Something about being in your late 20s screams, "I can't throw a hissy fit or be angsty and existential if I want the respect of non-teenagers." On one hand, there is a level of self-control and grace under pressure that post-teen, adult-ish people sometimes practice. On the other hand, the angst of high school becomes the stress of adulthood and we don't always learn how to handle it before we hit the time of marriage, children, grown-up blah blah blah. Instead, we push stress down instead of process it, we don't self-analyze, and eventually we fool ourselves into thinking we've become respectable adults.
For those respectable peeps out there who are a bit more well-adjusted, you will buck up and be accountable for who you are and where you've come in life. And for this, you deserve a high-five, a pat on the back, a snow day, a day of rainbows and unicorns or a day (only one day) of private, sulky, self-indulgence. Since you know and practice self-respect and moderation, I say why not allow yourself to sulk? Let your hair fall in your face, listen to Nirvana, and sulk. While I did suggest you do this in private, you may allow a friend named Angela Chase into your living room to share in and probably enrich your sulkiness.
Angela Chase is from the 90s awesomeness that is My So-Called Life. She is played by a 13 year old Claire Danes (Homeland). Angela feels the change in her personality versus how she is perceived by her peers and adults, new friends and old ones, and she doesn't know what she wants to be. Sometimes we become the person we thought we should and life feels like a constant struggle against who we actually are, but we never come to realize it. See? Can you tell that I watched 3 episodes already? Maybe you are having an almost mid-life crisis. Well, Angela had a teenage crisis. She made new radical friends who had some frightening (if you grew up pretty sheltered they'd seem frightening) habits and no parental supervision. She colored her hair from mousy blonde to "Crimson Glow" and started wearing brown matte lipstick. But you want to know what? After the hair color change and a few times crying because she didn't know what she was doing or what she wanted to do, she began to look people in the eye. Not consistently...just more often. She pushes her hair behind her ears and lets the world see her porcelain, sanguine face as it goes through angst and love and fights through the "battlefield of the heart." The wisdom of Angela Chase.
If you well-adjusted gents and ladies don't remember how to be sulky, I suggest dressing up, styling your hair, or painting your face the way you did in high school. Don't worry if you get caught by someone while in costume. All the old trends are coming back. Play it off like you're upcycling your old clothes in order to become the hipster you've always wanted to be. If you're a lady, buy a jean jumper and some black leggings with an over-sized plaid button down shirt.If you're a gent, wear poor fitting jeans, a flannel over a t-shirt & a hemp necklace with a shell that chokes your Adam's apple. Also have Jonathon Taylor Thomas hair. Clothes like this (and not so 90s themed) can be found in Bayview at Sparrow Collective, Luv Unlimited, or Dragonfly on Brady street.
I hope you have this kind of well-deserved angsty day ahead of you. Happy sulking!
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