Interesting is a poem that hasn't been written

Some days ago, I received a question on formspring that got me thinking and led to related and unrelated thoughts.

At the core of it, popularity is attention. It doesn't matter if you are a good sport, fun to hang out with, exceedingly kind and generous, or interesting. Popularity is attention paid and the recognition awarded to somebody . A fine trait to have is confidence. If you are confident, if doesn't matter if your opinion is the popular one; you can make the unpopular switch sides. You need a strong voice because that will convince all eyes on you that you're confident because you are right.

We used to be in the age of 'fitting in', where a girl would be made fun of if she didn't like the things all the other girls liked. We've now moved on into the 'standing out' age; everyone wants to be a special snowflake ("I'm a gamer girl omg I'm so weird" or "All other white teens love one direction but I love pop punk!").

Pick your method of standing out, be it with a loud and self-righteous opinion (hipster or not, it doesn't matter), pick up multiple interests and make sure to tell everyone about it, be trendy with clothes or shoes or blogs or bananas (if you're influential enough)! You basically need to draw attention to yourself for this whole 'popularity' thing to get started.

Soon, if you do it right, you will get a following. I found it difficult to define popularity at first, because I was bothered by the fact that there are two types of people in this following: the positive ones and the negative ones. The former will take a popular kid as an icon (well, as iconic as teenagers can get anyway) or just simply be interested in whatever the subject does because it seems cool or cool as hell, depending on the degree of worship. The latter are those that follow the subject's news because it's ironic-funny, annoying and good to criticise, since by now, our subjects may have had some slip-ups that hmm, well, reduces their credibility.

So anyway, popularity is that following. However, at the core of it all, normal folks like us can take comfort in the fact that, if the image was assumed, it's very likely that all the following sees is just an image. I believe that if you are only popular amongst people that aren't important, then you aren't popular at all.

Furthermore, some popular people have it bad, because if you think that they get more love, twitter followers, youtube subscribers, blog readers and anon fan-mail, they probably also get more hate.  I wouldn't go to the extent of saying that it's like leading two lives, but the effect is very much similar: fans of a false self, and haters of both the real and the fake self. It doesn't sound very promising, does it?

More often than not, I see the genuine folks are unrecognised for their greatness. Those who are popular for their true selves deserve it completely. I'm not saying that those who have developed an image don't deserve the love. Sometimes we become things we presume we are or desire to be. Their keen climb to being interesting may have made them unique. Of course, if the shoe fits, wear it. If it floats your boat... ... but if you decide to shoot yourself in the foot, then you might go down with it.

These are just my two cents worth on the social issue of popularity and things related. In this ever changing society, it's difficult to keep up with the socially acceptable, but if there are two things we ought to remember, they are that we should take lots of things with a pinch of salt, and that it's best to be natural. Perhaps you see now why I was reluctant to post anything for that slow month. At times I feel like it's not right to be anything, I am too neutral, I am too judgemental, they are too judgemental, I am too harsh. I think there is somebody more popular, that I can never match up to and hence everything I do is a waste. But sometimes, I remind myself: We just need to take a deep breath.

Note to Self:

Do what you love

Love what you do

There’s no need to impress anyone

There’s no one to impress anything

Be comfortable with your skin

And the skin will comfort whatever’s within.

***

I believe it's time to call to attention one of my favourite works by Hannah Beth, whom I follow on tumblr. This poem was a hot favourite at the book club picnic and I love it because it's ballsy and acute.

Why Self Diagnosing is Wrong - A slam poem that should be read aloud

****Trigger Warning*****

Also sorry if this offends anyone somehow I wrote it very quickly and I was very angry and I’m not trying to make anyone upset. This is just for people who think mental illness is glamorous or who act like they have a mental illness when they don’t.

Somewhere out there a girl is suicidal

but no one takes her seriously

because you and your friends treat suicide like a joke

and now it’s just a matter of bragging rights,

like “hell yeah I've tried it, you haven’t?”

and so her peers rolled their eyes when she said “I want to die tonight.”

And somewhere out there a kid is slitting his wrists

because no one listens to him

and you’re calling this glamorous?

Somewhere out there is a girl with a toothbrush down her throat

puking blood into the shower drain.

She will die on her knees,

and you have the nerve to call yourself “kinda bulimic”

because you tried it once in the eighth grade?

Fuck you.

Somewhere out there someone is starving themselves

but no one will see it because

all girls want to be anorexic

but most of them aren’t.

You read The Perks of Being a Wallflower

and now you think it’s cute as hell to be awkward

so you tell me “I’m just like Charlie”

while somewhere out there a boy is too scared to leave his bedroom

or to make eye contact with strangers

or to speak when he answers the phone

and you think that it’s trendy?

It’s cool to be sick suddenly

and depression is a badge you’d like to brag about.

Now eating disorders are a facebook status

so that your friends can comment and say

“you’re beautiful! Stay strong!”

Fuck you.

You see psych wards on the TV

and say “mom,

can I go to therapy?”

because it sure seems exciting to want to die,

doesn’t it?

Somewhere a corpse is hanging from a rope.

Now tell me

how that is glamorous?

We’ve glorified sickness so now it is meaningless.

And if you are so desperate to feel interesting

that you want to trivialize the sick

just to make friends

let me tell you something:

Interesting is fluency in nine different languages.

Interesting is a poem that hasn’t been written.

Interesting is an artist who paints portraits of strangers on the bus.

It is interesting to care about people

and it is interesting to be kind.

But if you’re so dull and stupid that you think sticking a label of sickness to yourself will make you cool

maybe you should shut off the computer

and leave your bedroom

and go learn something true.

Yes, we are all sad sometimes

and yes we want to be thin.

We get nervous when we meet new people;

that is human.

That doesn’t mean you are sick or strange

or fascinating.

Somewhere out there are people who really need help

and they struggle to be heard

over the millions of teenagers screaming

“Hear me! Hear me! Hear me!”

Shut it down.

Realize that you are lucky

to be healthy

and stop lying

and diagnosing

and bragging

because that is disgusting.

You aren’t helping anybody.

Learn the difference now

between sadness and depression,

between hunger and anorexia,

between a problem and a dry spell.

You are human

and that makes you interesting.

An illness is a horrible tragedy

and it is not beautiful

or newsworthy.

There is nothing glamorous about a slit wrist

or a corpse in a coffin

and there is nothing glamorous about wanting this.

Fuck you

and your self diagnosis.

It’s wrong

and you need to stop.