Homework #35, My COOL Paper first draft

Welcome to the year of 2010. Sounds futuristic, eh? The new year has just begun, yet the drive to be accepted, and cool, is still a common theme (or an ongoing drive), despite the futuristic sounding year. So, what is cool? I decided to look up the definition of "cool" on urbandictionary.com, and the first definition is "The best way to say something is neat-o, awesome, or swell. The phrase 'cool' is very relaxed, never goes out of style, and people will never laugh at you for using it, it’s very convenient for people like me who don't care about what's 'in.'" Anyone and everyone can say "that's cool." Or use the word cool to describe something. Cool is also a very versatile word, which is cool. Isn't it? The word cool is also used to keep your cool. Like in West Side Story there's a song called "Cool", and all of the lines are talking about playing it cool, and not getting in trouble. One of my favorite lines from that song is "Got a rocket in your pocket, keep coolly cool, boy!" This scene was performed right after the death of one of the Jet's leaders got killed, and all of the guys want to get even. Then one of the guys starts singing this song trying to calm everyone down. Rockets are contained, but if you light a rocket it goes everywhere. So this is a metaphor of the anger bubbling around inside them, and how they have to stay cool, as in staying calm. If we all play the typical cool pose, then we won’t actually be cool. Or: the typical cool is actually less cool than the not so typical cool. Or if you try to follow the typical cool role you end up being uncool, while people who are not the typical cool and are themselves are actually cool.


To start off as an example for the typical cool, I will share my story that I had to write:

Cassie was a beautiful seventeen year old, with long, dirty blonde hair and big, lavender colored eyes. She had a style of her own, and a sense of coolness about her that was often effortless. She was happy it was girl's night in with her friends, and they were sitting around in the living room talking.

"So, how did you meet Chaz?" Roxy asked, pulling Cassie out of her thoughts.
Cassie blinked, looked up at her friends and said, "Do you really want to know?"
"Yeah!" "Sure!" A chorus of cheers went round the room.
Cassie smiled, and tucked a lock of hair behind her ear that was been falling in her eyes. "Well, one day I was walking down the street with some of my classmates, and I noticed this really cute boy had been tailing me. So I was trying to act cool -a little bit more than I already am, of course- and Trina decided it'd be funny to try and trip me. All of a sudden I was falling, and seconds before I was about to hit the pavement, I realized I wasn't falling anymore. Then I felt the strong arms wrapped around my waist, and smelled the rich scent of his leather jacket. I turned around, and smiling, looked up into the warm green eyes of my hero. 'You saved me!' I said. With a cool, relaxed smile on his face, he said: 'Anytime babe.'"
"Awww!" "Then what happened?!" Suddenly all the girls were asking questions at once.
Cassie gave a wicked grin, and continued "Offering his hand, he said, 'My name's Chaz, what's yours beautiful?' and that, ladies, is how I met my sweetie.'"
"He sounds like a really cool guy." Mavis said with a wink.
"Yeah, yeah he is." Cassie replied.
The End
*To give it credit I wrote this story while thinking about a scene from the movie Grease.*
My story has both the typical female role, and the typical male role in it. The character Cassie is beautiful with blonde hair, and she’s the kind of cool that can’t be doubted, like she says, “So I was trying to act cool -a little bit more than I already am, of course-“ because she already knows she’s cool. She also has her huge group of girls that are all listening to her and want to hear what she’s saying. Then there’s Chaz, who is confident in himself, and relaxed. He’s strong, and he’s wearing a leather jacket.

Something that I noticed in a lot of the stories that I read is that there is an artificial "cool" character, and a more down to earth, real "cool" character. The artificial cool is like the jokester, the popular person, the trickster, the person that is noticed more often. While the more real cool doesn't have to be noticed, or usually isn't as noticed like the geek, the quiet person, or the loner. In Chris R's story, there is the materialistic, "cool" guy, who the kids admire because he has a motorcycle, and can do some trick with a balloon, and the big house. This seems to be a recurring theme, the person with the cool thing that everyone else looks up tot hem for. Then there is the more real character, which for Chris's I see the dad as. He spends his hard work seeing his kids, his ex's kids, and he works hard to do his job as well. The kids don't really appreciate their dad for his hard work, so when the kids told their dad that they thought the guy with the motorcycle was cool, the dad felt angry because he had never been called cool before. I saw the dad as the cool guy, instead of the person that is automatically seen in society as "cool".

There is also the typical, popular cool in Maxiel's story, where there is the popular girl bragging about her piercings, and causing a scene when the teacher asks for her cell phone. Then in Matt's story there is the therapist, who is the older, wiser man, the "real" cool person, who is trying to help the young, foolish, artificial cool girl. There is also the cool careless, popular, sort of not very nice person in Victor's and Dylan's blogs. In Victor's story there is the guy who throws the ball, and hurts the teacher, and lets the normal kid take the fall. But his friends think he's cool. In Dylan's story there is the kid who comes in late, doesn't care, charms the security guard and runs away. The artificial cool in both stories.

The definition of cool depends on the person who's using it. I may think that a person or thing is cool, when someone else may think that same person or thing is uncool. I think it's cool not to try too hard to be cool. I also usually go against typical definitions or people that are "cool". Cool is seen as the clique of popular people that stick to themselves. The cool people in movies are always the clique that has everyone who looks exactly the same, and no one else can get in. They don't talk to anyone outside their clique. For example, in Twilight all of the vampires are in one group, and everyone else wants to be in the "cool" group. All of the girls have a crush on Edward, while he seems to not care for the girls.

I feel like burying oneself is not cool. If you act like a jerk but you're cool, you're life is still going to suck. For example, if a guy is acting really cool to impress a girl, but he is not being himself, and if the girl falls in love with the guy's not self then she isn't falling in love with who he really is, she's falling in love with who he wants to be seen as. There's this scene in Grease where Sandy and Danny haven't seen each other since the summer, and all of a sudden Sandy finds out Danny goes to the same school as her. So she excitedly screams "Danny!" and Danny in his leather jacket, white teacher, blue jeans and with his gelled hair gets really excited too. "Sandy I thought you were going back to Australia! I'm so glad.. (looks at guy friends.) I mean that's cool. That's cool.. What's a matter with me babe, what's a matter with you?" After Danny realizes his buddies are watching him expectantly, he goes into asshole mode. To please his friends. The typical cool guy, like Danny in Grease, puts his friends first. It is important in the cool role to have tons of friends who approve of you.

Be More Chill by Ned Vizzini is a book about how to be the typical cool. The book is all about acting the way society expects you to be cool, to get what you want. There's this boy named Jeremy, who is really awkward and geeky, and he has a crush on this really popular, beautiful girl named Christine. All Jeremy has ever wanted is to be with Christine. But she doesn't know he exists, or if she does, she thinks he's weird. One day someone tells Jeremy about this thing called a "Squip", with is a pill-sized computer that you can swallow. This computer talks inside your head, and helps you to be cool, or "chill". You can program the voice to be really manly, or feminine, and you can pick how you want the computer to sound. No one else knows it's in your head, except for the few people that also have one in their heads. A rule about the Squip, is that you don't talk to it out loud. In the beginning this takes some adjusting for Jeremy. The Squip tells Jeremy in order to get with the girl he wants, he needs to build up a reputation that he's the man. It basically tells him to get with all the other girls so Christine will know about he's great reputation. It makes him go to parties, dress stylish, and to turn himself from a scrawny boy to a ripped boy. I really enjoyed reading this book, because I usually wouldn't have picked something like it to read. I just read it to see how the characters in the book think being cool is.

There's also a quote I love from About A Boy by Nick Hornby, that talks about being cool. "He was, according to the questionnaire, sub-zero! He was dry ice! He was Frosty the Snowman! He would die of hypothermia!... being men's-magazine cool was as close as he had ever come to an achievement, and moments like this were to be treasured. Sub-zero!" (page 7). One of the characters in this book is named Will, and he's the sub-zero cool guy. Will cares about fashion, and being trendy. He cares about being mens-magazine cool. Yet when I read about Will, he lives all alone, but he has great clothes as well as great records. But does being cool help if you aren't other good things? Nope, not really. If you have an ugly personality, but look cool, that's not going to save you. If you're a pretty blonde model with blue eyes but you like making people miserable, you're still ugly on the inside. I don't care if that gorgeous model is "cool" because if they're ugly on the inside, they're ugly on the outside as well.

Gwendolyn Brooks put herself in the boys' shoes, and felt like they thought they were cool because they were skipping school, drinking watered down gin and listening to jazz music. Kind of like the jokester who's too cool to get to school, and has too much of a life to try and be in school. It’s also similar to Learning to Labour by P. Willis, there is a quote that says "The lads also tried to identify with the adult, non-school world, by smoking, drinking and expressing strongly sexist and racist attitudes" This really stood out to me because they're trying to be like adults by smoking, drinking, and being sexist as well as racist. They weren't concerned with their education, they just wanted to have a "laff", and act like adults. Kids and teenagers are constantly trying to act older than they really are. Like girls wearing revealing clothing and too much makeup when they're only in middle school, which also happens a lot. But when I read this sentence I got the visual image of a bunch of boys sitting around in their father's too big clothing, and looking like children. Which, last time I checked, isn't very cool. Even though a lot of the time people just want to make other's laugh, and 'have a laugh', and just cruise on by in life. It also says "...and saw manual work as superior to mental work." In other words they'd rather use their bodies than think with their brains. They'd rather do muscle work than thinking work. Another thing I noticed is that it says how the 'lads' realize that they might not get a good job, so they feel like they shouldn't have to bother with school and education.

Another typical cool attitude is like in the song Smokin' In The Boys Room, by Motley Crue, (or in our school's case, it'd be Smokin Outside of School, or Smokin On The Roof..) where he says "Teacher don't you fill me up with your rules, cuz everybody knows that smokin' ain't allowed in school". He's cool because he breaks the rules in school, and is telling the teacher not to tell him the rules because he's aware that he's breaking them. So, he gets cool points for skipping class, smoking in school, AND for telling the teacher to shove their rules.

Some stuff to add on the typical cool: About a Boy "Bah, Bah.. you have to blend in and be a sheep." People are scared that if they stand out and make a splash then they’ll get made fun of. Just like Marcus in About A Boy.
-James Dean
--21st Century Digital Boy.
- Even before the research, a quote from an anonymous, cool guy who's a friend of mine: "Lol nah I'm too cool to be ashamed of myself."
-There's also a shirt that says "I'm right 97% of the time, and who cares about the other 4% of the time?" Get it?
-The breakfast club: The Princess, the Jock, the Brain, the Criminal, and the Werido. Or as Jacara has said before, we’re all in our own little boxes, and we just go from box to box.

Theories:
Theories:
-Goffman, performance. Rosa Parks: “Each person must live their lives as a model for others.”
-Acting on a stage, or acting out our lives.
-We all have roles to play
-ACCEPTANCE, IMPORTANCE, IDENTITY
--We all want to fit in, and be accepted.
-The common search for identity.
- We all want to feel important and excepted.
- Leave out all the rest: http://www.metrolyrics.com/leave-out-all-the-rest-lyrics-linkin-park.html

- All of these websites discuss feeling meaningless, and how people feel like whatever they do, they are still unimportant. The first quotes say that we look for meaning in materialistic things, and that the materialistic things are to blame in the first place for us feeling unimportant. It's the reason people shop to try and fill the never-ending hole in themselves.Though this may be a little inappropiate and the connection may not seem too clear, it reminds me of something Fat Bastard said in Austin Powers. He said in one movie: "I eat because I'm unhappy, and I'm unhappy because I eat. It's a vicious cycle. Now if you'll excuse me, there's someone I need to get in touch with and forgive: meself" (To read all about the lovely Fat Bastard in Austin Powers, go here. Basically, my connection is that people shop because they are unhappy, and that they are unhappy because they eat, and like the quote says, it's a terrible cycle.

Another name for the feeling meaningless is the theory of nihilism, that no matter what a person does, they still don't mean anything. That the world does not stop for one small individual, and that whatever we dod, the world doesn't care. A man once said to me, "The world could just do like this *he shook around a bit* and we'd be gone." In life, people are always striving to be noticed, and important. They -including myself- want to find a way to be come immortal, and to live forever. If we know we cannot die, it might help people feel important. To feel untouchable, invincible.
__________________________________________
Dan Bruiger, "Emptiness of Modernity", http://www.leftfieldpress.com/essays/emptiness-of-modernity.htm This is a small essay talking about the emptiness in modern times, and in materialistic things. Some quotes from the essay are:

"The emptiness infects the very objects that are supposed in the materialistic society to be the source of all satisfaction. We seek in luxuries and conveniences compensation for the loss of nature and vitality, and for the essential poverty of the Ideal manifest in urban landscapes."
"What characterizes the emerging global culture is just this loss of local initiative: consumer society has emasculated itself by trading self-reliance for convenience and imagined security."
__________________________________________
Pradip Mukherji,"Life - LIFE IS EMPTY AND MEANINGLESS" http://www.lifepositive.com/Mind/philosophy/life/meaningless-life.asp A quote from this website is "Moving up the five levels of consciousness in the waking state we realize that nothing ever happened. This world is just a projection of the Universal Mind. But in the emptiness and meaninglessness of life we experience fulfillment and wholeness"
__________________________________________
James Park, "Our Existential Predicament: Loneliness, Depression, Anxiety & Death" (just like Andy's charts)http://www.tc.umn.edu/~parkx032/XP69.html This is a whole book -I only glanced at it- , which discusses in detail the reason for feeling meaningless. It says that we cannot measure the meaning in our life, and that "short-term purposes and relative goals no longer satisfy us. " It also says how we want to feel important, and that we feel like the little things that we do build up and don't matter. This website poses a lot of questions and things to think about, and not a lot of answers.
__________________________________________
Also by James Park, "Looking for the Meaning of Life", http://www.tc.umn.edu/~parkx032/CY-MEAN.html "My early sense of meaninglessness was directly related to death: If we all must die, can life have any ultimate meaning? " and "But when we say that life is meaningless,
we question the assumed standards of meaning themselves. We know that we can spend our lives working toward relative goals. But is that meaningful?"
__________________
Problems with being cool/ trying to be cool:

- Paris Hilton, Britney Spears, Nicole Richie, Lindsey Lohan.. The negative side effects of being a celeb.
-Fitting into boxes is a bad trick: If you say yes you're a slut, if you say no you're a prude. It's like a double sided blade." Or like It’s Kind Of A Funny Story.
--Guy roles, showing no emotions. If you break out of that mold something's wrong.
Sandy Fertman Ryan, “The perfect girl.”
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0IBX/is_1_11/ai_n6151475/ Girls’ Life, August-Sept, 2004.
This article, written by Sandy Ryan discuses a perfect girl (Kathryn) with a not so perfect life. Kathryn’s parents both have fairly important jobs, her dad is a successful international lawyer, and her mom is a systems analyst. Ever since she was very young, she was brought up to be the best. She was considered to be “the perfect girl”, with good grades, striving to be number one. She grew up thinking, “to be beautiful, you have to be thin”. This article tells a story of Kathryn’s life, and how bulimia almost took it away from her.

This is not an example of how to be cool, or popular, but it shows the problems one may face if put under too much pressure. She was considered the perfect girl, yet she was under so much stress that she started being bulimic, and almost killed herself. This story is very tragic, yet I thought it was important to post it as an example of someone falling apart under trying to be societies’ definition of cool. There is a quote that sort of fits with being “cool”: control. Kathryn said she “purged to feel like [she] had control over something in [her] life, since everything else seemed to be totally out of control.” She had felt like she had little control in her own life, so she started making herself throw up to try and make herself thin.
-The problem with the typical cool: This morning, I happened to turn on the radio and I was listening to z100. I used to listen to this radio all the time, until the "popular" music started being played too much. Yet in the mornings, the radio hosts only talk on the station. So this morning they were discussing how come hot people don't read, and I felt like it was very realevent to our "cool" unit. Some quotes that I wrote down from people calling into the radio station are:
"Because when hot people read, I don't think they're hot anymore" (She said something like that..)
"Hot people remain hot until they read".
"Hot people are more into visual stuff, and reading is kind of plain. If they were reading a magazine it would be me interesting."
"You can be hot and read. You just might not be picture hot."
"They go home, change their clothes, take out their contacts and put on their glasses. They slip into their nerd skins."(I wish I could make sure I had these quotes more exact, but they're pretty close and I couldn't find the conversation online.)

Sometimes they discuss really stupid things on the radio in the morning. I usually turn the radio off after a couple minutes because they don't play music and they talk about things that I don't care about. Yet when I was getting ready for school this morning I found myself paying attention to the radio, and taking some notes on what people were saying. I found this morning's conversation to be very interesting though. Most of the people calling in said that it was weird and uncommon for 'hot people' to read. I really loved the person that said that hot people "slip into their nerd skins." I think this is really funny, because I can relate to it. I go home, put on pajamas, and take out my contact lenses. Then I read, hang out with my family, text my friends, and eventually do homework. I don't care if people don't think of me as "cool", or if they do think of me as "cool". Society's definition of cool can be pretty twisted most of the time anyway. Society seems to think that the popular people are really cool: the person who gets high all the time, has sex with too many people to count, shoplifts.. Is really mean to people. While in reality they can be very shallow, are unaware of themselves, can be sort of unintelligent.. All of these are negative things. Do people really want to look up to people who are ruining their lives?

Also, another young female called in and said that she was hot and that she read. They asked her if she could send in a picture of herself. They asked how hot she was on a scale of 1-10, -ten being the hottest- and she gave herself a nine. A woman on z100 said "If you think of yourself as hot, then why didn't you give yourself a ten?" I thought that they were tearing apart people for no reason. Cool people can read! In my mind at least. I'd prefer a real, smart, fun person than a "perfect" person with a fucked up life. I thought that the woman calling in was cool, because she was standing up for herself. I was going to call in and send in a picture of myself as well, but I was about to be late to school.
________________
Not Typical Cool = Cool.
-Thrift stores, vintage.
- Romanticism, being "real" handmade things.
- The not typical cool, like the quiet artist, or the person that is seen as weird.
-Harold and Maude, living, being happy, control.
-Audrey Hepburn: refused to change herself to be like all the other models. Funny face the movie.
- ARTISTS!
- Another quote I think is cool because it's really down to earth: "But I'd rather be working for a paycheck than waiting to win the lottery." The First Day of My Life, by Bright Eyes. Link to lyrics here
-“I'm happy just because I found out I am really no one.” At The Bottom Of Everything, by Bright Eyes.
- I don't think the cool clique is cool, I think the guy with the punk hair cut and skinny jeans is cool. But that's just because that's what appeals to me. I don't usually agree with the things people think are cool. I also think it's uncool to like things just because other people do. For example: "Omg that (super cute person) likes Sublime?! I'm like, so going to buy their new cd now. And love it!" We cannot all not like the same band, or color, or percings, or tattoos, because there aren't enough of them out there for everyone to be completely unique. I may like a song that I hear in Andy's class, and I may go home and buy it on itunes (which I did, by the way) but this is because I liked the sound of the song, not because it was the most popular on itunes.
- “How do you turn from geek to cool?”
http://www.ask.com/bar?q=from+geek+to+cool&page=1&qsrc=0&dm=all&ab=6&title=WikiAnswers+-+How+do+you+turn+from+geek+to+cool&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwiki.answers.com%2FQ%2FHow_do_you_turn_from_geek_to_cool&sg=JfrGZArsupxOZN3E09xYnWowlJZ2OTSTq1ixD3aQy90%3D&tsp=1260212380794
This is a very short post that can be edited by anyone if they have a username and password to the site. Yet it sounds like one author wrote it. While I was doing searches on being “cool”, I looked for an answer to this question: “How do you turn from geek to cool?” The author discuses how she is popular, dresses up, goes on dates, as well as liking anime and going to anime conventions. The idea of being both a geek and being popular don’t always fit in the typical “cool” role. In the post it says: “Just because I'm a geek doesn't mean I'm not cool. It's the same with you, sweetheart. Don't give up yourself.” This tip may be familiar, along the lines of “be yourself” or as she says “don’t give up on yourself”.

Instead of a how-to on transforming from a geek to a cool person, this post shows a life of being a popular geek. This is worth reading for anyone who feels like being a geek is a bad thing. This is especially appropriate for all the people in the cool unit who have felt bashed about lately for being different.
- I really think a cool place to people watch is Saint Marks. There's all the punk rockers and crazy druggies there, with their mohawks, and dyed hair, and tight pants, and leather jackets, and tattoos, and piercings.. It's an interesting place to go to see all of the different styles and types of people who go there. Like the wannabes, asians, black people, white people, girly girls, punks.. All kinds of people go to Saint Marks. Saint Marks is a "cool" place to go!
-Another thing that I actually think is pretty cool is the time of the Hippies. I've seen Hair the musical twice, and have really enjoyed it. The time of having long hair, and being barefoot, burning your draft card.. I actually have a paper that they were handing out durning the play (the picture is shown above this paragraph) which is like a fake burn your draft card invite. My favorite character in Hair is named Claude. He acts as a British guy, and some ways that he was rebeling is that he had the British flag on his butt. Because that's considered disrespectful and all. Claude also wore his mom's necklaces, his hair was sort of my length, he had a headband on.. He was very pretty. These were some of the ways that he, -like all the other hippies- were rebeling against their parents and the war. During that time it was also against the rules for blacks and whites to be together, and for gays and lesbians to exist.. There's a song called Black Boys, that the white girls and one asian lady sing, saying how they tried not being with a black guy but that they -basicaly- can't resist. There's also a song called White Boys, where a bunch of black girls sing about not being able to get enough of white boys. Which is a whole rebellious thing. Sorry if I ruined everything for someone who's looking forward to seeing Hair the musical on Broadway.
- My friends and family are cool, because they’re (mostly) real:
What do you think is cool? Like clothing, celebs, parties, theater.. "I think its cool to do the things you like doing with other people who like them and to not feel judged for it".
Do you think of yourself as cool? If so, what are some things about yourself that you think are cool? "By my definition sure. I will tell people my favorite music genre is musical theatre because it is, and I shouldn't be ashamed of the things I love."
Do your friends think you are cool? "Oh. I really couldn't say. I guess they hang out with me because they like something about me.."
Do you think your friends are cool? "Yes, they are cool. Because they are people who are confident in their life choices."
Who's cooler, the pope or the president, and why? "The pres because he's okay with gays."
Okay. Who do you think is cool? Like a character in a book, or ploy, or a celeb, or on tv? "Marla singer from Fight Club and Miss Rain from Precious."
Why?"Marla because she can take care of herself and stand up to men. And Miss Rain because she helps people through the thing she loves and is proud of her sexuality."
________________________________________
Interviewing my friend Harry, over the phone:
Harry:


What do you think is cool? Like clothing, celebs, parties, music..
"Music is cool, art is cool. Activism is cool."
Who do you think is cool? Like a character in a book, or play, or a celeb, or on tv?
Uh..probally.. What’s-his-name.. I guess I’ll go with René Magritte. The really famous painter (The this is not a pipe guy.) Because he has a really interesting perspective on reality. He’s a good painter.
Do you think of yourself as cool? If so, what are some things about yourself that you think are cool?
*Harry didn’t want to be pretentious and bragging, or seem too into himself. He's a really real guy.* "I’m cool because I’m honest. And because I read, and reading’s cool. I don’t know. I’m cool because I like to express myself in many different ways."
Like through art, and music, and poetry. "Yeah exactally."
Is there anything unique, or cool about yourself that only you do?
"Um.. I don’t know. I don’t think there are a lot of people named Harry Russell. Does that count? Umm I don’t know. Things that are unique here might not be that unique there. Hmm are there anything cool or unique about me? I don’t know.. No!"
Do your friends think you are cool? "I mean I hope so, they’re my friends."
Do you think your friends are cool? "Um.. some of them."
Who's cooler, the pope or the president, and why?
“Uh. Definitely the president. Just because the pope is like weird. The president right now hasn’t done too many bad things, and the pope has done a lot of bad things. But the president is a lot newer so I guess we have to see.”
__________________________________________________
Interviewing James:
Who's cooler, the pope or the president, and why?
“The president, because he’s more of a democratically elected person, and he’s more elected by the people, which would make him cooler I think.”
What do you think is cool? Like clothing, celebs, parties, theater..
“I would say talents are cooler than materialistic things. There’s more to it, and it’s more of a personal like accomplishment, more than something you buy.”
Who do you think is cool? Like a character in a book, or play, or a celeb, or on tv?
“I think Angela Lansbury is cool. Because she’s had an amazing career and she’s a very down to earth person I’ve met her. So talent and success did not make her crazy.”
Do you think of yourself as cool? If so, what are some things about yourself that you think are cool?
“Umm, sure, I think I’m cool. I think that what makes someone cool is they can’t care if other people think they are cool. They have to be self sufficiently cool.”
Do your friends think you are cool?
“Umm… I dunno. “
Do you think your friends think you’re cool?
“Yes.”
Do you think your friends are cool?
“Umm.. Yes. I think they’re cool because they are passionate about what they want to do and they just do their thing.”
____________________________________________________
Interviewing my Brother Kyle, and my Mom, Vivian.
Who's cooler, the pope or the president, and why?
Kyle: “I’m sorry who? Who are they? Paris or Brittney who?”
Vivian: “The president. The pope pushes a belief system that I don’t agree with. And I’m talking about pushes. I don’t think it’s right to tell people what’s right or wrong. I think everyone should get to figure it out by themselves. The president on the other hand, was elected by the majority because they agree with his beliefs.”
What do you think is cool? Like clothing, celebs, parties, theater..
Kyle: “Weave, fake eyelashes, hair dye, Mac make-up, sequins, and spikes.”
Mom: Natural things -just to counter Kyle- like seashells, crystals, and gems. Rock n Roll, and naturally curly hair.
Who do you think is cool? Like a character in a book, or play, or a celeb, or on tv?
Kyle: “Umm, I know three really great people: me, myself, and I. Adam Lambert, Jeffery Starr, and Paris Hilton. Oh wait and Lindsey’s kinda cool.”
Mom: “Adam Lambert, I think the funniest thing is Kyle and I are coming from different places and we both think Adam Lambert is cool. Mahatma Gandhi, James Dean’s a good one. Umm.. Benazir Bhutto she might be the first elected female leader of an Asian country, I think you could say that carefully.”
Do you think of yourself as cool? If so, what are some things about yourself that you think are cool?
Kyle: “Yes I think I’m very awesome.
Mom: Self -esteem isn’t one of Kyle’s problems. He has a lot of them but self- esteem isn’t one of them.
Kyle: “My personality, my clothes, my hair (well some of my fake hair.)”
Mom: “Do I think I’m cool? Yep. Why do I think I’m cool? Because people trust me, and talk to me about stuff that’s bothering them. And I help people. Also like 42 kids call me mom. And.. I‘m still Rock n Roll.”
Do your friends think you are cool?
Mom: “Some of them. Why do I think my friends are cool? I have all different kinds of friends that understand different sides of me. So some of them are nerdy like my nerdy side, and some of them are cool like my cool side.”
Kyle: “Yes because they befriended me.”
Do you think your friends think you’re cool?
Mom: “Yeah, my friends respect the way I live my life: the non-profit I run, the house I keep, and the way I raise my kids. That’s it.”
Kyle: “Yes I do. Because they are the friends that I chose personally.”

- Icy. Iced. Frigid. Frosty. "Aw man that jacket is iced!" "Ooh that's icy. The iciest." "That car is frigid man!" "Oh yeah? Frr-osty" I'm kind of fond of these words. In the In Death series by Nora Roberts, there are a lot of characters that speak like this. Whenever something is awesome, or cool, they usually say one of the four words I mentioned. The In Death series takes place in the future, in the year 2059 and the years after that. I really like the characters in Nora Roberts' books, and the way they speak. A lot of people in that series are very stylish, they have pink, green, orange, magenta, blue.. hair. There are two characters that always have their hair dyed multiple colors at a time and they are very fashionable. Their names are Mavis and Trina. There is also this guy named Ian McNab who is a detective, but he always wears bright clashing colors and says things like "iced". I think those words are good substitutes for the word cool, and that people should use them.
-
Part of Conclusion:
So, what are some traits of the typical cool? Cutting school, making people laugh, dressing and acting older than you actually are, breaking the rules, smoking, being a rebel.. If you're a guy back then, having long hair was rebellious, for girls having hair that isn't on your head is rebellious too.. But definitions of cool keep changing, even though the word never goes out of style, and not everyone has the same definition of cool. I could think the quiet kid is really cool, and some one else might think the popular kid is cool. So is someone actually wrong? Or is that just how our maps tell us to see things, and how we view the world?

To be continued/ rough draft.