is that the 1% - the person or two that want to be trapped in the elevator with you - might last for a long, long time. Cool is a myth. Be yourself. That's all. __________________

07-10-2005, 12:13 PM	#2
BVS Blue Crack Supplier Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: between my head and heart Posts: 41,228 Local Time: 03:39 AM	Long threads are very uncool. __________________

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07-10-2005, 12:30 PM	#3
2Hearts War Child Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: SC Posts: 634 Local Time: 09:39 AM	Teens should also be aware that their brains do not fully develop until they reach the age of 17. So they're all sort of mentally impaired. Decision making skills and the ability to control impulses are lacking until we reach that age. It's too bad that it takes so long, alot of pre-teens and teens make decisions and act in ways that they simply are not equipped for.

07-10-2005, 01:47 PM	#5
Cassis Refugee Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: In the goal Posts: 2,345 Local Time: 10:39 AM	you are not cool, threadstarter

07-10-2005, 02:12 PM	#6
indra ONE love, blood, life Join Date: Jan 2004 Posts: 12,689 Local Time: 05:39 AM	No one's cool in middle school or high school. They might think they are, but they aren't, they are just kids. True cool requires experience and maturity, not flash or "the right" material possessions -- and very few people ever really achieve it. But good post, namkcuR.

07-10-2005, 02:24 PM	#7
Vorsprung War Child Join Date: Jun 2000 Location: Netherlands Posts: 976 Local Time: 10:39 AM	Cool is beer served at the right temperature