A to Z Challenge: Uncool is Pleasant
Apr. 24th, 2015 08:12 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
livingdebI've learned over the years that there are many benefits to being uncool.
One thing I don't have to worry much about is addictions. Mom let us try a puff of one of her cigarettes when we were kids and we both declared we would never smoke. I was uncool enough for this declaration to stick. Also, I don't like the taste of alcohol or coffee, and I was never cool enough to train myself to like them. (I still have a sugar addiction, but that's because I've always liked sugar.)
Another example is extra spending on high-status things like fashion and hair styling. I didn't even pay for braces. I do try not to hurt the fashion conscious around me by wearing mostly classic styles instead of painfully out-of-date styles, but sometimes I can't resist (and/or don't realize).
And I get to focus on reliability when I buy cars (instead of status), which saves me a lot of aggravation as well as money. (I do try to get a pretty color, though.)
I also get to miss out on a lot of angst by being clueless about people making fun of me--most of the time. As a kid, of course I could notice when people were calling me Shrimp and Miller Beer. As an adult I've heard people barking as they drove past, but mostly the insults are subtle enough to miss. Occasionally I'll get the feeling that a compliment is backhanded, but mostly I figure if someone is stupid enough to lie to me about what they like, it's their problem if I keep doing that thing around them.
One thing I don't have to worry much about is addictions. Mom let us try a puff of one of her cigarettes when we were kids and we both declared we would never smoke. I was uncool enough for this declaration to stick. Also, I don't like the taste of alcohol or coffee, and I was never cool enough to train myself to like them. (I still have a sugar addiction, but that's because I've always liked sugar.)
Another example is extra spending on high-status things like fashion and hair styling. I didn't even pay for braces. I do try not to hurt the fashion conscious around me by wearing mostly classic styles instead of painfully out-of-date styles, but sometimes I can't resist (and/or don't realize).
And I get to focus on reliability when I buy cars (instead of status), which saves me a lot of aggravation as well as money. (I do try to get a pretty color, though.)
I also get to miss out on a lot of angst by being clueless about people making fun of me--most of the time. As a kid, of course I could notice when people were calling me Shrimp and Miller Beer. As an adult I've heard people barking as they drove past, but mostly the insults are subtle enough to miss. Occasionally I'll get the feeling that a compliment is backhanded, but mostly I figure if someone is stupid enough to lie to me about what they like, it's their problem if I keep doing that thing around them.
no subject
on 2015-04-24 07:54 pm (UTC)"Miller Beer?" What kind of an insult is that? Apparently I'm so uncool that I don't even get that one!
Anyhow, I think it's really funny to watch the different reactions I get from people (especially kids) when I'm on my different bikes. When I'm riding my road bike, clad head to toe in skin tight spandex, wearing my reflect-o sunglasses, kids wave at me, try to ride alongside me and just generally act like I'm really cool. But when I'm riding on old Gertrude, my errand running bike, with baskets full of groceries, wearing street clothes - kids snicker as I go past and even sometimes shout names at me. The funny thing is, it's often the same kids. I think they don't realize I'm the same person just on a different bike and with different clothing!
I'm not sure how the world got divided up into cool & not cool, but I'm pretty sure the main people benefiting from it all are the people selling the fashion clothing and fancy stuff that people think makes them soooo much better than they were before.
:-)
-Cat
no subject
on 2015-04-24 08:29 pm (UTC)What I don't know is why no one called me Little Debbie.
That's funny that the same kids have different reactions to you--clearly they are not looking beyond the exterior.
You're reminding me that I feel way cooler than usual when wearing my black trench coat. Ha!