The Writers Voice
The World's
Favourite Literary Website
A Friend of a Goth Person
by
Heidi Yang
I have a story to tell the world. Well not a story really, but a message. One of
my friends
from the Writer's Voice thought that maybe I should write something about the
Gothic
community. I know that many of you out there probably think that Goths are just
a bunch of
black clothing wearing, pierced, tattooed, pessimistic freaks. But I am here to
tell you that you
are sadly mistaken.
In my opinion these people are very misunderstood and people
are very quick
to label them as the freaks and outcasts of my society. Oddly enough I once had
this same view
of the Goths. But that's only because I didn't know them, I didn't know anyone
who was
pessimistic and wore black clothing all the time.
When I entered my freshman year of high school I made many new friends and
rekindled
some old friendships.
One of my new friends was a girl named Katie. She was a
senior when I
started going to Hoover High School but that didn't bother me. Katie was someone
that I'm not
really sure how I met her but I'm glad I did. She was white and had long dark
brown hair. She
wore wire-rimmed glasses and almost always wore a long black trench coat to
school. It didn't
take me long to figure out that Katie was a Goth. But she didn't fit any of the
stereotypes that
people had stuck to her.
True, she did wear mostly black clothes and could be
somewhat
pessimistic, but that was it. Katie was someone I could always depend on to give
me her honest
opinion on anything. She made me laugh and didn't judge me by anything other
than my
personality. It was through Katie's friendship that I learned this very
important lesson. Ignorance
may be bliss, but ignorance can make anybody a very biased and close-minded
person. It was
because Katie that I learned not to dwell something that a boy did to me. She
gave me some
advice that coming from her was unexpected, but it's something I've never
forgotten.
She wrote
in my 'memory' book that teenage boys are scum! You're better than that. Never
lower your
standards but always remember that aren't infallible. Everyone makes mistakes,
so don't beat
yourself up if you're not perfect. I don't know where that came from but it's
good advice. I
learned from Katie's friendship that in reality Goths are just regular people. I
know how hard that
might be for some people that are reading this to believe. They just happen to
have a different
view of world and about life. To be honest I don't think that's such a bad
thing.
Since then I have made many friends who are Goths. Some of them I haven't kept
as
friends because they weren't worth keeping as friends, not because they were
Goths. But my
friend Lydia I have kept. I met her during lunch, I noticed that she always sat
by herself and I
thought she might be lonely. She did have other friends but they didn't have the
same lunch as
she did. Throughout my high school life I've always valued her opinion. Lydia
has always given
me her honest opinion and always tells me what she thinks of my stories. Lydia
is more
pessimistic than some people I've met but I think that's due to all the crap
she's had to go
through in her life.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that Goths may be a
little bit odd looking but
once you get past their appearance some of them are actually really cool people.
My friend Lydia
actually looks pretty normal for a Goth, but some of my other friends have been
snubbed for their
dyed hair or the fact that they have a different lifestyle. To this day I still
think about my friend
Katie even though we don't keep in touch. I kind of wish we did. Katie opened up
a whole new
world for me.
A world that didn't judge people by their appearances but by their
actions.
Unfortunately some of the Goths I've met are not terribly great people. My
friend Kassie is a
perfect example of this. She is generally an okay person but she is rather
immature and can
sometimes be a little too nosy for my tastes. The funny thing about Kassie is
that when I first met
her she wasn't a Goth. But over the course of one summer she fell in love heavy
metal and
started to become more like the Goths; which didn't really bug me. My friend
Ashley and I aren't
as close anymore, I'd like to think that she still considers me as a friend but
I try not to let that get
to me.
She's actually pretty cool she just has a lot to deal with. My friend
Steve is pretty cool
and fortunately we are still friends. Steve is one of those people that is kind
of weird in general.
He usually wears a black jacket, black pants, on top of that he sometimes wears
a trench coat. He
loves to draw and now he helps teach the middle schoolers how to draw. One of
the things I
always remember about Steve is that he liked to give people hugs. Sometimes for
no reason at
all, and other times he just wanted to make someone feel better. Unfortunately
Steve's hugs had
a tendency to crush me but usually I didn't mind. All that mattered to me was that he cared
enough to do something like that.
My friend Kevin has since graduated but he
always pretty cool.
I ate lunch with him and my other friends out in the student center last year.
I'll never forget the
day he showed me a simple kindness. My sophomore and junior year I ended up
obsessing a lot
about my guy friend Zac. One day I wrote him a letter about something I was
worried about. He
got freaked out and didn't want to talk to me because he was afraid that
something bad happen to
me if he did. I got all of this information from my good friend Jenny. I was so
mad, I wanted so
badly to talk to him but I knew that I couldn't. I tried not to think about it
but that seemed rather
impossible. I went and stood in the a la carte line to get my lunch, all the
while thinking about my
friend Zac. I just wanted to tell him that
I was sorry for making him worry so
much and that
nothing bad was going to happen to me. But he didn't have the same lunch as I
did and I knew
that even if he did that he would've ignored me. I tried not to let all of this
get to me but
somehow it did. I happened to buy a can Pringles at lunch. I was walking back to
my spot in my
group of friends cursing myself all the while. I kept wishing that I'd never
written that stupid
letter and wished that I hadn't been so stupid. I ended up kicking one of the
walls with my foot
and by the time I got back to where my friends were sitting I was really upset.
I didn't even try to
calm down, instead I almost started to cry. Somehow my anger was greater than my
sadness. I
walked over to where my were sitting friends were sitting and threw the Pringles against the wall.
Kevin glanced at me for a moment then he turned back to his friends. Then I sat
down against the
wall hoping that no one would notice me. Usually no one sat near the wall so for
awhile it
seemed to work. But my friend Kevin kept looking at me from time to time, he
seemed to know
that something was wrong. I just ignored him, I didn't want to talk to anybody,
let alone have
them ask me why I had thrown something against the wall. I wasn't very hungry
and Kevin
always had to steal food from someone to feed himself. He never seemed to bring
money to
school so he was always begging for handouts. After a little while Kevin came
over to where I
was sitting and asked if I was okay.
I ended up telling him what was going on
and I told him that
he could have most of my food. Eventually I felt better and rejoined my friends.
But to this day I
can still remember that small act of kindness that Kevin showed me. He didn't
have to ask me if I
was okay. He certainly didn't seem like the type of person who would even care
about that type
of thing. He proved me wrong that day and I'm glad that he did. This brings me
to my next
point. I think that because of the way Goths look some people think that they
don't care about
anyone or anything.
I have found this to be very untrue and it's not fair to
judge people like that.
Most of the people I have met that are Goths have been just the opposite of that
statement.
Steve, Kevin, Katie, and Lydia are all a good example of people who have been
misjudged
because of what they look like.
There are many misconceptions and stereotypes made about Goths, as with anybody
that's
different from the norm. I have often wished that this wasn't true, but sadly it
is. I have learned
that Goths are anything but what people believe them to be. For everyone who
thinks that they
are cold uncaring individuals, consider what Kevin did and how that certainly
doesn't fit any
stereotype anyone may have.
For everyone who thinks that Goths always wear black
and have
tons of piercings and tattoos, consider my friend Lydia. She only has her ears
pierced and doesn't
have any tattoos, and while she does usually wear mostly black she worn other
colors as well.
For all the people who still think Goths are the freaks and outcasts of my
generation I pity you.
That is your opinion and you are entitled to it. But I think that you are making
a big mistake by
not trying to have an open mind. For all of those people who read this and found
out something
new about the Goths, I'm glad you did.
For all of those people who read this and
decided that
maybe you could get to know someone like that I am grateful to you. It is my
opinion that the
Goths are just like us. They may wear black most of the time and yes, they are
pessimistic but
isn't these days? I think that it's refreshing to have a friend who has a
different view of life and
the world. It may be a different view than what some people are used to, but the
heck is wrong
with that? I guess that brings to the end of this informative article.
I hope
that whoever reads this
gains a greater understanding of what are truly like. And to all the people out
there who are part
of the Gothic community who disagree with me, go ahead, disagree with me. I
don't mind
hearing people's opinions and criticisms. Well I hope this article has offered
you a look into a
very different and very wonderful world. A world that I am quite proud to live
in.
Heidi Yang 3/23/04
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