Getting To Know Me | Teen Ink

Getting To Know Me

May 22, 2009
By Tashan SILVER, Ponderay, Idaho
Tashan SILVER, Ponderay, Idaho
6 articles 4 photos 31 comments

I find it amazing sometimes how people can judge you by the music you listen too. If you listen to anything moody or dark, you are branded emo and depressive. If you listen to classical music or broadway, you are labeled sophisticated or stuck-up. But I have to ask, what do you label someone who listens to everything?


I think when people meet me they easily slide me into the category of their choice; I am tall, blonde, and get told I should be a model. They meet me and assume because I am pretty that I am a snob. They hear whatever music I am listening too and assume I am what I listen too. But how is that you can fit someone into a category, a slot, to assume by their appearance and their taste that they are who you think they are?

Questions upon questions, it seems.

I would like to think I know my friends, and that they know me, but taking a step back I am shocked at how little people really know who I am, what my taste is, what my beliefs are.

I met someone once, (we were giving him a ride) and an old Eminem song came on the radio; I like rap so I turned it up, and he still assumes to this day that I go clubbing and know how to break-dance...all because of one song!
Another person thinks I am this troubled, lost teen because I was listening to Evanesence when I met him, and still others think I am as air-headed as Reese Witherspoon in Legally Blonde because I was listening to one song I liked by a girly band!

I think I can shock even myself with my different taste in music. Yes, I like broadway, classical music, and oprah. But I can turn around and crank up some punk-rock and dance all night to it all night.

When I wear black and "skater" clothes, (here I am, catagorizing!) it doesn't mean I know how to skate, and when I wear pink and put flowers in my hair, it doesn't mean I am afraid to break a nail.

It might suprise you who I am when you get to know me. I like to go dirtbike riding and play in the mud, but I freaked out last night because there was a moth in the house! Fishing? Heck yeah! But make me touch one of those slimy, wriggly worms? No thanks, I'll wear gloves! Shooting guns, hunting...I love to tag along with the guys. But that doesn't mean I am one. We go out to eat after playing all day, and fifteen minutes in the bathroom and I can walk out with makeup, earings, and my hair clean! I like being feminine, but then again, I don't mind going and getting roughed up a little too.

I guess what this whole thing was meant to be was my insight to how people see me, and how they still see me because of when they met me or how they met me.

Music and clothing say a lot about someone's personality, but that doesn't mean what you assume is always right. Take the time out of your world and life and get to know them, they might surprise you with hidden talents or a secret passion to go bungee jumping!


The author's comments:
I would love to have feedback on my writing, negative or positive I would appreciate it all! :D

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This article has 10 comments.


hi said...
on Sep. 1 2009 at 2:26 am
I SO agree. i get steriotyped at school all the time because i read alot. them assume im just some quiet little mousy haired girl that is boring. however, the poeple at my church kno the REAL me. in real life, im fun,quirkyfummy ,random smart and i am very open minded. i luv 2 laugh and i am really smart. i also luv 2 write stories. i am also really caring. i wish the people at my schol knew the REAL me and not the 1 that they judge me by on the outside.

on Aug. 15 2009 at 10:03 pm
SmileyRiley PLATINUM, Tremont, Illinois
30 articles 0 photos 37 comments

Favorite Quote:
"You can be a victor without having victims and you can stand tall without standing on someone"

i love this article. i am the same way, people look at me and my grades and assume im one of those "perfect girls" and here i am rocking out to my chemical romance in my bedroom! this article was awesome. nice job.

Tashan SILVER said...
on Aug. 1 2009 at 10:16 pm
Tashan SILVER, Ponderay, Idaho
6 articles 4 photos 31 comments
Thanks, everyone. :D I was just reading through the stuff here on teen-ink, and thought I would give a try at writing something like this...seems that I have succeeded fairly well if I got responses!

JessiGibs said...
on Jul. 23 2009 at 2:11 am
JessiGibs, Lancaster, Virginia
0 articles 0 photos 7 comments
people do that to me all the time with my music. i like hard, punky stuff, so apparently that makes me emo and depressed; which i'm not. i like this a lot because it really makes you think about how you judge people. good job!

on Jul. 22 2009 at 11:53 pm
unearthlyhaphazard GOLD, N/A, New York
15 articles 0 photos 176 comments

Favorite Quote:
"There are three rules for writing the novel. Unfortunately, no one knows what they are."~W. Somerset Maugham

People stereotype me all the time, too. But I'm more complex than what they just label me as! You are, too! I loved this! Keep up the good work!

on Jul. 22 2009 at 4:40 pm
awesomeaugust GOLD, Boston, Massachusetts
10 articles 0 photos 176 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;Keep your eyes on the stars and your feet on the ground&quot;<br /> ~Theordore Roosevelt

I listen to a gazillion different types of music so I can see your point of view. nice writing, too!

on Jul. 22 2009 at 4:27 pm
GlassHeart SILVER, Black Earth, Wisconsin
7 articles 8 photos 167 comments
You are so right! Just because I listen to Paramore and many other alt. bands people label me.

on Jul. 22 2009 at 7:57 am
SpencerR SILVER, Bonney Lake, Washington
9 articles 0 photos 3 comments
BRAVO! Thank you for writing something that can teach people make themselves better because in this world of hatred everyone needs a little guidance into what could make them a better person. I enjoyed reading every line in this article (which says a lot because I hate reading) however I love writing and hope that you will take a look at the poem that I wrote because it will give you some insight into who I am, rather than judging me by the fact that my favorite band is The Who.

on Jun. 6 2009 at 7:23 pm
pinksage33 BRONZE, Woodstock, New York
4 articles 1 photo 211 comments
ya people do that to me too. i listen to almost everything. keep wrighting

aivilo SILVER said...
on Jun. 2 2009 at 2:36 pm
aivilo SILVER, Circleville, Ohio
9 articles 0 photos 22 comments
gooood! :)