The Perks of Being a Cuban.

Today, I walked downstairs, in my ripped jeans and my snarky urban outfitters Tee and my dad tried to describe or label my "look".... t'was weird, he's a nerd. He began to associate my clothes with my personality... Do people on the street do this? I know I have, just to pass the time. If I have enough time in Hoboken and don't have to run from the train to the bus, I make the short walk, or run, into a 5-6 minute stroll. Analyzing the busy, rushing, older people eager to get home and crawl into bed, not before complaining to their families about the uselessness of their jobs over a hot cardboard box of chicken chow mein. I have no idea who they are, what their names are, or whether or not their lives are screwed up... junkies, prostitutes by night... whatever. But I've noticed that often, people stare at me as well, usually when I'm minding my own business rolling my eyes at the parked bus while the passengers freeze their nipples off. Could they be analyzing me the same way I've done to others. Could they be pinpointing me perfectly, or just giving me a title based on their perception of long haired teenagers. My dad called me a beatnik, and a hipster. No clue what either of those mean. He also said, that to be a beatnik, I must grow a beard.

I looked up beatnik: a person who rejects the mores of established society (as by dressing and behaving unconventionally) and indulges in exotic philosophizing and self-expression Hmm!!! Its not a bad term at all, it's artsy, it's original. But wouldn't the constant search for noncomformacy just result in being labeled a beatnik anyway? In the efforts of being original and not being pigeonholed by society, society has created a new word to label the once unlabelable. This term was created in 1958, no clue about the historical importance of the year, but I'm sure it's significant to someone who knows their modern social history. I of course also looked up hipster: a person who is unusually aware of and interested in new and unconventional patterns (as in jazz or the use of stimulants). Stimulants... drugs? Awesome, my poppa thinks I'm a junkie? He obviously doesn't know the meaning of the word hipster. He's a smart person...... Is there a fancy term for a bitterly, bitingly, sarcastic boy who wears earthtones and listen to just about any type of music? EXCEPT hiphop:)
Both of these definitions have one thing in common, they both describe people in search of unconventionality. Noncomformacy is hard to come by these days, as nearly everyone has conformed to the mundanity of society somehow. Maybe through the millions of Ipods seen in one day, or even in the thousands of people who race home from work every night to catch their favorite guilty pleasures on FOX, ABC, or any other channel offering a night of cheezy reality tv or sinfully good Dramedy. No one is unconventional, no matter how unique they may perceive themselves to be.