HW 35 - Cool Paper Rough Draft

Over the past couple of months, the term "Cool" has been investigated by classes of student to see what it actually means. It now has become apparent that we ae living in a society where one word can determine who you are either by yourself, or by the people around you. Common Sense itself hasn't been playing a big part in the growth of the term "Cool", as it now creates conflict with people in society, especially in the teen age group and the middle/high school scenes. Without having anyone around you to yell in your ear, you would want to do and/or be whoever or whatever makes you happy the most. Unfortunatly, sources within the media play a big role in shaping the lives of umcoming kids who apprently would rather follow what someone else thinks is cool instead of their own way. In fact, cool has been defined in a way that disopbeys parents, the people who brought us into the world. "Cool is an oppositional attitude adopted by individuals or small groups to express defiance to authority"(Cool Rules: Anatomy of an Attitude). Now this can be looked at in multiple ways, whether it be a teen ingnoring a parent, or a criminal running from a cop, these examples are surely the wrong way to go. Cool has made people look at life in the wrong way, it has made people expect more out of themselves than is already there and good enough.

Cool in general should be defined as being your own person, following nobody except yourself. Cool however, wasn't grown in society in that light, so "Cool" isn't technically defined in that way by the majority of people. These individuals may look at Tattoos and over the edge hairstyles as a characteristic of the "lower social class", amoung other things. However, if those people opened their hypnotized minds, they would realize that these haircuts and bodyart are a way of expression, a way to say "I'm Different", a way to identify yourself in the world for real. Think about it, would you rather be standing in the world noticed by yourself or with a big crowd? The answer should obviously be by yourself because in this case, YOU are seen, in a crowd, the crowd itself only is seen.

People now use these ways of representation to mock self expression, not necessarily on purpose, but in an attempt to try and be accepted by others. When people look for the best ways to be cool, they are copyrighting someone else. " If you don't have your own idea, you'll be apart of society's idea" (quote from Andy's class). And on most occasions, they ARE noticed, but not in the right way, not for being yourself. Many Teen girls today who dress "sexy" aren't being looked at for their personailty first, girls today first attract guys by physical apperences. And I'm sure when asked, these girls will say that it's 100% their own style with NO inspirations. No? Never heard of Britney Spears? Really? Same goes for the guys, who may change their appearence and hide themselves behind baggy clothes and namebrand sunglasses. In fact, girls themselves are a reason why guys feel pressured to change themselves up a bit. Some guys who don't feel 100% confident in themselves will look to anything to impress a girl, at all costs. It's not just girls though, it can be in any situations wioth groups of people, a hopeful job, etc.

Cool has now become somewhat of a problem when thought of. Sure, cool can push you into the "in" crowd, but is it worth it? Is it worth losing your true identity, who you can truly become? People who are strong minded, who don't let other people's ideas and opinions affect them, those are the people who have the true right to say, "I AM COOL". They follow nobody except themselves, they are happy with the path in life they have chosen. How about those kids who are in the "cool" group? OK, now what? All they're doing during that period of time is wearing a mask, a white, plain, mask. There are these kind of people, then there are the strong minded people. I guess Cool can be looked at as proof to the fact that maybe some people are just stronger than others. Better yet, that is only one example of what Cool can prove.