The Hipster lifestyle
The O'Reilly Factor and being a hipster are two of the most difficult jobs in the world. Hipsters are an interesting group to be a part of, and I've experienced both the highs and lows. It is the duty of hipsters to reject any concept or piece of pop culture that is so widely embraced that practically everyone is enthused. I'm stumped. Even I have come to accept the notion that we are capable of making inconvenient contradictions. We hipsters have our own set of rules, a set of rules that tell us not to follow the herd, but to swim against it. Music, TV shows, religion, politics, and even fashion all have a taste that we tend to veer away from to avoid following the latest trends.
First and foremost, hipsters must accept the possibility that they will have to part with the cultural artifacts they cherish. My freshman year of high school, I thought screamo and heavy metal were the most wonderful things ever. I was a diehard fan of heavy metal, particularly the music of the band Five Finger Death Punch. Even the jocks tried to shout their lungs out while quoting Slipknot lyrics after they lost a game after they started listening to that kind of music. Because people like these jocks were listening to music that I didn't want them to be listening to, I had to give it up. But rather than feeling long-term anger, I began to feel liberated and separated from everyone else as a result of it becoming too mainstream for me to handle. To make matters worse, everyone in my family, as well as the nerdiest of friends and even my high school teachers, would incessantly cite jokes from the overrated sitcom Family Guy. Since American Dad was the ideal, non-mainstream replacement, I was not depressed when I had to give it up It's a great feeling to be a hipster because only a small group of elitists can fully appreciate and know that they admire this "high culture" for the correct reasons.
Hipsters might be liberated and unique, but they can also bring with them a big worry—the fear of losing the appreciation for the thing you love. While in high school, I saw the Japanese animation Death Note, which is also known as an anime. It was one of the most challenging and heartbreaking movies I've ever seen on a huge screen. We formed a group of elitists to talk and enjoy "our" anime with a handful of my friends, who were also fans of the show. But many students immediately caught on to the concept, and they wanted to experience it for themselves. Because of course, they were enthusiastic about it—possibly to the point of fanaticism. This turned me off to discussing Death Note in any way. My buddies were forced to follow in my footsteps, and it was a decision that we all regret. As a result, we had to give up something we actually loved—an animation that couldn't be readily replaced—in order to give up something that had become appreciated by the devoted audience.
Hipsters, like everyone else, have their own thoughts and feelings. Hipster culture itself is mainstream because it is a well-known subculture. For shame, I've shopped in stores like Wal-Mart and Gap, which are frequented by many of my non-hipster acquaintances. I should go to Target more often, but Wal-prices Mart's can't be beaten by the less-mainstream option. Another example is my religious beliefs. A non-denominational Christian does not qualify as going against the flow because, according to one's perspective, I'm still a member of a major religion. To put it mildly, I may say that I am a conservative, as being a liberal is currently a fashionable fad amongst people my age. Even so, others could say that being a conservative is just as mainstream as being a hipster, and that I'm simply fooling myself if I think I'm entitled to the term.
In the end, being a hipster is a great lifestyle choice, regardless of the hardships and joys. For example, if I reject a Justin Bieber classic, I'm confident in my own mind, not because he's effeminate, but because the quality and style of his music simply isn't good enough to have a place on my playlist. Despite the fact that I am forced to conform to the preferences of the majority, at least I am a member of a group that tries to forge its own unique interests and passions. There are some people who think we're self-righteous hypocrites who just want to be popular, but it would be a boring world if everyone had the same type of interests. "No, because it's too mainstream, my friend," I told someone when they asked if I was a part of the Occupy movement. The Occupy Movement has a lot of uneducated, naive sheep on their hands if the 99 percent are indeed the majority. As a result, I've discovered even more reason to not be one of the 99 percent. There is no such thing as a majority rule, despite common belief. Everyone should remember that popularity does not equal quality, and hipsters are here to remind us of this. Nothing is more anti-mainstream and individualistic than being true to oneself.
