Music

Music is one of things that EVERYBODY in this world loves, I'm sure. Certain types make us happier than others, and others are more pleasurable to hear, but our reasons for liking songs are much different. People enjoy beats, the lyrics, the way the person's voice sounds, and many other aspects of certain songs.

I happen to be a very avid Korean pop fan (I listen to rock/alternative. and some american pop as well, but Korean pop is one of my favorites, along with rock/alternative/indie). I enjoy it so much, that I probably listen to it for at least an hour every day. When I mention to anyone that I am a fan, a very common response is, "How can you like it if you can't even understand it?" Well, that's a great question. I enjoy music based on how everything fits together. If the words, instrumentation, and the person's voice all sound good to me, I'll enjoy the song. Very seldom do I find a song where the lyrics are just so terrible that I can't even handle it. If I really get curious about my koreans' lyrics, I just look them up. It's really not that hard.

This just really bugs me because it's like, why do I have to understand the lyrics just to like the song? I'll admit, I thoroughly enjoy songs with deep, lyrical meanings (Say Anything, one of my favorite bands, has lots of those), but I also enjoy songs in which the lyrics aren't all that great (depending on my circumstances). Like, my koreans. They sing about love and falling in it and all that good stuff. The lyrics can be pretty childish, and it doesn't take a whole lot of brain power to understand what their point is, but I enjoy the songs anyway. You have to be talking about some pretty terrible stuff for me to actually dislike a song for the lyrics.

Like everything else in life, we should like music for our own reasons, and not because of what anyone else says. I know, for sure, that I'm getting sick of people asking me about why I like Korean pop, even though I don't understand it. I choose not to follow the norm. I like it for my reasons, and not yours.

Support + Friends =...Well, it Doesn't Always Happen

You would expect, and hope, that your friends would be your main source of support for you and your choices (other than family, of course). What happens when you have those certain friends that just seem to leave you in the dust when it comes to being supported? How do you handle hearing that something about you is just something they don’t support?

Sorry, but I like to use these examples of my homosexuality, because they seem so relevant at times. I have had/still have friends that were completely against gay marriage. Obviously, I’m completely for it. It’s hard hearing that someone I admire and support in every way feels like I shouldn’t be happy in the future. I almost feel furious at them, so badly wanting to just give them every breath of spiteful words that I ever could, but I know that it just wouldn’t be worth it. What could I possibly say? 

That’s where the dilemma kicks in. It’s not like you can force them to support something that they don’t stand for, but how do you handle it when it happens? The best I’ve been able to do is try and avoid the subject at all costs, but when these friends (because they don’t ALWAYS keep their harsh opinions to themselves) say something offensive about it, I feel as if I have to retaliate, no matter how much I care about them. I don’t make fun of what they stand for, so I don’t expect them to do the same.

This support doesn’t even have to be drastic. It can even be smaller things. Just little reminders that say that they’re your friend, and they have your back no matter what. Acting a certain way about someone’s beliefs or what they stand for can leave them feeling abandoned. It could make them feel as if they’re the only one standing up against the forces of their opposition. Even if you don’t agree with some belief they just keep ranting on about, just say that it’s at LEAST interesting (because that’s a very neutral answer, according to my Humanities teacher), or praise them for how passionate they are about it, because aspects like that make us human. Friends need to be supportive, because no one deserves to feel alone.

Awkward Encounters

So you’re walking to class/work/to the store/your dog/your cat, and you come across someone whom you normally see somewhere that isn’t where you’re currently standing, whether it be at school, at work, or any other place you met them. Suddenly, you feel awkward. Has this happened to you? I know it happens to me.

I find it strange that we are weird about meeting people socially that we normally know through somewhere business related. In other words, seeing someone you know NOT in the place you normally hang with them, it feels awkward to talk to them. For example: I met someone recently who I only know around my dorm area, and they looked directly at me at least three or four times, and didn’t say a word. Sure, I could have waved, or just shouted, “HEY!”, seeing as I was about twenty-five feet away from him. 

Is it just impossible to acknowledge that these people you know CAN and WILL appear in your life, and that it’s perfectly okay to talk to them outside your natural comfort zone with them? This could apply to anything! When you have a person you talk to a lot in one of your classes, you feel pretty comfortable around them. Once you see them anywhere else, such as the grocery store, or a pet store, you become uncomfortable with that person. Can this really affect how we act around this person? And how is it that we just seem to forget who they are when we aren’t seeing them in places we normally see them? This bothers me. It really grinds my gears. How can you just act as if you’ve never seen them when you have absolutely awesome conversations with them in your common meeting area? I wish I could figure this out, but human motives aren’t always so clear. Could it be because they’re used to seeing you in a certain place, and when you see them elsewhere, it throws you off guard? In my opinion, that shouldn’t affect much, but what can you do? 

Kind of a sporadic topic, but hey, that’s what I do. I comment on those random happenings in life that keep you pondering.

Just Another Reflection on Life and Human Behavior

So this is gonna be quite a random post, but it’s something I want to rant about. 

Have you ever just been walking by yourself, or with others, or with your cat, and you notice someone that you are acquainted with, and you say, “Hey, (whatever their name is)!”. When they see you, they say, “Oh hey what’s up?” as they walk right past you, without stopping. I just kind of think, “the point of that was…?” They don’t give you a chance to respond to their question. It also bugs me when the circumstances are the same, but instead they’re like “Hey how are you?” as you walk by each other. It makes me feel bad for not responding, and asking them about their well being, but they don’t give me the chance, seeing as their walking away. What are we supposed to do when people do that? Progressively speak louder as their walking away in order to respond to their question? Wouldn’t that be socially awkward? 

I guess my point is, if the person is going to bother to ask “What’s up?” or “How are you?” as you’re walking by them, they should at least have the decency to stop and have a very brief conversation with you. It doesn’t even have to last a whole minute. Just enough to ask how each other is doing, and if one or both parties is in a hurry, they can vocalize that, and be on their way. Manners, people. They get you places.

Stranger Danger!

Remember when we were little, and parents would tell us all about what to do if a stranger approaches you? I sure do! I remember them saying the cliché situations, such as, “If they offer you candy, say no!” and, “If they ask you to help you find their puppy, don’t.” There were other great examples I’m sure, but wouldn’t it be at least a tad bit funny if you could mess with them a bit? 

If you’re a teen or adult, you can still get approached by strangers, but at least you have wits on your side, instead of being a small, naive child trying to ward off a fifty-year-old man or woman. I think it would be funny (but maybe not ideal, so don’t try this at home, haha!) to mess with them a bit, and there’s ways you can do it for both being a child and being an adult. 

Stranger: “Hey, I’ve got some candy. Wanna see what I have?”

Child: “Candy makes me vomit.”

Stranger: “I’ve seemed to have lost my puppy. Can you help me find it?”

Child: “Puppies are the spawn of Satan. My mommy says if I touch one, I’ll die.”

Well, those are pretty funny, right? If you didn’t think so, then you sure can think of your own ways to mess with them. Do you want to see some adult ones? Okay!

Bum on Street: “Hey wanna buy some drugs?”

Teen/Adult: “I don’t think my insurance will pay for that…” 

Some random person: “Hey baby girl you lookin’ fine!”

Lady: “Why does everyone think I’m a woman!?” 

A very not-classy girl: “Hey big daddy, wanna spend the night with me?”

Man: “Wait. So…will it be, like, normal? Or will it be like throwing a pencil down a hallway?”

So you may or may not have found my examples funny. Oh well! Yes, these random strangers are human too, but the thought of messing with them could be kind of funny. I don’t really recommend it, for obvious reasons of course. I mean, they might adore vomiting children, or women who are actually men. Just remember: Stranger Danger!

Jealousy

Let’s face it: We all get jealous. It’s nothing to be ashamed of, until it drives you to do undesirable things, but that’s beside the point. Why do we get jealous? Is there any way of controlling it?

I think jealously is a sign that we want more than what we’re getting. We can see a couple holding hands and kissing, and become jealous because we aren’t getting that same treatment. Jealousy though, can create bitterness because we want what we think we’re missing out on so bad, that it drags us down to a point to where we just can’t be happy. It’s almost impossible not to go a lifetime without feeling jealousy, and it can me the most minor of our issues, but depending on the intensity of how jealous you become, it can become more than just a problem.

To be able to explain my next example further…I’m gay. I’m attracted to guys. Yup. That’s me. The biggest problem I face, and notice from being a gay male is that I almost literally have no male friends. It’s as if once they figure out I’m gay, all other aspects of me disappear, and that’s all they can concentrate on. I feel like I’m getting alienated and mistreated by straight males, just because of who I am. What straight male can be friends with someone who can have a possibility of being attracted to them? In my experiences, apparently none of them, but my mind is still subject to change.

I become jealous because I work ten times as hard as any other guy just to be friends with somebody I admire, and I always fall short. I don’t get all creeper on them, I don’t flirt with them, I don’t try to talk to them all the time, so I always wonder what on earth I could be doing wrong. Two straight guys can easily become friends just by talking for a few minutes. I talk to them for months on end, and there’s still, somehow, no common ground. Why? Well, and this is just me: I’m gay.

Jealously can not only hurt you, but if you become to obsessed with your jealousy, you can hurt the one your emotions are targeting as well. I believe it’s normal to feel this way, but it’s not healthy to feel it all the time. Be careful out there.

Compliments

Ah, compliments. It’s something that warms one’s heart. To those who receive them constantly, it could be a pain, but to those who rarely get them, well, it could make their day. Compliments can be given to someone about anything. They can be given to the person about the person, but in my eyes, people don’t always receive it the right way. Through my experience, there comes a certain age where complimenting someone, such as, “You are very pretty” or “I like your ascot” or “Your eyes are like, so dreamy”, becomes awkward, and almost unwanted.

When you see someone’s baby or toddler, you might immediately think “Aw they’re so cute!” and you then tell them, “Your son/daughter is so cute!” When they’re that little, you can’t possibly be thinking any creepy thoughts about the physical appearance of this child, so what’s the harm in complimenting them? Now when a child becomes maybe five, six, or seven years of age, (though it’s more of just an appearance thing, if they look too old to say “they’re so cute!” then your gut will let you know), the creepy thoughts vibe can come out. I had a recent experience with this (no not the creepy thoughts part, you perverts.) I was in a sandwich place and a father walked in with his little girl who I thought was adorable. She only added to this by bustin’ out her awesome dance moves. I wanted to say, “She’s so adorable!”, but she looked maybe old enough to where that could of crossed the boundary. 

There’s no definite time when it becomes awkward, you just kind of take a guess. Why does it have to be awkward, though? Can’t we just say things like, “You’re very pretty” or “I like your hair. Who does your hair? I wanna go there. (Song reference)”, without the other person thinking there’s an ulterior motive?  To me, it’s just simply noticing something about someone, and making it known that you admire that aspect of them. What’s so creepy about that? In fact, I challenge you, readers! Don’t just sit back and think “Oh man that guy’s hair is so awesome, but I can’t tell him because then he will think I want to stalk him”. There’s your misfortune, and find your happiness by breaking out of your shell and compliment someone. If you see someone who’s wearing an awesome hat, say so! If someone is “hot”, tell them! Well, maybe just say they’re pretty. Yes, even if they’re a man. I’m sure him and his prettiness will appreciate it.