You are one of the kids who has never followed the crowd. But sometimes it’s hard not to get sucked into mainstream culture, especially if you live somewhere that's on the judgmental side. As a South Dakota college student who grew up surrounded by the Twin Cities suburbs, I know firsthand that some places don't accept people who are different than them. But, if you want to break the judgement barriers and leave behind the basic life, here are some tips to follow!
1. Don’t be a walking billboard.
Brand names are nice, but don’t let them define your entire closet. Pick a day or two and leave your Hollister labels at home. Just pick any outfit that isn’t a plaid shirt, a black vest, black leggings and Uggs.
2. Quit using cookie-cutter photo captions.
Your three-week-old vacation photo that reads, “Take me back!” with a sunshine emoji has been done by almost everyone on your Instagram timeline, admit it. And referring to your friends as “this gem” isn’t anything new, either.
3. Starbucks isn’t that cool.
There are many different places to find over-priced cups of whipped cream. Make an adventure out of it. Try people watching at a downtown hole-in-the-wall coffee shop.
4. Don’t pick your tattoo off Pinterest.
Birds, dandelions, anchors, arrows, butterflies and dreamcatchers are at the top of the Basic Tattoo list. They might be beautiful, but they aren't what you should get if you want to be different.
5. Sub-tweeting won’t get you anywhere.
It will most likely get you unfollowed, actually, because of how annoying you are. You might have “finally figured out who your true friends are,” but Facebook and/or the Twitter-verse do not need to know about it.
6. Stop blasting your Top 40 Spotify playlist in your car.
It’s not anything we couldn’t hear on the radio. Did you know that there are millions of songs that you’ve never heard before? Don’t let the mainstream media tell you what music to listen to. Do some digging, and leave Taylor Swift and Justin Bieber in the past. Dare to be edgy.
7. But don’t claim to love an edgy band if you only know one song.
If you wear a band t-shirt but only know that band’s one radio single, you are a new kind of basic. Music knowledge is something you can’t fake, so don’t try. Listen to the entire album. You might actually like it.
8. Quit commenting “Can I be you?” on all your friend’s photos.
Things stop being cute after the 38,267,190,937th time. Handing out compliments is great, but just try to use the other 1,025,105 words in the English language.
9. No more jumping on the bandwagon.
New trends, fads and overall mainstream things do not prove anyone to be unique. Some recent examples include the Birkenstock sandal and the half-bun updo (although I openly admit to rocking the Birks.)
10. Change up your DIY art.
Time to ditch the chevron canvases and get a little more creative. And you can come up with a better saying to hang on your mirror than a Marilyn Monroe quote. Trust me.
11. God isn’t a fad.
Sharing your relationship with God is one thing, but posting the same few short Bible verses as captions to your selfies is another. You draw the line wherever you see fit, just something to keep in mind.
