You know that feeling that convinces you that you are a louse when all your friends like something (or someone) that has no appeal to you? Do you scratch your head in amazement that people actually choose to do certain things and find you to be the bore when you don’t agree? Are you about to transform into a lemming just to fit in? These are seemingly questions for tweens and teens, yet at age (almost) 46, these issues plague me too.
All my friends are on one bandwagon or another, and here I stand. Alone. (Still) not quite fitting in.
A taste:
Running. I have a 0.0 magnet on my car. That sums it up.
Juicing. This is what I call charging my devices.
Baking my own bread. They have stores for this.
Drinking green smoothies. I prefer my veggies to be crunchy…or buttered.
Listening to Muse, the Avett Brothers, etc. I’m stuck in the 80s and OK with it.
Wearing ripped jeans (that cost a fortune). My boarding school dress code still rings in my fashion choices.
Giving my 6th grader a phone, a smart one at that. No judgement, but no need for one here…yet.
Joining a country club. It’s official. We have all become our parents.
(Over)scheduling my kids. They’re kids. They play. Having no schedule is a short-lived luxury.
Being clad in head-to-toe Tory Burch. I love me some Tory, but head-to-toe is a tish pretentious.
Shopping at boutiques. I don’t shop to be seen; I shop to get a good deal.
Buying (and drinking) Pabst. My beer budget has grown exponentially since college.
Eating fad diets that aren’t medically necessary. Paleo. Gluten free. Sugar free. Wheat free. Bacon free.
Drinking green tea. Black coffee, please.
DIYing. I call these “checkbook chores.”
Are you with me on any of this? Tell me I’m not alone. What would you add to this list?
I had a boss once who told me in my performance review that I “need to learn to follow the grain.” I took that as a compliment.
These are things? I don’t even know who/what Tory Burch is. Yes, I suppose I could google it, but … nah.
Oh Ilina – let’s start our own bandwagon. Ticket bought, gate checked, ready to go.
I do love me some Avett Bros, PBR, and ripped jeans. And I am guilty of DIYing while DRINKing which, at least 55% of the time, results in calling an expert to fix/finish what I’ve destroyed/started! But everything else – I’m in (who/what is Tory Burch?)
Cheers!
You do not stand alone. In all my years of working with young people, I have discovered that adults are the worst offenders of jumping on the bandwagon simply to be considered cool. If it’s something you truly love or enjoy? Rock on. If not, let that bandwagon roll on by.
Table for one, please: I don’t enjoy seeing babies/children with food smeared on their faces; skinny jeans make EVERYONE’S backside look bad; I don’t have/want an iPod; kale, aioli, and using the F-word as every conceivable part of speech are all overrated.
I could go on, but I’ll just sit here by myself, occasionally ordering from my own mysterious menu of things I find worthwhile…
oh, i adore you. i do like making my own bread though. but there are many many things i simply don’t understand.