In Need of Some Positive Societal Reinforcement...

[Feraud]

Let's note not all teenagers are jerks. My 17 year old is great kid as are his peers.

 

[Justin B]

Thanks, everyone. I love coming here, you all are so encouraging.

I know I came off sounding rather bitter in my first post, but that wasn't intentional; I was just ranting and I had nowhere else to rant. I didn't mean to 'air my dirty laundry' so to speak; I've rather an aversion to that myself, but you all were very kind about it.

I suppose I should add that I've always been rather intimidated by people my own age. I always feel that they are so judgmental, but in saying that, I realize that I'm being judgmental myself. It's hard to remember that I need to be as accepting of others as I wish they would be of me (did that make sense?) but you all have reminded me of that, and given me boatloads of encouragement besides, so thank you. :hugs: I think the acceptance bit is something I just need to work on, so I'll try not to mind what other people think of me from now on.

To be honest, I read a lot of the comments here and was a bit disheartened. Your response however made me smile, and honestly proud, that you took such an adult and mature stance. It is hard to be different, but sometimes we forget that EVERYONE is different...even if they all dress alike. I'm not generally the sort to preach the tolerance message, and it seems to me you've got it figured out. Again, proud of you and keep your chin up you're doing great!

 

[rotebander]

Let's note not all teenagers are jerks. My 17 year old is great kid as are his peers.

Excuse me if I offended you, I certainly didn't mean all of them! Perhaps I worded it funny... I meant that people aren't nearly as bad as they initially seem.

 

[Deco-Doll-1928]

Even though I have encountered my share of rude and unruly teenagers, to classify them all that way seems very unfair. Remember that we were all young once and have made our share of mistakes. Heck, I have seen some adults act very poorly in public.

I think sometimes teenagers tend to get caught up in the moment and don't always realize when they are being rude.

To the OP, there are always going to be people that are going to treat you differently because you don't follow the norm. Don't think of that as a disadvantage. As you get older, you're going to appreciate that you were true to yourself. Plus, you'll find people that either like the same as you do or appreciate that you do. My friends are like that. I wouldn't say that many of my friends are wildly manic about vintage and "old things" (it's history--history is timeless!) like I am, but they appreciate that I have my own interests and they are open minded about it. So most of the time it's a laid back, "That's cool."

Those are often the best friends. People that are not always exactly like you, but are open minded and respectful.

Funny enough, one of the reasons why I joined the Fedora Lounge was because I wanted to connect with people the same interests as me. Sometimes it can be lonely when people don't show the same enthusiasm. I try to go to events to connect with people and sometimes I feel almost as lonely or feel "out of place" with all the people staring that are not into the Art Deco thing.

I had that experience on the Queen Mary last year. The people that were into Art Deco were all excited to talk with me or comment on something that I was wearing. Some people I would walk past me with their own vintage costumes and nod their heads and smile. I've even encountered people that were just visiting the ship and they were excited about my look.

When I finally decided to eat, an older man came up to me and asks me, "What's with all the people dressed up?" lol So I kindly explained to him that it was the Art Deco Festival.

I admit that I almost didn't want to get out the car at first in my vintage outfit because I didn't see any one at first dressed up. So I was thinking, "Oh gosh, I'm going to look crazy to people." Although, once I finally saw someone, I had this sudden boost of confidence that I could "pull this off". See even at my age, I still struggle with confidence and fitting in. You're not alone.