It’s Hip To Be Square

So we all come across a trend at least once, maybe twice, most likely thrice, in our lifetime. Such as skinny jeans, miniskirts, pinafores, Converse sneakers, jelly bracelets, ballet flats..

And that’s just the clothes.

So what is with these trends? Why is it that everyone gets involved with them and wants to follow them? Personally, I don’t know and I don’t care. I don’t usually follow trends, but if I do, it’s when they’re not even ‘trendy’.

Trends have pros and cons, obviously, and that is the point of this article.

Pro: It makes you look cool. Okay, fair enough. You want to be ‘cool’. But hang on a second.. define what is meant by the word ‘cool’. Do people look at you? If so, is it in a good way, or a bad way?

If you’re trying to get noticed – remember you’re presenting yourself from your image. If you expect people to think you are ‘hip’ or ‘cool’ – if you think that it’s going to make you popular, think again. People will definitely recognise you, but that is not to say that they will come up and talk to you (and start a conversation about, most likely, your Converse sneakers).

You’re just getting noticed. And presenting yourself nicely, that is, if the trend looks nice on you. It isn’t going to actually make more people like you. It doesn’t mean you’ll have more friends. What if you talk to someone and they don’t like you at all, because in reality you like maths and make model planes in your spare time?

Con: Everyone has it/is doing it. What happened to originality? I don’t think you want to walk around and find that someone is wearing the same jeans as you. They’re wearing your bright blue skinnies! OH GOSH!! Or you go to school and find that everyone is reading that same book. Groaaaaaan.

And that is quite the thing; it isn’t just clothes. Books. Oh, kill me now, damnit Twilight by fricking Stephenie Meyer. Teenage girls going crazy over Edward Cullen. Don’t get me wrong, I love the book. It’s great, and Edward Anthony Mason Cullen is a sweet guy. I’m just sick of the hype.

Almost everywhere I go, someone is clinging tightly to their own copy of Breaking Dawn, which I am refusing to read until everyone shuts up about this little ‘Renesme’ and bascially, until the hype is over. I see Twilight everywhere on people’s sites.

TREND INCOMING! It’s running around websites too. I see Twilight layouts on so many websites I visit. Or in people’s personal information on their sidebar: ♥ EDWARD CULLEN. Stop! Just stop! Calm down! He isn’t real! Jaaaaah!

On websites too.. yes, that’s where I was. Miley Cyrus? Why do I keep seeing her on layouts everywhere? And Rihanna? It makes me bored. Is there something out there I haven’t seen? And not just with layouts, but with competitions. We have a lot of ‘blend’ competitions, ‘icon’ competitions, ‘site of the month’ competitions…

Not everyone can make a blend, you know. Not everyone has a site that, unfortunately, the judge will like. I give huge credit to Ashley of HeartlessWind who came up with original competitions for people who like to write stories, poems, or just give their opinion. In addition, her site layouts are always original. This is the stuff I like to see!

And now we come to music. Music. First thing that comes to mind on the trend topic in the category of music: The Jonas Brothers. Don’t smack me, but full stop. Here is something I absolutely love saying: Are they bigger than The Beatles? No. And that isn’t to say they will be, but WHY do I see the Jonas Brothers on a lot of website layouts too?

Now, now. You want me to talk about their music? Fair enough. Hear me out: I like it. The Jonas Brothers are cool. Their music is good. But you do not need to tell me it 24/7! They’re cute, you say? They’re not models, they’re musicians. They want you to listen to their music.

Now and then comes a band or a singer everyone gets into. Be honest: Do you like their music? Or really, are you just sticking it on your ipod so someone will say ‘What are you listening to.. hey that’s so cool! Can I listen?’ while in reality your ears are bleeding.

Trends, for most people, comes with the price of their identity. Not everyone will like wearing skinny jeans, but they may feel pressured to because their peers are, or because everyone else is. As for your friends, who cares if they’re wearing them? If they’re really your friends, then they wouldn’t ditch you for not ‘wearin’ da jeenz, bro’. And if you’re breaking the ‘jean clan’, forget it. They’re being immature and not liking you for the normal-jean-wearing genie you are.

Some trends are also ugly. Miniskirts and ugg boots are just as bad as miniboots and ugg skirts. They’re clothes from two totally different seasons. Why put them together? They look horrid, and utterly gross, and it makes you look like you’ve just woken up!

Similarly, though you may like the idea, you will definitely come across a trend you don’t like. What if you’re conscious of your body shape and vow not to wear a miniskirt? If they become a trend, are you going to wear them? I’m guessing no.

So suddenly the nerd kid at school who plays chess becomes popular, and everyone wants to play chess now. Are you going to play chess when you don’t know how to play? And if you hate chess?

Are you going to do it anyway, just to be cool? I’d think not.

Personally, I don’t follow trends. I used to like every song in mainstream and knew everything about every song.. only to realise that I really didn’t like the music and found myself constantly headbanging to Nirvana and various awesome metal bands, no matter what mood I was in. And when a song from the radio came up, I’d press the next button on my keyboard.

As for clothes, I wear what I feel like wearing. Ugg boots are for sleeping. I hate following trends. I own trendy pieces but I wear them when no one else does. I mix girlie and grunge. I don’t watch a show just because everyone else is. I watch it because I like it.

The key is, don’t follow a trend if you don’t like it. Don’t force yourself. Feel good to be yourself and show people what you really like, not what you expect them to like.

It’s only hip to be square when square is yourself!