Daryl wrote:The other effect I've noted in life is that your friends are part of a social group that is (as you put it) superficial. They overemphasise in-group norms, and in fact their group cohesion is based almost only on their ability to have a groupthink about superficial norms. The fashion outsider in such a group threatens the group identity. Opinions about the fashion and what it means are added later as a rational veneer covering the very meanness of it. I've only experienced this once as a member of a circle that was in its formative stages. That's when you feel a whole group suddenly shunning you. Only one member of that group remained my friend, and she turned her back on the rest of the group. Many people won't take that risk if they are not already members of other circles of friends, our need for belonging is so strong.
I've never had enough friends at any given time to consider us a "group".
Normally it's just me and someone else, I've gone years on end with no friend at all, other than my wife. Mind you, this was
before I started wearing skirts. I just have a very sarcastic and abrasive nature about me. I try to tone it down, but I find myself feeling empty as a result, as though I am striving to make sure everyone else can sit comfortably, meanwhile I'm dying inside.
I've found solace in this lifestyle however and I'm
not complaining about not having any close friends. I have adjusted and honed some deep spiritual convictions that get me through many-a-lonely nights. Yes, I'm one of those people that talks to trees, rocks, acorns, butterflies, etc.
My statement above was meant to illustrate that skirts can be helpful to keep undesirable people away. It's a useful tool as I can recollect many dramas I've endured that would have most likely been prevented had I avoided certain people, people that by all accounts would have stayed clear of me anyway if I were into wearing skirts at the time.
As far as high school, that's a distant memory. Most of my high school years involved the courting of my now ex-wife (yes, I've been married before), and suffice it to say, those years are buried under a pile of brain dust deep in the Moon Shadow vault.
So lets explore how skirts could have saved me: (superpowers)
If I were wearing skirts in high school....
Lets consider it was the late 90's, and the school wouldn't have allowed it. Skirting at home would be a no-go too as dad would have probably thrown me out, but that's okay because....
- The moment I turned 18 I came into a $100,000 trust, so I could have easily just moved out and sent myself to college, paid in full, but not before I...
- Purchased some investment shares in Google
- Took a greyhound bus to Georgia and hiked the Appalachian Trail.. in a macabi. then...
- When I arrived in Maine, purchase a second hand van and travel the U.S. for a few years
- I would then rent me a little place in a progressive city/state and attend college.
- Get out of college, secure my job with a progressive employer
- Women would have left me alone because they seem repelled by this- thus I wouldn't have had an ex.
- At some point I'd need to happen upon Jenn in North Carolina.
But instead, I spent 34 years of my life doing exactly what everyone else thought I should, and wanted me to do. Now here I sit..... where are they now? They're gone, they ran out when the money ran out.
Oh to get in 18 year old Moon Shadow's head!
Hindsight.... you are so cruel....
The moral of the story: If you wanna wear skirts: JUST DO IT. Ain't nobody in this world worth wasting your life over.
Regrets? I have my share... none of them involved a skirt, and quite a few might have been prevented had I been wearing one!
Skirt Superpowers indeed!