Confession: It's Cool to be Hip

   

When I grow up and have kids, they will inevitably look back on old photos and journal entries and tell me what a huge nerd I was and probably still will be.  I’m writing this because for once in my life, I can identify with an actually cool movement, and I want them to know that at least right now, geek is chic  (that’s what one of my nieces told me anyways when I asked why she was wearing some big fake glasses lol). 

I’m not “a hipster” (lets face it, no one will claim the label these days, because it’s "in" to be underground), but I was just thinking today of how funny it is that I have some hipster-ish traits.  If you don't know what this is, I don't think anyone else really does either, except to say that it's the newest movement that I saw a lot of at BYU, and can only be defined by what hipsters do and things they like or wear.  

So here are some things I have in common with Hipsters: 

• I blog.
• I’m in my 20s
• I’ve been writing poetry and song lyrics since I was 13…and I don’t talk about it…
• Mike and I own or have owned Keds & Sperry’s (but no TOMS)
• I’ve always loved to read classic literature
• I thrifted a purse for $2 that other Hipsters think is bomb
• I like Indie music.  My favorite band list right now includes Ingrid Michaelson, Regina Spektor, Florence & the Machine, The Civil Wars, & Flight of the Conchords (just for fun)
• I’ve been playing violin for 10 years and I learned to play the guitar for love (specifically: Mike)
• I minored in art in college
• I love foreign dramas
• English has always been my favorite subject in school, and I love to write
• I know a lot of abstract artists & their pieces
• I have a lot of quirks, like that I’ve always secretly wanted to become a FBI agent or criminal mastermind
• I LOVE ironic TV shows with lots of playful banter (Gilmore girls, 30 Rock, etc.)
• Mike and I don’t eat a ton of meat
• I was raised on thrifting all of my clothes & home decor
• I actually am near sighted (even though I don’t wear Hipster glasses)
• I like it when Mike grows a beard & looks so rugged
• We love to go camping & be in the outdoors
• I wash my hair like twice a week and mostly leave it natural
• Our apt contains a lot of Ikea furniture
• I’m socially pretty shy when you first meet me, and later I’m pretty sarcastic and have a dry sense of humor/irony
• I own a Mac.  and skinny jeans. ‘Nuff said.
• I like cats

But just to be clear, there are some definite things that separate me from this group:  

• I’m not Democratic
• I don’t get super worked up about global warming
• I have no bumper stickers on my car
• I don’t hate McDonnalds or Walmart for being monopolies 
• I’m not trendy & don’t own the latest gear
• I don’t do the ‘fake moustache’ thing.
• I'm not super technologically savvy
• No messenger bag
• I don’t drink coffee or hang out in bookstore café’s
• I’ve never been to an outdoor concert
• I don’t play Ukulele
• I could never live in LA or NYC
• I don’t have an awesome camera or moped or Iphone
• I don’t get Instagram, Flickr, Tumblr, etc. 
• I don’t photograph everything I eat

Some people seem to get so offended when you call them Hipsters, especially because they like to be viewed as individuals.  Unfortunately, there are so many individuals that have the same taste in things that it seems to have turned into a mainstream movement, which has turned it into something ironic in and of itself.   I don’t use the term negatively; I have a lot of friends who fall into some hipsterly trends (starting their own bands, buying vintage clothing, traveling abroad, taking tons of Instagram photos of what they ate that day) and I think that they are awesome people...the truth is that I sometimes find myself wishing I was that cool.  I know saying I’m hipster-ish puts me outside the group, but in a way I’m proud that there are a lot of people that are funny and like satire, ride bikes, recycle old clothes and care about current issues and the arts.  I know that soon, like big hair bands, goths, emos, or boy bands, the whole "hipster thing" will run it's course, but I think I'll still ride out the wave and then remember these college years fondly when my kids are teasing me about still wearing too-tight skinny jeans.