Freakshow: The Story Of A Skin Deep Society

From the moment we are born are parents look at us, counts are digits, and tell us to grow to be whomever we want to be. Our parents may be the first to tell us this but, they are certainly not the last. Only a few years later we are in enrolled in kindergarten, a place where this "Grow to be you" mantra is constantly reused. There, they tell the youth that it is important to be whomever you are and, whatever you want to be. Following this they make it a point to instruct us that we must never "judge", and accept everyone. These two "Mantras" are continuously repeated all through out school years.

That is of course, untill we start  being ourselves. For some, this time is a little blimp that is never really thought about again. However there are some that it is the beginning of a long road. This road begins with us trying to be ourselves for the first time, only for the people around us, to not like who were are trying to be. Because when our parents, our teachers, etc.  first told us to be ourselves they had a blueprint in there mind of what our selves should look like. But when some of us drift from there blueprint we are automatically rejected. As if the things that are different on the outside make us any different in the inside. And all that tolerance mantra they dill in our heads all are life where is that? Gone.

My guess is that there all to busy trying to shove us back in the society's "accepted look" box. Sad part is, there trying to put us in something that doesn't even exists. I know, I know that sounds really....Really stupid but in all honesty its true. If beauty is truly in the eye of the beholder why and how is Society even a part of it? Just because a mass of people have the same views doesn't mean its right. I mean, look at the nazi's, they were a mass of people who believed that Jews should be punished or worse, killed. That didn't make them right did it? Then why are we trying to say wearing a type of clothing, getting a type of piercing or liking something is wrong? Who are we to be hypocrites and judge? I mean, face it. You could be reading this wearing something I may loathe, but it my opinion it doesn't make yours or my style wrong.   

I also believe the emotional impact of all this is immensely painful. It seems that people tend to forget that what they say can have an emotional impact on somebody's self esteem. I mean, think about it. If you were told your entire life you could do something,( for an example lets say wearing blue is what you were told you could do) only to try and do that something (Wear blue) only to be told that what you tried was wrong. And on top of that you should never do it. How would you feel? Betrayed? Lied to? Hurt? Confused? Cause that's what the people who are being shoved back into the box feel. It hurts, it really does, to be unable to be something or someone because a small mass of people may not agree.

If your walking down this road, or have one foot in the box, and one foot out, its confusing. What are we to do? What are we to believe? Are we to give into people and reject not only what we like, but in extension who we are? Or do we break free? Be our selves, and watch the people who disagree (Teachers, Family members, Strangers etc.) turn there backs and look the other way? All this just because something is not deemed correct or is a little different then what a mass of people agree with.

For an example, Piercings. While they have come far in the past several years some are still deemed not 100% accepted by a mass of people. Like Snake bites (Two piercings on either side of the lower lip) are still sometimes rejected because, like anything, they have a few cons. One of the major issues I have herd thus far is the fact that they leave small scars or indentations (That are size of a pin head). In all honestly I must say I do not completely understand this worry when I can think of many things that leave indentations or scars on the face (Acne, Severe sunburns or perhaps those pesky little fireworks we let children play with once a year, or even more likely: everyday rough housing or playing?) 

But I digress, Who are we (All of us being Human Beings) to be hypocrites and judge? Why can't we get past the fact that not everyone like all the same things? And more importantly, Dressing a certain way or or getting a type of piercing or tattoo etc. doesn't make someone nicer or meaner then they already were.

And above all else the question I asked on my 15th summers: Why do we Live in a skin deep Society?