Funny this. A great friend of mine who runs a skatepark in ohio (wow, people do crazy cool things) sent me this pic. We all went to highschool together, and we were the local skatepunks.
Although I feel very much an individual today, i remember that feeling back then too. I noticed that in the picture above, we are all wearing converse (different colours to differentiate the difference, of course), we all have basically white jeans on, and we're all wearing baggy-ish untucked shirts. individualism is hard to see here. but i guess that's the point. it's relative. and at that age, we weren't trying to be individuals as much as were were trying to differentiate ourselves as a group from other groups. (that's me in the middle, at 14, with a cigarette hanging out of my mouth - always a class act this one)
when i went to vancouver to work on my first television show, i had a unique fashion sense that made me feel most like me based on what was around me in Toronto at the time. I dyed my hair orange, spiked it up like Johnny Rotten, wore ties, untucked shirts, and suit jackets. i wasn't a mod, i didn't fit with them, i just felt unique.
Vancouver, however, was more conservative in all things, including fashion. my toronto style felt very very crazy in vancouver, and so i had to tone it down to match my environment. If the fashion style is a scale of 1 - 10, with 1 being rebel and 10 being a member of the communist party, i likened myself to about a 4. In toronto, that meant i could have red hair and wear strange clothes. in vancouver, a toronto four was like a 2. i was a freak, a homosexual, a mod, etc. etc all these things i didn't identify with. So i had to find the 4 where i'm comfortable. I still had my flair, it was just different, toned down.
fashion as identify is specific to place. what counts is where you are on the scale. and that is all that counts, of course, because fashion doesn't really count. but WHY are you a 1 or a 7 or whatever?
in other news
i'm done school. i'm a graduate. i got my marks today. 83's in both classes. yes, i'm boasting, i'm very proud of myself. i got straight A's in all my english classes. teacher's college should be a lock. at least i'll never have to PA again. man, why do people do that job?? do they think it's the big IN they need to the industry? what a ruse!! most people at the top positions have NEVER been a PA in their life. the guy i worked with as co-PA was a bitter but good guy who thought he was a writer director, but, at 29, had never written or directed anything in his life. i'm tired of these people some days, and proud of them for having hope in the face of such awful odds. the human spirit is indominatable, earth's real cockroach adapts and moves forward, proud and blind and hurting and wonderful. the glass IS half full today: because i love my mom. found out good news today. or, no news, which is the good news.
3 comments:
That is so sweet Fergus but then you are a one in a million anyway. Always follow that motto-glass is always half full no matter what.
guess who
Stratford
Is that Zettel on the side? What were you doing smoking at 14? Don't you know it will stunt your growth
M
Fashion is only the "cover of the book". I dress very conservative (jeans, white t-shirt...it's a signature pretty much, the white t-shirt) but it's how you think that makes you different (me anyway), 'cause I know that I think differently then most, different views, different music, movies, books yada yada...on and on but because of my environment and the people I deal with at work I need to look respectable and approachable, I know I'm unique and as important as it is to express it visually (how else to birds attract mates but from their bright feathers) but to know it mentally, I find satisfaction in knowing I'm a little different then everyone around me but blend in with the sheep! Wolf in sheeps clothing.
And yes, no news is good news.
Tell your mom I've been meaning to phone but busy and tired make for early slumber but I WILL call.
Congrats on the marks, and I'm sure anything you persue you will have great success!
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