In A Barbie World

**WARNING! **There is a pretty good chance that this post will offend a few dozen people or so. However, I am not going to apologize for this. It's the writer's own personal opinion, of which they are entitled to. It doesn't make it right or wrong, and it doesn't mean it's directed towards anyone in particular. It's just something that has been on the writer's heart lately.

If you are a member of the coffee-shop crowd, this may not be for you. If you are into the "psuedo-indie-emo-lovin'-the-grass-outta-ya" lifestyle, this might not be for you. If you talk the talk, and walk the walk, and punch a few people in the face along the way, this might not be for you. If you get uncomfortable reading this, I might actually may be writing this for you.

I've got a problem. I see a lot of Ken & Barbies waltzing about the streets of my city. Down my street in fact. And maybe it's not just my city, my state, or my neighborhood that Ken & Barbie live in. These Ken & Barbies look like real people, they wear human-like clothing, they have human-like occupations, and they even appear to be friendly (c'mon, who hasn't heard of Barbie's best friend Teresa?). I'm here to say that they are fake. They are not real people...in case you weren't sure of this fact.

I teach high-schoolers. The all-time masters and commanders of imitation. "Kens & Barbies," if you will. They take an image, something they likely weren't created for, and they try to squish themselves into that Barbie's clothing. It annoys the hell out of me to see this happen. But it unfortnuately doesn't stop in high school. It happens after they've gone to college, graduated, and lived life a little bit too.

And have you ever noticed how Barbie finds her Ken? If Ken is dressed as a Hawaiian hula dancer, business woman Barbie dresses as a hula dancer. Does that make her a hula dancer? NO. Lawyer Barbie finds African Safari Ken, and all of a sudden we find Barbie exploring the jungles of the world. Then we have white middle-class working man Ken who finds his perfect Parisian Barbie. Then all of a sudden, bon jour madame! We have Parisian Ken. Does changing one's outfit make one a different person? Does changing your location make you a different person? Why is it that people try changing themselves to fit into other people's molds? It pisses me off. Everyone else is taken, be yourself!

I'm tired of fake people. I'm tired of people trying to fit in.

So this post is a disappointment. I don't think it says what I'm trying to say. But there's not another way I can think of to put this stuff without just trampling over everyone. And while some of you maybe thinking, "Well, I'd trample over everyone despite what they'd think," that's not the way I roll. I don't believe in tearing others down in the pursuit of honesty. Because then it's not honesty, it's judgement, it's self-righteousness, and it's rude, and the worst kind of criticism humans can offer.

I'm not perfect. I don't try to be, just ask my students. They will vouch for my self-awareness of imperfections. But there is one thing that I am pretty damn good at. And that's being me, and no one else. So be yourself. Stop being a Ken or a Barbie. It's the best advice I can give.