The Philosophy of the Hipster

I do not identify as Hipster.

Sure, there are things I like that others most definitely would not. I enjoy folk music and listening to NPR and I hope to one day own a working typewriter. But I am not nearly fringe enough, cool enough, nor fashionable enough to be a hipster. I buy most of my clothes from Target, not an obscure vintage store. And I do not own anything with a mustache on it (and my husband doesn't count because a) he's usually just unshaven, not mustachioed and b) I don't own him).

But I do identify with the mindset.

I've added this picture of Hipster Sasquatch to make this more tumblr, pinterest, re-blogging friendly. Because if there's anything that hipsters love more than being obscure, it's telling people about it.

I grew up hearing that everyone was special and unique. Individuals were praised for their accomplishments and pushed to achieve. We felt satisfaction when we attained goals and truly believed we could do whatever we set our minds to, that we could be the best.

Then, we grew up and realized that there are 7 BILLION OTHER PEOPLE in the world. The odds that we were truly different were small. The odds that we were the best at anything even less.

So our culture adjusted and adapted. We started embracing the old, and turning it into something new. We take pride in liking something "you've probably never heard of" because we realized the value of something no one has ever heard of. We've all heard everything before. There is nothing new under the sun. Etc.

I fully understand this desire to be counter culture. Like the hippies before us, we are bucking the system any way we can. We are embracing the past while trying to find our place in the present. With unemployment rates high and the desire to be happy more than successful even higher, it's a tough spot to be in. How do we reconcile what we grew up hearing with reality and our goals? It's a complicated problem that seems to have a solution, but I feel like I can't quite figure out what that solution is.

So if you find yourself frustrated with all of the hipsters out there, please just understand that our generation is trying to find its place. Just like the aforementioned hippies, or the punk rockers, or the grunge, goths, and emos. We are just trying to figure out our place.

Just like everyone else.