Friday, July 8, 2011

Growing up in Bohemia: a loving ode to my mother

So, my mother is a self proclaimed hippie but, you know, without all the drugs and stuff. And as much as I make fun of her (I think she doesn't quite realize or remember just how fun it could be for her to get dressed even though she is now in her 50's and is no longer the same size she was when she was wearing crochet and bell bottoms) I have to admit that she has definitely made an impact on the way I dress, especially this summer which has been overflowing with beautiful clothes reminiscent of the summer of '69 and Woodstock. My mother has often lived vicariously through me, as most mothers do with teenage daughters, and I hope I haven't disappointed her, not just in the fashion area but also in my passion to question everything, to speak for what I believe in, to give a damn, to make others give a damn, and to ensure that the United states remains a free country for all people, women, men, gay, straight, no matter the color.
My parents have always told me that I could be whoever I wanted to be and that the world was mine for the shaping (not for the taking). And I hold this to be very true. Unfortunately, I do not always feel like my generation is with me on this. Too often I have seen my own friends feel like they were at the mercy of the universe or god or life or whatever and that they had no say in what happens to them and its easy to understand why they would feel this way because they are at the mercy of the universe or their parents or their mental disorder or even themselves. And to me, this is heart breaking. I'm very proud to say that I have the most wonderful, loving friends I could have gotten out of high school but I'm disappointed that some are so crippled and often that their crippling is, I believe, self inflicted.
I have often felt like our generation was the generation that had nothing to fight for. Women's rights, African american rights, rock and roll, they were all taken care of and done with. But I don't feel that way anymore.We are not done yet! We still have the environment, gay rights, cyber bullying, prejudice, and hell, even women's rights seems to have quite a ways to go! My question is, when is my generation going to join me? Are they going to join me? Millinials are you out there? We have to speak now or forever hold our peace and if we choose the latter I don't think the bed we're going to be forced to lie in is going to be very pleasant. Here's hoping that this summer's fashions will not only inspire us to dress freely but also inspire us to demand from life what is ours and take the world in our hands and shape it into what it should be. Or else I fear that we will always be "waiting on the world to change" like John Mayer said when its not going to change until we make it change. We are the county's youth and we have the power now to shape how our world will be when we are adults and have homes and children and we are the ones looking after our parents.
Here is what inspired me to make this post: 
http://www.fabsugar.com/Free-People-July-Catalog-18210897?page=0,0,0#comment-10582242
 please, check it out. you will find the most effortless beautiful clothes that inspired me to remember how thankful I am that my parents brought me up as a free person. Perhaps it can help set you free? Set others free?
also, here's the song that has been stuck in my head the entire time ive been writing this:
Oh, and thanks Mom. I love you. And you too Dad.