Sunday, May 27, 2012

Eek! Labels!

We've all seen them. They flock around in groups, looking identical, convinced of their transcendence above normal, boring people. And we've all made fun of them, it's officially a cliche. So I'm going to depart from that particular path for a quick stroll through an alternative line of thought.
There's another group that irritates me (actually, there's a lot of people who annoy me, but I'm being specific right now). Label-phobic people. The ones who get pissed off at the thought that they could be classified them as a punk, jock, or emo. Because they are special and original and different, damn it! I find that this is most common in adolescents, probably because they still have this mindset of "There is not one single person like me in the entire world".
Well, sorry to break it to you, loves, but there are people very similar to you, spread around the whole world. And that's okay.
You don't need to be a solitary pillar. You can't bogart all the individuality in the world, there will be other people with the same weird characteristics as you. It doesn't make you any less yourself, not unless you change to avoid being classified.
For example, I'm a goth. I love things other people may consider dark or weird. I've been listening to original goth bands since birth (thanks Dad!). I love bats, and vampires (Unfortunately Necessary Disclaimer: Not Meyer's atrocities), everything Victorian, black leather, and boots (boots, boots, boots!).
Can some of those attributes belong to other people, as well? Yep.
Can you have all these attributes and not be a goth? Yep.
Do I love goth culture and self-identify with it? I do!
So, embrace who you are, even if there's been a label attached to it. Be a punk, or a metalhead, or a goth kid!



Ah, happy Raven's soul.

Friday, May 18, 2012

Quick Ramble about Phantom of the Opera

As anyone who knows me is aware, I love musicals. I was in theatre for four years, and I miss the hell out of it now that I've graduated.
One of my favorites, of course, is The Phantom of the Opera. Go ahead and guess my favorite character. I'll wait.

Yes, of COURSE it's the Phantom!
The Phantom shows the true nature of people. He's a creative genius, he's self-educated (and did a good job), cultured, and devoted. Yet, people have shunned him, beat and tortured him, because he didn't look right. No one ever admits their own responsibility in creating his madness. They simply start a hunt for him. I don't much care for the rest of the main cast. Raoul strikes me as a spoiled brat (which seems to me to be confirmed in Love Never Dies), and Christine is really just dumb. She let's herself be manipulated, and sides with whoever is providing the most security at the moment.

Short, rambly. It's four thirty in the morning, and I still have two and a half hours until my shift is over. You'll have to forgive me. A proper post shall be forthcoming!

Tuesday, May 1, 2012

Prerequisites

Apologies for wandering away, in case anyone had wondered where I'd been.
I have been jotting things down at the bus stop, but only bits and pieces, nothing quite well-rounded enough for me to post.
A quick recap of life lately:
My job is annoying, and the quest begins for a new one.
My coworker makes me want to punch her so hard she gets lung cancer. Which makes for fun angry poetry while waiting for the bus. I may perhaps pastably post it for you, because why not?
Also, a new DND campaign begins soon, joyfully! I'm a half-elf ranger, should anyone be interested. I'm still building upon my character, so any input would be welcome and fun.

Now, on to my actual topic! This struck me today while setting up breakfast, and I've been rolling the idea around for about an hour, which is more time than I usually spend musing on my topics. I don't mean this will be any less wandering and unstructured than any other post, mind you.

Onward!

This may stem from way too many hours spent playing Final Fantasy Tactics, but I feel that there's certain things that come with prerequisites. You can't be a knight before you've been a squire, after all.

For example, if you've never had a proper job, where bits of your money have been spirited away into taxes, you don't get to complain about them. You don't get to complain about how high taxes are, you don't get to complain about how tax dollars are spent, because they aren't YOUR tax dollars. What you do get to do is sit, and shut your trap.

If you're thousands of dollars in debt, because you have a credit card, a tendency to want things you don't have the money to buy, and poor impulse control, you don't get to complain about the National Deficit. It's quite easy to sit there and feel superior, but until you deal with your own irresponsible spending, you can't complain about anyone else's. Deal with your problems in-house before giving advice about everyone else's. Guess what you ARE intitled to do? Sit, and shut your trap.

Don't like pop music? Do you listen to it? If you do, then just stop. If you don't listen to the radio at all, then you don't get to complain! :D You haven't actually heard it, you just dislike the idea of it. Until you've had an extensive listen to your local Top 40 station, you don't get an opinion of anything it plays. Not out loud, anyway. You can think whatever it is you like in that head of yours. But until you've heard what you're critizing, you get to sit, put your headphones in, play whatever music it is you feel is deep and meaningful, and shut your trap.

Think a food is nasty that you've never had?
SIT...
Think someone's views are ignorant, but haven't actually listened to what they have to say?
...SHUT...
Think something is stupid when you know not a thing about it?
...YOUR TRAP!

Don't shake your hypothetical head at me, every single one of us is guilty of it.

So let's try and make the world a better and more understanding place, one ignorant shut trap at a time.

Much love,

Raven, your charming (and occasionally arrogant) blogmistress.