Scary New Things

[batskeets]

This is rich: parents think their teenagers may be hugging too much. Gotta love how our culture so frequently equates "change" with "fear"... how noticing that people are hugging more often somehow means OH NOES OUR SOCIETY IS DOOMED.

Come. ON. Hugging is not going to destroy the moral fabric of our world. I'm not even a frequent hugger, really--I don't usually initiate with people, unless I know them well and know they're huggy types--but even I have to ask, what is there to be afraid of?

typsie recently suggested the notion of doing Scary New Things, and I actually find myself interested in that. I've been in that mindset a lot, recently. A few uncharacteristic-to-me things that I have recently considered doing:

Getting a tattoo: I've been over this in previous posts, but yeah, my tastes have been too capricious in the past to consider such a thing. The plus-size model I shot with a week and a half ago said that someone had suggested to her to, "pick something that you believe, and then come up with a picture that represents it." Maybe I just haven't had anything I felt *that* strongly about until recently.

Pole dancing classes: This is a weird one for me, and I don't know if I'll ever follow through, because I'm such a keep-it-in-the-bedroom type when it comes to anything remotely sexual. I've never been 100% comfortable with my ladyhood; I grew up feeling a clumsy, ungraceful beast, and although I did have some girl interests, I got more obsessed with typically boy-oriented activites. I'm still not especially femme in my behavior, and the idea of doing something so strongly oriented around feminine traits gives me the weirds... but, maybe I should get comfier with the girly side.

Skydiving: This was, admittedly, Risa's fault, because she suggested getting a group together for it sometime. I doubt it'll happen for me terribly soon, because the cost going on one dive would be enough to pay for the aforementioned tattoo. But, dude, I am not an extreme-sports-type thrill-seeker at all... and yet, I'm considering this.

Mixed martial arts: Part of the reason why I initially started wushu is because I'm fairly certain I'd suck at sparring, and wushu doesn't ask for much of that. MMA, on the other hand, is *very* much about sparring and fighting application. I think I'm too much of a snobby kung fu purist to get serious about MMA, but I'm thinking about it. I do have trouble keeping my focus in competition, and if there's one good incentive to keep focus, it's the prospect of getting hit in the face. ;p

I'm not sure what all these thoughts mean, really. I'm sure I'll move past the things that don't seem important, but maybe there are things worth conquering, worth keeping. If it means I'm feeling less fear and sadness, I'm all in favor of that.

And, in conclusion, if this hasn't already been on This Is Why You're Fat, IT FREAKIN' SHOULD BE: The Beltzbib. Whyyyyyy ;_;

Comments

[xplo-eristotle.livejournal.com]

Sparring's fun. I used to dread it when I was in TKD because I didn't want to get hit in the face, or lose in front of an audience, but looking back I think it was the best part.

The thing that really bothers me about the kids hugging is I'm dead certain that popularity (and all that it implies) hasn't changed in the last 20 years or so. So, great if you're cool and pretty and popular, but what about the kids who are probably getting left out?