Becoming Emo - A How To

I was watching the blinking cursor of editing the facebook status, thinking of how to best be clever or be easily understood, and it just hit me that all this, myspace, facebook, match.com, dating profiles, autobiographies, books, people, conversations is just one way or another to tell somebody how we are feeling and understand us.

All this we do, all this attempt to put ourselves out on the internet in thousands of potential eyes and all the power that people try to muster through war or being a great warlord, is just a further attempt to make sure people understand who we are.

It's a great feeling we can all identify with right away, remember when our parents were busy and they ignored us while they were on the phone, and your favorite aunt or uncle comes in and swoops you off your feet and takes you to buy ice cream?

We remember them forever and we consider them the best uncle or aunt not because they brought us ice cream or swoops us off our feet, but because they understood us, they gave us attention and told us it was alright to be ourselves. Then of course, they rewarded us for it.

As we grow older, we form a shield around us as our parents and peers tell us what is wrong and what is right, what is cool and what is uncool. We refrain and become protective of our egos because suddenly the world tells us we cannot be OURSELVES anymore. We have to act how other people act to be accepted. We get older and older and it gets worst, instead of going around and questioning, exploring, playing, we stand in public, staring into space and fearing doing anything that can cause embarassment.

What does this have to do with being emo you ask? I don't think what I am actually talking about has to do with that certain subculture than the exact word "emotion". But since it is prove that it is another pressure in society NOT to be emo and weird, I can pretty much use that term without much problem. This has nothing to do with cutting your wrists, hear me out.

Lets go back to the myspace, why do people try so hard to post sexy pictures and write beautiful poems and keep us updated on our status ever hour?

Think back to that child you were, that playful human being, full of grace. You questioned everything and everybody because you were curious, adults didn't ask you to stop and they would smile because they knew you were a child, you didn't know any better.

I don't think those adults are any more developed or "mature" than the child, in fact I think the opposite. I think the child is closer to being HUMAN as we are ever going to get. We aren't restricted yet, we aren't told whats wrong and we are just experiencing bliss and acceptance. We don't need to lose weight, follow diet plans, get good grades, make a ton of money, marry a beautiful women, the mid life crisis Porsche. We are free, we live on pure, unfiltered 100% emotion, we are happy. We don't need any those things.

What happened that we dropped all these materials, restrictions, and rules in front of us that would limit our happiness so much?

I think I am very fortunate to come that that realization lately during my study of the social arts and psychology (for fun). I am glad i realize that before I grew any older and that shield continues to harden and god forbid think that the Porsche will make me truly any happier.

I didn't get mad when I found out. I actually grew very optimistic, very happy, accepting and forgiving of people and their behavior. I walked down the mall with my buddy Anthony in New Jersey and hopped around the mall as we sang songs, that being one of the greatest moments of development in my life.

I say, go out there. Go tell a person, a fellow friend, a bum on the street that you understand them. You don't have to tell them straight off, you can just listen to them. Listening is a lost art anyways. Go become closer to being human as you ever been by letting go, be a child. Question things, act like a dork. Talk to people about EMOTIONS, relate, compliment.

Fight that shield, that ego, that embarassment in public. I did that for a whole year. I also compliment strangers and cute girls on something that ever catches my eye, they wear that item for a reason you know. They want to be accepted and understood too.. just the same reason they have a myspace.

I am tired and I am going to sleep while my suitemates are playing poker. This is my rant and wisdom to the folks that choose to read and stay with this. I cannot tell you to do anything you don't want, but I hope at least this encouraged you to have a smile on your face or even better, to put a smile on a person's face tomorrow. I hope I can make one more person happier, to become a kid again, fuck that shield.

I hope you smile, I believe in you, you are a beautiful person. And I hope we meet sometime in this life.