don’t stick to the status quo, embrace multitude

if you wanna be cool, follow one simple rule: mess with the flow

You all seem to have forgotten what the High School Musical franchise took a careful 3 movie storyline to ingrain in our psyche as children: do not stick to the status quo. There are multiple sides to yourself that will fit together to create the most authentic version of you, but that can’t happen if you’re folding yourself into a hyper specific box.

Kelsey, a math nerd, didn’t join the cheer team for you to shed partying just to become a cottagecore fairy. Zeke, a basketball player, didn’t win Sharpay over with his cookies for you to abandon your creative hobbies for your corporate career. And Troy Bolton sure as hell wasn’t offered both a Julliard and basketball scholarship for you to assume you have to “find the right fig.”

I apologize for being the millionth person, even just on this app, to reference and ruminate on aesthetics, being a Jack of All Trades, and the fig tree analogy, but I promise I won’t harp on them for long.

There’s been a trend towards boxing ourselves in on social media—I will not speak for the whole of society, I am chronically online, therefore I will speak for the community I do know. I have seen it in some of my friends offline, too though, so I know it is bleeding into our everyday lives. One label will be used to supposedly explain exactly what you should expect of that person, stranger or friend. Personality, style of dress, favorite movie, choice of accessories, genre of music. The puzzle pieces that these details are, I think, become essential to who you are and how you connect with those around you. They shouldn’t be so simplified.

Whimisgoth core. Party girl era. Coastal grandma. It’s not exactly intentional––this flattening of ourselves as individuals into a collective idea built from coming of age film characters and a few song lyrics––but really it should be. After all, these aesthetics are simple forms of subcultures that lack the community and depth of an actual subculture. Punk was never just about listening to Sex Pistols and wearing studs. Punk people, at their dawn, were activists, and rocked their body mods at desk jobs, and made zines to collect their different mediums of art. Diverse and varying but together where and how it mattered to them.

Why, then, do we get so confused when someone who presents as a clean girl who loves shopping at Whole Foods also enjoys blacking out on the weekend? What do we really know “clean girls” to represent or rally under besides a few makeup brands? I hate seeing someone explain their choices based on this ideal that has no real foundation.

I’ve also seen the quote, “A Jack of All Trades,” floating around more recently. Convenience has taken away our ability to be well-rounded people. This may be partially a good thing, given that we have the privilege to rely less on our family’s and our own faculties to make it through, but how did that turn into claiming one hobby or special point of interest and none others? Remember, the full quote is, “A Jack of All Trades is a Master of None, but often times better than a Master of One.”

Although I’m not talking about skill, I’m applying the ideology to interests and activities. Currently, in our society, readers can only be readers and often only of very few similar genres. Reality TV lovers are divided by their choice of broadcast network (I am an MTV girly myself) and don’t watch scripted shows. If someone likes cooking, they aren’t a restaurant goer.

A lot of our generation––again, I speak for Gen Z and the few Zillenials I connect with––have begun to fear the energy that will deplete from our bodies if we “do too much.” We’re so focused on performance (which is an entirely different conversation), that we believe every new identity will take effort. It shouldn’t take much effort to enjoy what you choose to enjoy. It should actually do quite the opposite and fill up your battery.

When you do the activity or consume the media or wear the clothes for yourself, all you have to do is invite other people to coexist with you, rather than give them tickets to your show. It should feel so right that doing anything other than that feels wrong. It’s likely why sticking to the status quo hasn’t done us well at all. It has actually drained us to pretend to be one thing. It should feel like a relief to live the multiplicity that you really are. Troy’s frustration in “Scream” was built from this exact pressure, don’t self-inflict it. Stop thinking about yourself so much and think even less about what others may perceive.

If the things you love do take a lot of energy, find the balance so that you don’t burn out. There are only 168 hours in a week, and you have to spend at least (if you’re a night owl like me) 42 of them sleeping. Test what works with your schedule—we do have to work to live—and learn which parts take more effort until you land in a sweet spot. Be patient with yourself until you figure out your non-negotiables, your preferables, and your occasionals, then you might embrace being a Jack of [Many] Trades.

For me, I must crochet and write every night, even if it’s just a few stitches and words between chores. I’d prefer to read for 30 minutes a day, but I aim for at least half the week. I’d love to be working on an upcycling project everyday, but that’s just not feasible for my physical space or mental fortitude, so if I get to my sewing machine once a month, I’m satisfied. When people ask what I like to do in my free time, I tell them that I crochet and read and write and upcycle while watching TV shows and movies and listening to music. It would take more effort to quantify and justify each activity to someone who doesn’t even care.

Most importantly, above anything else in my ranting and raving, I urge you to understand one thing: you have to test them out to see what sticks. Sylvia Plath watched the figs rot, but what if you could have a basket to collect them in? Or what if you’re actually in a grove with other species of fruit trees? After all, what sickly sweet dessert is made from just one fruit? Not even to mention the many other ingredients that make your favorite tart or pie or cake that we take pictures of when cut open to showcase exactly what each layer holds. You may not even realize what flavor palettes blend well together although they sound contradictory in taste. Apparently Colombians put cheese in their hot chocolate, and mint chocolate is in the top 10 favorite ice cream flavors amongst Americans.

So how can we know a cottagecore fairy can’t be a tank if she don’t take her maxi skirts to the bar? How can you be sure you don’t have time to craft after your 9-5 if you don’t add the sewing machine to your schedule? How dare anyone assume an eclectic grandpa doesn’t listen to screamo. It might even benefit the label, like a fashionista also being a history buff who can tell you exactly when and why an accessory came to popularity (likely in protest). If Zeke managed to bake a perfect creme brûlée after school and practice, instead of staying in the gym to snort pre-work like a stereotypical jock, I’m sure you can figure it out too.

What I’m most grateful for in this age of labelling, is having friends who don’t care much for having one either. Of course, none of us are perfect, including me, the one harping on this lack of individual integrity. It does help, though, to have people in my corner who aren’t confused by my differing interests and personality traits. In turn, I’m always excited to hear about what they’re exploring.

Troy, Gabrielle, Chad, Kelsey, Zeke, and the rest of them are an envious friend group because they encourage each other to go after what they want. Even if it’s just being a pretty girl who likes math and to sing sometimes. There’s no “theater kid” distinction that they had to adhere to. Although some still will stick to the status quo—these labels are built from something after all—this group wasn’t just upbeat quirky kids with a knack for capturing the center of attention who will go on to be our greatest comedians and actors. They were friends who got to enjoy something with the people they cared about, even if it had no implications on their education, career, and lifestyle, present or future. We all might be a lot more fulfilled if we do the same.