what is this "swag" everyone claims to have? why does every guy think he's ballin and every girl think she's "the female version of a hustla" or a model of some sort? all this unwarranted self-praise lately is really starting to get to me. i mean, it's great that people are self-confident--if you don't believe it, no one else will, but when does it become excessive and undeserved? what defines fly?
in a self-centered age in which even children think they're rock stars and everyone stresses their individuality no matter how many trends they follow, it's hard to for people to be honest with themselves about the degree to which they're just followers of leaders who aren't even worth being trend-setters. trends fade away; therefore, if you're gonna follow something, make sure it's something started by an ICON. usually, such things are timeless and don't get outdated in the next few months. such things are also rarely related to fashion...if you're going to internalize something--really internalize it. don't make it your status on facebook. "nigga, i'm the shit, get the fuck up out my toilet." words of wisdom? is lil wayne wise? are there many aspects of his character you'd like to incorporate into your own? you're not thinking for yourself if you describe yourself using the words of others. one of the reasons i'm so keen on this is because i too am guilty of making lil wayne quotes my status on facebook. it's YOUR status. treat it as such.
with that said, to what extent is it true that all the people who claim to have swag "swagtastic?" if everyone has undeniable "swag" and if every group of girls is the "baddest" and every group of dudes the "flyest," who are the regular people? who are the people that really stand out in a good way? the truth is that they are one in the same. the people who have swag are usually not the ones who stress the fact that they do over and over. they usually don't have to say anything about it all. the people who stand out aren't the loudest ones. it's the people who convey an attitude of confidence and have their own sense of style. they don't dickride trends whether they're in the category of music, fashion, or slang. "liberate yourselves from mental slavery."
personally, i'm not egotistical. i consider myself a normal person with my own sense of style. i collect rare kicks and shop online and at stores that not everyone goes to because that's just what i like doing. i don't walk around stressing the fact that i'm so "swaggerific" because my shoes may be quickstrike release or virtually unattainable without a lot of effort. if i'm fly by a girl's or guy's standards, awesome, and if i'm not, that's ok too. i'm gonna wear the same shit regardless. i didn't start wearing skinny jeans because the world hopped on them--i wore them when people were laughing at me for them and still considered them "gay." i wear them because i'm skinny as shit, and i look awkward in bootcut or other types of jeans. i don't wear a kiffeyeh because lil wayne wore one in a video--i wear it because i support palestinian liberation. i don't collect shoes because i'm a hypebeast who wants to one-up everyone (though i do concede that i'm quick to point out how my shoes are different from another person's when asked or lumped in the same category)--i do it because i have a genuine appreciation for sneaker and skate culture. i read sneaker freaker more than the washington post. i've been that way since forever. maybe that makes me an elitist because i feel i've been into certain things before they were popular, but at least i'm not a mindless follower. some of the things i do are unpopular, and people would laugh at me for them (playing final fantasy, reading manga, listening to electro (not techno).) i'm me at the end of the day. i'm not trying to look like mikey or chuck, and i hate it when people accuse me of that.
enough about me. why do so many people talk about themselves on an individual basis when there's really nothing individual about them? how can they do this if they're accepting roles they're assigned or feed into, whether consciously or unconsciously? you're a girl, and you got a new dress along with your friends who got similar dresses from the same store in the same color. you all gather in front of a mirror like you've been doing since your myspace days and take pictures with a caption like "divas" or some other wack shit. you all are so bad. you go to a club, and you swear to God like every other group of girls there that you all are the baddest. what warrants every girl doing the same dumb pose in every picture thinking that she's a diva or model? because you say so yourself or because your like-minded friends say so? you're a guy, and you and all your niggas have on the same shoes, variations of the same coat, etc..(this example applies mainly to dudes at gogos). you swear you're the freshest dude in there. how's that possible when you have on the same shit as your man? your swag is like no other because you say so, right? that's up for you to determine, right? give me a break. this topic frustrates me so much, i don't even want to write on it anymore..