Individuality - Tumblr Posts

I think as a community we should all stop the concept of aesthetic because its ruining our lives and im sick of having fun with someone and they go like 'let me just take a pic of this to post on my story'.. like.. okay? Also i went through so many 'aesthetics' and found out how limiting they are like lemme just read this shakespeare teathrical piece while listening to slipknot and wearing my pink dress <3

Makes me so happy that there are punks still doing this with me and keeping the OG scene symbols alive. I rock yellow laces to support all my colored kings and queens out there!

LACE CODE ISN'T DEAD

AND NEITHER IS PUNK

🤘🧷🤘

Lace code, anyone?

In a world where it's not on trend to live a Christian lifestyle, I would like to see my generation become some of the most radical, Jesus loving FREAKS of all time.

There was a time I felt the need to hide my faith. I felt it didn't fit me and was an out of place aspect of my identity. Felt the need to seperate myself from my Jesus because you can't be A, B or C and be Christian... right? I was so wrong. I was wrong to think I must deny my individuality to be a follower of Christ or deny my Christ to be an individual.

I was ashamed of Christ in all His glory, but He was not ashamed of me in all my filth. He is proud to call me child as I should be proud to call Him Father. I am now.

In the Bible, demons knew Paul by name. Young brothers and sisters in Christ... let us live our lives so that we never have any doubt whether Hell fears us.

"But whosever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in Heaven." Matthew 10:33

WELL, HE SAID IT ALL!

You're right, Jesus was the first punk! His entire life was one big protest to the tyrannical, money and hate based society. It was a quiet riot of love.

HE WAS PUNK RAWK AS HELL

And it is difficult balancing faith with a punk lifestyle for so many reasons... First off, people's modern day, skewed views of what is and isn't punk are so exhausting. Not to mention the elitists and their bizarre and inaccurate"requirements"... like I need to meet requirements to be a rebel! HILARIOUS!

A lot of people in the scene will make you feel like you don't belong. But rest assured, no matter what religion you are, you belong here. We accept you. And if some "punks" don't, ignore em. They're not punk anyway.

It's difficult with faith, too. Religious people look at ya like ya have three heads when you walk into a Bible Study decked in two inch long spiked arm bands and a patch jacket. That's part of the reason I hate going to churches. There isn't one I have walked into and haven't been stared at...

I used to go to a Christian homeschool group in middle school that took place in a church. I wore all black every day, it was at the very beginning of my alt journey. My entire class cornered me one day and interviewed me on whether I was going goth or not. None of them had ever spoken to me before, they completely ignored me... except this one emo girl who would sit with me occasionally. Asked how I was. Talk to me about anime and whatnot. Treated me like I was normal. That is when I think I began to understand who my people were... who would accept and be there for me. I mean, at the time, I didn't even know what goth meant... but it clicked in me. I took the label. Then I went home and started researching whatever this "goth" thing was🤣🤣🤣

I went on that rant to say: if you're a Christian and you're goth, emo, punk, metal- whatever! You don't have to deny one half of your identity to accept the other. God put the desire in you to be who you are and not apologize for it. That is not a desire born of sin... that is your fingerprint. Your own unique self. Don't toss it away just because some people told you that being YOU isn't acceptable. Screw acceptable.

Be yourself. Don't apologize for it, either.

It's what you were made for.

im curious, how does being punk affect your feeling of religion? are you still a practicing catholic/go to church?

Hahahahahaha oh boy, buckle in cause this is gonna be a fun ride. I’ll put a cut cause this is gonna be long simply due to the amount of context that is needed to understand how I’ve managed to mash these two things together in my life. I hope this answers your question anon! (And thank you for asking nicely, that usually isn’t the reaction I get).

So, for reference, I am Catholic born and raised. My mom is Catholic, my dad is only recently exploring being religious. My brother has remained a Catholic good boy throughout his life, my sister has denounced religion. I’m somewhere between them. I don’t go to church often, but I still feel at home there when I do (most of the time). So technically, I’m not a ‘Practicing Catholic’ because of that, but I’m following my faith to the best of my ability (explained below).

I 100% believe there is a god, and because of that my faith has had some rough intersections with other parts of my life, such as being punk, the communities Im a part of, and being heavily involved in STEM. And those are things that took me years to figure out for myself. When just looking at being punk though, I think where it really clicked that punk wasn’t against my religion, but actually supports it, was in my freshman year of college. Like I’ve said before, I go to a Protestant school so every class has to somehow have at least one connection to religion (as a chemistry major this can get extremely annoying). But that year, I had a history class as a gen ed, Western Civ to 1450, and an absolutely kick ass professor to go with it. 

This class was the game changer for 18 year old me (oh my god that was 5 years ago). We spent a lot of time in this class talking about religions of ancient civilizations, and of course we talked about Christianity. And this man went absolutely feral. He was the man that introduced me to the concept of ‘Jesus was a punk’. And when you ignore all the random bull shit that comes out of people’s mouths at church and just look at the bible... yeah, he was right. Jesus flipped tables, he ate with societal outcasts like prostitutes and the homeless, and god did he hate the Roman government that controlled so much of the world at that time. 

And I think that’s when I really felt free to embrace the punk culture. The one thing that was holding me back was gone. I also later learned that professor had a metal band (I’m now going to have to try to find his youtube again lol - its been years). 

But yeah, being punk and religious in 2022 is hard. Its hard because the people who claim to be Christians are ignorant, refuse to learn, don’t know the context of the book they call holy, refuse to understand where Christianity stems from and our roots in Judaism, and keep trying to interpret the bible in a modern world (the bible can’t tell you shit about the evils of the internet man). I don’t particularly like going to church because I often find that its a snake pit disguised as a hospital. Though, that’s nothing new, if you ever take the time to read Romans (my favorite part of the bible), its full of Paul just absolutely loosing his ever loving shit because of how corrupt the churches are. 

So instead of going to church once every seven days and conforming to the rest of the vipers there, I try to live my life by Jesus’ standards for interacting with others. Be kind and forgiving, try to understand other points of view, don’t discriminate based on job, color, socioeconomic status, gender, how many kids, ect. Moral of the story, in my opinion, to be a good Christian, you need to treat people as people, and welcome them with open arms. You need to give back to your community. You need to fight for a better world. You need to push back against oppressive and authoritarian governments. And those are all punk values as well.

I'll go first. For context, I'm a straight female.

There's nothing more attractive to me than a straight man with features, style, etc that are more typically associated with women. Corsets, slender arms, curvy figures, skirts, makeup, piercings, long hair, slender hands, soft shaved skin, painted nails, short frame, fishnets, timid personality, gentleness, softness... there's nothing like it. Femboys are some of the sexiest mother truckers God put on this green Earth.

One of the most attractive things about it is the confidence in and knowledge of oneself. The ability to go out in public wearing what you feel best in, fully knowing people are gonna think all kinds of wild and untrue things about you... and not changing. Refusing to adjust for society. Not selling out. Remaining true to yourself and making a stand for your individuality. Now THAT is hot.

What's some unconventional things that you find attractive? Things that don't fit the typical beauty standards: hourglass figure for women and muscular/tall build for men. Clear skin, blonde hair, blue eyes, small waist, etc. Or things that don't fit the standard for that particular sex, for example, finding a woman with broad shoulders attractive or a man in makeup.

I think it would be good for people with those traits, things they may have been shamed for, to have a reminder that people out there think they're sexy.

Shout out to all the people whose friends have made them feel guilty for being themselves. Shout out to all the people who have no support. To all the people doing it alone, outcasted, misfitted where you should belong, surrounded by hate. You guys are troopers. You're doing amazing. And if no one else is, I'm proud of you🖤

Do not waste your time thinking the thoughts of others. Think your own thoughts.

Do not spend time trying to please everyone and be liked by everyone. Spend time learning how to like and please yourself.

Never forget that there is a Holy Spirit inside of you, and it will irritate the demons in some of those around you. Count this as a blessing.

Do they like you? Do they dislike you? Have you aggravated their demons? Don't spend time dwelling on these things. Spend time getting to know the Lord and improving yourself. Learning how to walk in Jesus' footsteps in an individual, unique way. The way He created you to walk. The people worth being around will recognize that fire in you. They will stay. They will stand by you.

I mean, to speak from personal experience... when I tried to be cool and walk the line everyone told me was my own? When I denied my true nature to try and morph into someone else? I was completely alone. Angry. Masking constantly. Exhausted.

But once I began to understand, and more importantly, ACCEPT myself? When I stopped trying to adjust for those around me? When I started actually reading the Word and trying to live it and spending time getting to know myself? People started coming around. I wasn't so lonely anymore.

God carefully selected each and every trait you have. He is a perfect, good Father and He made you just as you should be. Embrace it.

I am learning that boxes do not make you complete. Placing a title on your life does not prove that you deserve to live it. It will not prove that you belong. You do not belong. Few do. This world is not our home.

Boxes are prisons. Don't be their prisoner.

Defy their expectations. Break free.

There's nothing wrong with you.

They simply fear what they cannot label.

...

You do not have to prove that you deserve to exist. You can simply exist. You deserve life. Do not resent your own breath.

Gonna be honest, my current crust/battle jacket is much the same as what you just described. Not in design; my jacket has a much more streamlined and put together look than most others I've seen. But it's absolutely an atrocious band mishmash, no doubt about it, and I designed it that way. Since I have a place in my heart for each subculture, I wanted my jacket to reflect that. My goal making that crust item wasn't to make something as punk or metal as possible, it was to make something authentic to myself.

Your battle jacket is an art piece and reflection of yourself in addition to a statement. It's a shred of identity. Thus, I have a rapper on the bottom hem of my rocker jacket. He saved my life years ago. He's part of my history. Is he punk? No. Is there a piece of me in his symbol? Absolutely. Also on the jacket is the band that introduced me to metal and the band that introduced me to rock in general. Right alongside an emo artist group that has helped me fight my addiction. I wanted my jacket to be more than a political conversation piece. I wanted it to tell my story.

However messy and embarrassing, I'm sure your old jacket tells a great story. And I'm also sure your wip is gonna turn out amazing!

Can we talk more about the transitional phase between normie and alternative? Because we all did some corny shiz back then. Very poser behavior. And I think we all need to talk about it. Cleanse our souls.

I feel like the "I call myself emo but I don't even understand what that means" starter pack is a tattoo choker, a pair of black plain cross earrings and a band tee for a wildly popular rock band that isn't even really emo like AC/DC or Misfits or something. Or that Nirvana t-shirt, you know the one I'm talking about. If I see that shirt one more time, I'm gonna puke.

It's like you looked around Walmart for anything at all black so you could fit in with the edgy kids at school. It's like those "emo transformation" TikToks but... but this isn't a game to you, this is normal Tuesday behavior. Who is three or four years deep into alt culture and still wearing this outfit? Cuz I wore this outfit when I was probably thirteen... for about a year... never again. Also had a leather jacket that you could not peel off my body. I ran that thing into the ground.

Don't even get me started on how we all labeled everything "emo" that clearly was not- especially music. Who was gonna tell us emo was not a synonym for edgy and sad?

Anyways, I ended up donating those cross earrings to a nearby blossoming baby bat and burned the tattoo chokers a LOOONG time ago. They no longer have power over me. I'm a free woman.

Got any funny baby bat/puppy punk/poser days stories or thoughts? I need this.

“Every individual is a unique manifestation of the Whole, as every branch is a particular outreaching of the tree.” —Alan Watts

Recognize the difference between those who seek equality and those who seek vengeance. Find those people and seperate yourself from them, but know that in order to fully seperate yourself, you will also have to leave the labels they identify with behind... and that's okay. You don't need their contrived titles and boxes to prove that you deserve to exist.

Simply exist.

They don't have to understand you. Their perception and opinion does not matter. Prioritize God's opinions first, and then your own, and perhaps those you love.

And if you feel out of place? And alone? You're probably doing something right. I promise God is so proud of you and I promise you are never truly alone. He stands with you... and so do I 🖤🖤🖤

Everything you need is within you.

Be still.

I am learning that boxes do not make you complete. Placing a title on your life does not prove that you deserve to live it. It will not prove that you belong. You do not belong. Few do. This world is not our home.

Boxes are prisons. Don't be their prisoner.

Defy their expectations. Break free.

There's nothing wrong with you.

They simply fear what they cannot label.

...

You do not have to prove that you deserve to exist. You can simply exist. You deserve life. Do not resent your own breath.

wanna bleach my eyebrows and get baby bangs but i font think i have the face for it or the heart to take criticism.

elen raya

There’s nothing wrong in being yourself. Being different is an asset you should treasure. Sometimes, people don’t get what you’re trying to do, but still, remember this : there will always be someone who understands even if they don’t show it. To be honest, it would be a pretty boring world if everything is the same.

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Freethinking is illegal and is punishable via sickness and death