I find the stereotypical stance of what ‘being cool’ is considered to be, in addition to the way it is portrayed in movies, very interesting.
Going through high school and being completely vulnerable of easily conforming to the idea that the ones who went to parties, hooked up with all the guys, wore the nicest clothes, and had all the confidence you so eagerly wish you had, were the ‘cool’ ones.
At least for me, not knowing who I was or who I even wanted to be my freshman year of high school; I craved for leisure friends and being a part of a group of friends that went out together, sometimes not even caring who I with as long as I felt like I was involved. I often found myself being closest to people who did not have the same intentions at heart, consideration for me, or put in the same effort as I did for them.
It took me a good amount of build-up in self-identity and standards for what it meant to be a friend for me to actually see that these individuals were not admirable people nor were they even my speed.
Eventually I was able to recognize the type of qualities I connect with in people but still to this day I am trying to identify what it is that throws me off about a person and what has me want to get to know them better. Even in regards to that, what I do now know is this; the definition of ‘cool’ that society tried to create, in my opinion, could not be more wrong.
The type of people who I find to be ‘cool’ are the ones with unique perspectives on life, they do not feel the need to follow the crowd by closeting their own opinions in order to please others. These people have pure hearts who genuinely want the best for everyone else. People who give those different than them or anyone considered ‘weird’ to others, the time of day.
These people find the joy in just spending time with the people they care about and have no shame being who they are. They talk about their family in such a bright light and don’t care about the drama.
Pettiness is not something they tolerate and if someone gives them a problem they will either confront it to resolve it or that person just becomes irrelevant to them.
Maturity is cool, pushing yourself beyond your comfort zone is cool, wanting the best for yourself and making every effort to work for your aspirations even if they are so far out of your reach is cool.
Not once have I looked at someone wearing a nice clothing, or Saturday night to the point where they are obliterated but showing off how they are still somehow conscience, and thought to myself “wow, that person is so cool”. Materialism is not cool and better yet, MATERIALS do not make someone cool.
It is the type of person you are that draws people to you. And to me, any person who epitomizes any of the examples I gave, are someone I model to help me become a better version of myself which I think is the coolest thing you can ever do in this life.
The people I’ve been surrounding myself with recently have been fulfilling the ideologies of what I consider to be ‘cool people’. From the way they so openly talk about their fascinations to their funky quirks, to how much passion they put into everything they want, to the feel good atmosphere they want to promote with 0 exceptions for any negativity, to the realness of their persona that makes them people I know I can feel comfortable with and know I can trust the opinions of, are what makes them help me understand what I feel being an exceptional individual is all about.
