When she walks, she swings her arms,
instead of her hips
When she talks, she moves her mouth,
instead of her lips
My latest lesson plan for my students (English conversation reinforcement at a French lycée), revolved around introducing them to some examples of American teenage culture that might not have made it to Cosne sur Loire yet. I found an article purporting to "explain" hipsters, and printed it off for them, hoping that hilarity would ensue. Mostly what ensued was confusion, since the appeal of vintage shopping is not one that translates well--at least not in this provincial town. After several attempts at giving the lesson (I'm fortunate that I have many students at the same level, because my classes definitely take multiple reps to iron out all the problems), I was able to successfully segue the discussion from comprehending the article to talking about fashion and conformity more generally (this is not the rant, by the way; I was actually pretty happy with this discussion).
The rant is this: Who am I to be leading teenagers in discussions of pressures to conform? I am, as anybody who knows me can tell you, not the most confident of people at navigating the messy landscape known as adult social interaction, particular when it happens between genders. I am just as liable as anyone to try to conform to what's hot/cool/smart/funny/normal when I am in a social situation.
This is a strategy that is clearly not working out too well for me.
However, it has recently struck me that there are plenty of messages--coming right out of popular music, no less--there for girls who do not fit in, girls who are, plainly, just a little weird. Whether it's Cake singing about the girl with a mind like a diamond, or even (please bear with me), Rob Thomas singing about the girl who can only sleep when it's raining, fitting in does not seem to be what's desired here.
So, I think its time to embrace quirkiness. Stop worrying about being the cool one, the one with her act together, and start acting more like the girl who wears high heels when she exercises, or the one who looks so sad when she smiles.
I'll let you know how it goes.
Yay for quirkiness! Why should you want to be normal? Normal is boring :)
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