Hw- 31 All Answers Are Confidential

When asking people about their style or the reasons they are the way they are you need to be cautious. You don't want to look like the enemy and you don't want to look like a nosy a**hole either. Play the field... Be cool.

The person that I interviewed in many ways was 'stereotypical' let's call him John Smith, no relation to the Caucasian Disney 'savior'. Mr. Smith to me had a style that I have seen on many teenage boys a million times. Skinny jeans, just low enough to see his Family Guy boxers, his hair cut low (what I later learned was a dark Cesar) I asked him where he bought his clothes from. He said that he shopped wherever 'they' sold his clothes. Smith later gave specifics, H&M seemed to be the
main store. I asked him why he bought what he bought. He said he buys what he buys because it's what he likes.

I felt that I wasn't getting anywhere with Mr. Smith. I didn't want to sound too rude or too into him business but I think I needed it. I asked if he knew of any people that dressed like him. I was expecting him to say that he was the one that invented his style and that he was the one that perfected it to it's current 'wonderful-ness' but Mr. Smith said that his style was every ones style.

It made me think about how there is a style that is given to the kids of this generation and then there are different cliques that take it and put their own spin on it. What's weird is that we know it.

But can we escape it?

Our styles are given to us and we take it for what it is. When I think about it everything about everything is kind of unoriginal. We look up to rappers, singers, bands, actors and actresses. We take catch phrases from movies and we like brand named jackets

Who are we really?

What just occurred to me was that we are okay with the things that are given to us. It bothers me but at the same time I'm okay with it. I can't really say that 'I know who I am' because at 17 I don't think that anyone could really know who they are or what they really want. We are still trying to figure out what we wanna be and what the definition of love is or our sexuality.


I bet society has a cure for teen angst as well.


While my mind was bouncing off the walls in sure that Mr. Smith was thinking about the price of his next plaid shirt.


As for me I think that partly who I am comes from what I listen to ad what I watch. I think that I wear what I wear because I think it most fits my style and it matches the motto 'this is how I want to look' I feel like people change too quickly in order to pin point what we are.

Hw- 30 Extentions

We find ways to fill our holes however we see fit. Its not a bad thing and its not a good thing. But the way to fill these holes I would say are very common. We all belong to different groups:

Teens
Adults
Children
Senior Citizen
Etc

But then there are subsets to those groups like:

Teens
- Goody two shoes/teacher's pet
- Stoner
- Class Clown
- Etc

Adults
- Teacher
- Parent
- Oppressor
- Etc

You get the point. But because there are so many groups and then there are so many subsets, that means that there are many ways to fill the many different holes that we acquire through life. None of us are complete and none of us are completely empty.
I think that we believe that we have to be full all of the time and we think that we can fill the holes in our lives with whatever junk comes floating our way.

Hw - 30 Spongebob Move Over

Whence this emptiness?

How can one person say that someone else is empty? What if we are all empty, how can you know if you're empty? What if being empty makes us whole? Other peoples thoughts on emptiness..


Granted we all want something and we all in our own ways want to get something out of living. I feel as though our emptiness can come from something we want or something we once had but was taken from us. Robert Frost once wrote: "So was I once myself a swinger of birches. And so I dream of going back to be" This makes me think of how Frost may have felt whole in a way by being childish and swing on trees, feeling natural. But something pulled him from it and he dreams of being the way he was, whole.

I find myself wondering what does it mean to be empty. I tend to believe that we are the only ones who can tell if we are empty. I think that it is us who know ourselves. Do we even have to fill the holes? I would say that nowadays we have been taught to think we need useless things in order to feel safe or whole or cool.

Cool, might forever be a mystery to me. There are hundreds of ways to be cool and then on the flip side there is one way to be cool. I think that cool is one of the ways that we try to feel complete.

I think that we have many holes, as opposed to having one huge hole. Its like we are sponges. We absorb bits of other peoples; personality's and styles and language choices to fill our holes. Other people make us up but no one wants to admit that.
No one wants everyone else to know that they are a sponge.

We hide behind the illusions of what's cool and whats 'in' that way everyone likes us and people notice us so that we feel important.

That's the rule.

Here's the exception.

The people who don't care about cool are the coolest. Though it might be hard to believe I think there are people like that out there, I've met a few. There are people who aren't obsessed with how they look or sound. But that doesn't mean that these people aren't empty.

Its just that they have bigger holes to fill. These people are much larger sponges.

Where the feeling of emptiness comes from is an even bigger thing topic to tackle. Its like life chips away at us and in the end we are left with holes of all different sizes. But leaving the empty spaces empty is what makes us who we are. When we try and fill theme we become posers, we loose ourselves.

Hw- 29 Its Cool That You're Cool

There is no way in hell that advertising will be banned. Everything seems to run on money, and I don't think that anything is going to come between corporate and their money making machines: teens. I believe it boils down to will-power. If you are smart enough to see through the tricks that media pulls then whoop de do.

By the time you're 17-20 you should be smart enough to know what you like and what you don't like. By that age I think the argument of "media is spoiling my brain". Because by then you have the ability to turn the page in the magazine or to change the channel.

But when you're marketing a Dora with sex appeal...that kind of marketing may be something that should be banned and if that's too drastic then maybe the marketing should be tuned down a little bit.

Marketing is about making money first and if anything making more money second and lastly maybe caring about who they are corrupting and how...(maybe). Marketing sex is all about making money. "All teenagers talk about is sex" As a teenager, I can say that I don't spend my days and nights talking about sex.

But for those other teenagers, its possible that all they talk about is sex because that's all that's ever on TV.

just a guess.

I would guess that a great number of people, (meaning not just teens) get their identities from something on TV, or in a book, or from a movie or a song or another person. No matter what everything is advertising, its you seeing something and liking it or disliking it. I feel like there is no way to rebel against it. We all end up buying something that was made by some kind of corporation.

It ranges from food to clothes to cars to bikes to TV's etc. We can try to rebel by buying cheaper things or "natural" things or placing tape over logos. But still you can't escape it. Its up to us to decide what we do after we see a commercial or read an ad or comment a blog post.

Now enjoy this brief message from our sponsors.

Hw 28 - Yes, You 2 Can Learn How 2b Kewl

Well it seems that being cool ultimately boils down to people liking you, and that's all that anyone seems to want these days. So the key to coolness might be recognition and possibly renown.

Davis Mark, Link Tool, Sophie Caley, Sondra C, and Lucas Halbert. "How To Get People To Like You." WikiHow. WikiHow, Web. 7 Dec 2009. .

Link:http://www.wikihow.com/Get-People-to-Like-You

This site gives you tips on how to get people to like you and notice you more. It suggests nice calm things like "don't brag" and other traits that might attract people to you in a positive cool way.

Moving on...

Wanting to be cool suggests that people want to be noticed and possibly in a romantic way at that. In all those movies we see prime examples of this. Take a movie like John Tucker Must Die. There was a popular guy who was basically the "king of the school" and there was an unpopular girl who some popular girls made popular by telling her how to act and what to wear and say. Here's a summary: http://www.starpulse.com/Movies/John_Tucker_Must_Die/Summary/


Epps, Angela. "How To Get A Guy To Notice You At School." eHow. eHow, Web. 7 Dec 2009. .


This movie suggests that in order to be noticed, one has to be known by all of the right people first. It suggests that the only way to become popular or "cool" you have to be connected to someone that everyone already believes is cool. This website: http://www.ehow.com/how_4457097_get-guy-notice-school.html provides instructions that one should.could follow in order to get that special someone to look their way.

Moving On...

"How To Be Cool." Life Style Lounge. Iloveindia.com, Web. 7 Dec 2009. .


http://lifestyle.iloveindia.com/lounge/how-to-be-cool-3148.html
Gives the reader simple tips to help them to further develop their cool status. Its funny that the first tip is "Don't care about what people think" Which is odd, because it looks like the fuel to being cool is the opinions that other people have.

Moving On...

Janes, Beth. "Cool styles for summer hair: what are some easy ways to change my hairstyle? … and more of your questions answered here - Beauty Q+A." BNet (2002): 1-3. Web. 7 Dec 2009. .

Part of being cool consists of looking cool. "If you wanna play the part look the part!" Of course both men and women are always looking for ways to improve their looks so that they look "hot" and "sexy" some might even say "he's a catch!" something along those lines... This site: http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0846/is_11_21/ai_87691313/
looks like a beauty site. Its a Q and A about how one can change their hairstyle to fit their look.

Moving On...

Lastly how can one expect to be cool if they don't talk cool. Here is a site: (this one is a forum) of people saying cool phrases that were once cool. Its pretty self explanatory.

Hw 27 What Do You Think?

Everyone has their own views about what it means to be cool. Some or even most are influenced by what other people think is cool. I feel that being cool is something that should matter so much. Everyone has different tastes and different views yet "cool" is something that seems to somehow sparks up an argument. But then again we all feel the need to change each others minds as we see fit.

I asked 3 people what cool meant to them. I was warned that I was going to get fairly similar answers and most people probably don't really think deeply, they say whatever comes to mind. These are the answers I got from strangers:

1. Not sure
2. Trendy
3. Hip
4. Current
5. Humorous
6. Relevant
7. Not warm...
8. In touch

After a while I started to think that cool meant having something that other people admire. For instance alot of people listed qualities that they thought might be cool in a person on certain things that make people cool according to them. But that made me wonder, if they were listing their own qualities or the qualities of what they want to be. Is cool something that we are trying to reach? Does that mean that those who think they are cool have reached that level of self like that they admire? does that mean that "cool" people don't think that other people are cool?

There are questions that one could ask about this all night and still not be satisfied. My mom said these things:

Me: What does being cool mean to you?

Mom: That you listen and don't judge that you're open to different things?

Me: Who's cool?

Mom: Kat Williams, I got to meet him and he was really chill. He was concerned about his fans and he ate dinner with us and.

Me: What are qualities that make people cool?

Mom: If they are famous, being down to earth makes them cool. Being able to blend. And if it is someone not famous then they should be open.

It looks like a person who is cool for the most part listens, trendy and down to earth. I think that those are qualities that most people can find easily. To me I don't think people really think deeply about what it means to be cool at all. Since the question is so unusual no one really expect it. It's like their IM box is lagging when it comes to this question. Their hard drive has crashed for a little while, and then its back on track with generic answers.

As for insights on living. I honestly don't think I will be able to find someone in my family like that. I don't think that they think much about how life works and what to expect. There are people in my family that I find cool but not the right "type" of cool.

Hw- 26 I'm Ready For My Close Up (try 3)

Me: So, do you think that being cool matters?

Sandy: I think it does but it shoudnt, everyone is pretty judgemental and it seems as though we all want to impress others. Like everything is a competition and if we want status/recogition to make progression (in social life or in a career path), it matters how you are viewed by others

Me: Why do you think it matters what others think?

Sandy: For your own self confidence or progression like it matters what colleges think of you because it determines where you're going next year and i think it matters what your friends think of you so you know that your relationship with your friends is mutual

Me: Who do you think makes the standards for cool and uncool

Sandy: I think the media.





Me: Do you think that "being cool" matters to anyone?

Gavin: Yes. Everyone, really

Me: And why is that?

Gavin: Because everyone wants to be liked, to be wanted, to have proff that they matter to someone, anyone.

Me: Who, in your opinion makes the standards for being cool?

Gavin: i set myself as my own standard I find myself cool, and like to associate with people similar or contrarily, people who give me new perspective

Me: and lastly, what does "cool" or "being cool" mean to you?

Gavin: well, and i know this sounds cliche, but being yourself or rather actively trying to know yourself and understanding the point of yourself, why to be it.







Me: In your opinion, who sets the standards for being cool?

Amanda: Umm.... i guess i would say each individual person sets their own standards
i don't think there's one specific standard of 'cool', everyone has their own idea of what it is, so it can't really be measured up to one thing or one person

Me: Does "being cool" matter to anyone? does it seem like "being cool" makes you eager to impress others?

Amanda: What do you mean, eager to impress others?

Me: Like "im going to wear this today because i want someone to notice"

Amanda: So you mean, does it seem like people try to be 'cool' to get other people's attention?

Me: Yeah. that. sorry i can't word properly

Amanda: Ok well yes i think that's true but it's interesting, because some people are so desperate to look/act cool and attractive and put so much work into this persona, but at the same time, everyone seems to think that 'cool' implies effortlessness

Me: Why, does being cool seem to matter so much?

Amanda: I guess because people are social creatures and want to be accepted by others. 'cool' is your idea of what is desirable, and we try to live up to it in an attempt to be liked. even if someone's idea of 'cool' is to go against the grain, they're still trying to be rebellious to catch the attention of a certain type of person.and to present themselves a certain way.

Me: Do you think that what we think of as cool, comes from what someone else thinks is cool?

Amanda: Ok...i guess i think we can't help but be influenced by other people in some way. sometimes people pretend to also like the things that family, friends, celebrities, etc. think are cool, or even if they actually like something, like it just because someone else does. but i think sometimes when we think that something a friend or whoever likes is cool, we would have also thought it was cool had we discovered it on our own.

Me: You say that we all have our own view of what is cool. if that is the case does that mean that everyone is cool?

Amanda: I guess so! even if you don't meet your own qualifications for 'coolness,' you probably meet somebody else's somewhere!