I’m sure we can all agree that stereotypes are ridiculous. We’ve all grown to know the world as it is and all we do is continue to make it worse by believing everything we see and hear and spreading it. Yeh, we’re not in the 50’s anymore, but we might as well be. People are still racist, people still think anyone who wears black is automatically the devil, people still think that if you have more money, you’re automatically the better people.

SERIOUSLY, ARE YOU KIDDING ME, RIGHT NOW!?

Lets look at some of the stereotypes that are most common.

“The Emo/Scene Kids” – The kid with black hair that covers his eyes, who writes poetry about wanting to kill himself because his 15 year old girlfriend left him for someone even more emo, wearing his sister’s jeans, with some black eyeliner on, a face covered in metal and wearing a band tee from a band that sings about nothing, but missing their girlfriends because they were too scared to admit that they actually had feelings, which resulted in her leaving him.

“The Preps” – They wear only Abercrombie and Hollister. God forbid, they be seen in anything else. They’re stuck up and think they’re better than everyone else because they flaunt the fact that they can wear expensive clothes. These people listen to rap and possibly country. They think anyone who wears black or listens to something loud, with actual music to it, is automatically a “goth”. They play football and cheerlead, that’s all there is to it.

“The Goths” – Yes, emo kids wear black, but they’re not goths. Goths wear all black, are really pale, wear funny looking trenchcoats, put on black makeup, listen to satanic music, and definitely worship the devil, right? They hate anything and everything with any colour to it and would rather be alone (worshipping the devil) than actually doing something productive.

“The Hardcore Kids” – These kids are tough, right. They wear looser jeans than emo kids, but not a baggy as preps. If they wear jeans at all, they’ll probably be seen in athletic shorts more often. They wear bandanas or headbands either around their head, or hanging out of their pockets, for easy access when they “need” it to hold back all that hair while they swing their arms around like monkeys in the pit. They mock a lot of the band’s they listen to’s screamer and typically make a claw figure with their hand while doing it. These kids think they can kick anyone’s ass. They’re typically referred to as “bros”, also and almost every single one of them has gauges and is Straight Edge.

“The Punks” – These kids are dirty, loud, obnoxious, and always drunk – there’s no way around it. They rarely shower and their hair is always in spikes, a mohawk, or completely shaved off. They wear skin tight jeans with rips, tears, and patches (NOT covering the rips and tears) all over. They always have on their jacket or vest that is completely covered in studs, spikes, and patches. They don’t mind vomitting on their friends or themselves, they think its funny.

“The Geeks/Nerds” – These kids are always waiting for a flood and when you need a calculator, their mind is handy. They’re smart with computers and they spend most (if not all) their spare time playing WoW. They always have messy hair, like they just woke up, and think they got a girl pregnant by touching her hand. They’re really weird and say things out of turn that no one, but them, would understand.

So, tell me what happens when these stereotypes mix? Oh, my bad, not possible, right? Ha -

TAKE A LOOK AROUND!

I’ll use myself as an example, to start with. I look like a “hardcore kid” with a mixture of some Hollister thrown in, I’ve been a cheerleader for 13 1/2 years (since age 4), I listen to almost nothing, but punk, I LOVE computers, and I’ve never touched drugs or alcohol in my life. I mean, seriously, what kind of cheerleader has 1 1/8″ gauges, is Straight Edge, can whip html out of her head like its nothing, and listens to Funeral Dress? Oh right, not possible, I forgot. Nah, screw that.

Not all “emo kids” want to kill themselves, they just like the style. I know more “emo kids” who listen to rap, and more “preps” that listen to hardcore. I know “goths” who attend church regularly and punks who shower twice a day. Four of my best friends are punks! They’re the cleanest people I’ve ever met and definitely aren’t drunk at all times. I have a group of “hardcore” friends that uncludes a couple people who can down a 40 faster than any “punk” you’ll ever meet. I know “preps” who listen to more metal than your biker uncle with hair to the middle of his back. And I know “geeks” who dress like they’re straight out of California.

How can you seriously make these stereotypes? How did they even come about? It just goes to show how much interest we DON’T have in actually getting to know people, these days. We see the outside, make assumptions, do some judging and shit-talking, and get on with our own pathetic lives that we pretend to be happy in.

Our world has gotten so bad, that we automatically assume anyone different from us…is a complete loser. How can we honestly do this, when everyone is a little mixture of everything?

Who says we can’t wear Abercrombie and listen to August Burns Red?
Who says we can’t wear all black and go to Church twice a week?
Who says we can’t wear tight jeans and be a football player?
Who says we can’t have huge holes in our ears and be a cheerleader?
Who says we can’t know how to work a computer and write emo poetry?

Who says anything, seriously. What ever happened to “being what we want to be”? Why do we constantly have to be put into labels, and hang out with certain people, and do certain things? Why do we have to be brought down because we don’t have as much money as someone else? I don’t understand why someone who is bored and unhappy with their own life, has to cause drama and strife in someone else’s just to make sure they’re not unhappy alone. Why can’t we just blend? We already do, we just don’t want to admit it. I guess if this were the case, and people actually cared, we wouldn’t have this drama filled and entertaining life, right?

I don’t get why its that hard.