For 10 days, I paid special attention to my mood. When I was feeling extremely happy or extremely sad, I'd try to remember to pull out my note book and write down what had happened that day that was influencing my those emotions. I now have a list of 73 things that made me feel extremely happy and 25 things that made me feel extremely sad. I took these lists and translated each event into a general idea, and then grouped each idea into an even broader idea. So from my list of 73 and 25, I came up with a list of 9 and 6.
Things that affect my mood in a positive way (in order, to an extent):
Attention attention attention. Especially positive laughter aimed at me.
Feeling like I belong to a group, and more so contribute to it.
Feeling carefree.
Spending time with strengthening ties with already established friends
Being organized with space and time.
Seen in positive light/complimented
Being productive on my own for my own betterment.
Taking care of my body physically.
Art, both visual art and music. Nature
Things that affect my mood in a negative way (also in order, somewhat):
Feeling excluded/rejected
Being put down by someone I love
Thinking about past friends/love sickness
Being irresponsible
Comparing self to others
Hearing bad news
This might look dumb or predictable, but I honestly don't think I would have been able to write these had I not taken mood note, sometimes more than once a day. I just wanted to have a better idea of what affects my mood in what way. It was a really interesting project. Try it.
11.8.7
Thursday, November 8, 2007
My Thoughts on "Indie"
This blog consists of my thoughts and opinions only. Feel free to disagree. But if you are going to disagree, you have to first read the whole thing. You can't just say, "You can't define indie, loser," like my dear brother Jared will say. It's a long blog, but stick with it.
Indie is "Independent."
Indie kids listen to indie music- music independent of major labels/mainstream stuff.
Indies are also independent of caring what others think of them. For example:
A couple weeks ago I passed a girl wearing a Phantom of the Opera sweater. She walked with her hips swinging but her pelvis pushed forward. It immediately reminded me of a girl from my hometown named Megan Olsen. She walked the same way, and most likely had the same sweater. It was a very show-offy way of walking. I can't quiet describe it, but if you know Megan, you know what I'm talking about. Anyways, as I watched her, my thought process went like this: She looks like a super lame theater person. The way she's walking… As I walk, I think about the environment around me- how I relate to it and how it is affecting what I do and what I think about. As she walks, she thinks about how what she does and what she thinks is affecting the environment around her. I also had the thought that if she and I were both suddenly thrown into a world of white (like on the commercials where they have a red couch sitting in what appears to be a white universe, or in The Matrix when they are training or downloading knowledge, they start in a white room with no walls or end), 2 separate worlds, that is, with no one and nothing but ourselves to keep us company, I would enjoy it and she would go insane. Already I exist mostly for myself alone. What I'm doing on a day-to-day basis is for my own good and not necessarily for the good of anyone else, at this point in time. I exist for myself. But I think she lives off of what others are thinking or saying about her, or at least what she thinks others are thinking or saying about her. In the white world, she wouldn't have the popular culture to tell her how to live. Her life is a performance. She's always on stage. She thinks there is always an audience. She thinks this audience either likes or dislikes her character based off of what they see her do, and she really wants them to like her, so she'll do what is expected. She wants to read good reviews on her life. She is always thinking about what her audience thinks of her. She's always thinking how she can live so that she has constant approval.
An indie kid is independent of this audience. Indies do what makes them happy. And yes, most people strive to do what makes them happiest, but indies tend to do best at ignoring the influence of society. Do you see? They are independent of the opinions of outsiders. They know that people are watching them and are judging them and might want them to change or act in a certain way, but they choose to ignore those opinions and instead do what makes them happiest. This is why indies are often quite happy.
Indies are often quite happy. A, because they choose to be independent of the influence of outside opinions, and B, because they do what makes them happiest. This often seems to include but is not limited to:
1. Listening to music, and indie music at that. Indie music is also often quite happy, and happy music makes happy listeners.
2. Reading. Reading classics, reading children's fantasy books, reading political books, reading philosophy books, reading biographies, reading the newspaper, reading reading reading.
3. Gaining knowledge. I think idies like to know what is going on around them and to have opinions it. I think they feel it important to contribute to society, even if only by being more aware of it. So indies like to know stuff. They read the newspaper. They go to college and are serious about their studies. They look up things on wikipedia. They discuss things. They have opinions on many, many things. But they don't force opinions on others. They just know it is important to have their own.
4. Being artsy. Indies usually enjoy the arts. Indies spend a lot of time thinking to themselves, and this usually results in trying to put their thoughts, ideas, and/or feelings into a physically audible or visible dimension like music, dance, photography, painting, drawing, building, writing, etc.
One last thing- Indie is the opposite of Emo. Indie kids are always doing something or going somewhere or thinking about something or being productive in some way shape or form. Emo kids often do nothing but think about how crappy the world is. While indies don't have time to think/care about what others think of them, Emos do nothing but sit around and think about what others do or say against them.
Indies are awesome. The end.
11.7.7
Indie is "Independent."
Indie kids listen to indie music- music independent of major labels/mainstream stuff.
Indies are also independent of caring what others think of them. For example:
A couple weeks ago I passed a girl wearing a Phantom of the Opera sweater. She walked with her hips swinging but her pelvis pushed forward. It immediately reminded me of a girl from my hometown named Megan Olsen. She walked the same way, and most likely had the same sweater. It was a very show-offy way of walking. I can't quiet describe it, but if you know Megan, you know what I'm talking about. Anyways, as I watched her, my thought process went like this: She looks like a super lame theater person. The way she's walking… As I walk, I think about the environment around me- how I relate to it and how it is affecting what I do and what I think about. As she walks, she thinks about how what she does and what she thinks is affecting the environment around her. I also had the thought that if she and I were both suddenly thrown into a world of white (like on the commercials where they have a red couch sitting in what appears to be a white universe, or in The Matrix when they are training or downloading knowledge, they start in a white room with no walls or end), 2 separate worlds, that is, with no one and nothing but ourselves to keep us company, I would enjoy it and she would go insane. Already I exist mostly for myself alone. What I'm doing on a day-to-day basis is for my own good and not necessarily for the good of anyone else, at this point in time. I exist for myself. But I think she lives off of what others are thinking or saying about her, or at least what she thinks others are thinking or saying about her. In the white world, she wouldn't have the popular culture to tell her how to live. Her life is a performance. She's always on stage. She thinks there is always an audience. She thinks this audience either likes or dislikes her character based off of what they see her do, and she really wants them to like her, so she'll do what is expected. She wants to read good reviews on her life. She is always thinking about what her audience thinks of her. She's always thinking how she can live so that she has constant approval.
An indie kid is independent of this audience. Indies do what makes them happy. And yes, most people strive to do what makes them happiest, but indies tend to do best at ignoring the influence of society. Do you see? They are independent of the opinions of outsiders. They know that people are watching them and are judging them and might want them to change or act in a certain way, but they choose to ignore those opinions and instead do what makes them happiest. This is why indies are often quite happy.
Indies are often quite happy. A, because they choose to be independent of the influence of outside opinions, and B, because they do what makes them happiest. This often seems to include but is not limited to:
1. Listening to music, and indie music at that. Indie music is also often quite happy, and happy music makes happy listeners.
2. Reading. Reading classics, reading children's fantasy books, reading political books, reading philosophy books, reading biographies, reading the newspaper, reading reading reading.
3. Gaining knowledge. I think idies like to know what is going on around them and to have opinions it. I think they feel it important to contribute to society, even if only by being more aware of it. So indies like to know stuff. They read the newspaper. They go to college and are serious about their studies. They look up things on wikipedia. They discuss things. They have opinions on many, many things. But they don't force opinions on others. They just know it is important to have their own.
4. Being artsy. Indies usually enjoy the arts. Indies spend a lot of time thinking to themselves, and this usually results in trying to put their thoughts, ideas, and/or feelings into a physically audible or visible dimension like music, dance, photography, painting, drawing, building, writing, etc.
One last thing- Indie is the opposite of Emo. Indie kids are always doing something or going somewhere or thinking about something or being productive in some way shape or form. Emo kids often do nothing but think about how crappy the world is. While indies don't have time to think/care about what others think of them, Emos do nothing but sit around and think about what others do or say against them.
Indies are awesome. The end.
11.7.7
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