Today I went the entire day (with the exception of Greco's class and Diefenbaker) with my collar popped. This and crispy gelled hair are recognized by most as the ultimate symbol of douche-baggery. While I am not a douche-bag, and certainly not immersed in club culture, I followed their fashion (with the exception of fake-tanned skin, gold chains and sunglasses) and took notice of the changes in my everyday life.
The biggest difference I noticed in my friends. They all found it quite funny, and in good humor too. They were laughing with me, not at me. I'd give you an example but I can't think of anything right now. Some of them even popped their collars too. Please take note that the majority of my friends are from robotics. We didn't joke about hitting the club or anything, but we did act as if it were cool.
The next biggest difference I noticed was with my sister. When I walked into Mr. P's room after school she said: "Oh god" and then immediately tried flipping it down. I didn't let her, then told her that I had it like that all day. She was not impressed. I found it funny. For the next little while she tried flipping it down whenever she got the chance, but I'd just pop it again.
The smaller things included looks from girls in the halls. I'm not sure if they were good or bad looks, but oh well. I'm sure some were one and some the other. Another thing was a guy saying "sorry man" when we bumped each other in the hallway. This I also found that funny.
I didn't have it popped in Greco's class because I didn't feel like lowering his opinion of me. Halloween was enough of that. I even remember what he said when he first saw me.
"Well I guess that's a costume". I'm not sure if he knew that I wasn't serious.
Diefenbaker was a little different though. Earlier in the day I entertained myself with the idea of corrupting some youth by walking in looking like someone from jersey shore. I imagined coming back to EY to mentor robotics in ten years, and seeing all the students with their collars popped. Of course, there's only so much influence a role model can have on a population, but I'm sure George and Chris would have taken care of the ones I didn't get (I say this with affection).
Overall, today really wasn't all that different than a regular day. It had its perks but I'm sure that it wasn't without its downfalls. Maybe I'll do it again sometime. I think that one of the highlights was reading "Much ado About Nothing" (I recently found a series called "The Complete Works of Shakespeare" in the library), with my collar popped. I wondered what the people who saw me reading it thought.
I can't help but ask myself: "Why'd I do it?". Well, truth is, I just went out on a whim. Sometimes actions aren't committed with as much conviction as we think they are. Other than that, I can't really see any reason residing in my subconscious... Maybe I secretly long to be popular? Anyways, I acted as I usually would; a popped collar doesn't turn Dr. Jekyll into Mr. Hyde. The real difference was in how others perceived me. Popping your collar is more of a statement than anything, only my statement was relatively lighthearted and slightly satirical... it's just that people who didn't know me couldn't tell.
Oh yeah, I half expected Ms. Cat to flip down my collar, and was somewhat surprised when she didn't. I wonder why she didn't, I wonder if the idea crossed her mind, and I wonder if she thought that I was serious. I hope that I didn't tarnish my reputation, although I'm not even sure what she thinks of me. I never know what anyone thinks of me. I only have a rough idea based on the way they treat me. I don't like not knowing what others think of me, and even though I could ask, I'm sure that I wouldn't get a perfect answer, due to the inaccuracy of words and whatnot. Oh well, it's one of the things that everyone has to deal with... At least I'm not alone out here, or maybe I'm just alone with everyone else.
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