The Beginning of a Gothic Journey

     Hello my friends, I have returned, since I did not receive any questions or comments that I could do anything with, I'm going to write about something that caught my attention here.

     I have a friend at school, who's name I shall withhold, who told me once that her parents worry about her because she shows symptoms of having a gothic mindset, she hasn't affixed herself with that label, but her parents are afraid that she might hurt herself or some other stereotype crap that the media associates with goths. This message is for anyone who wants to explore the morbid and dark goth culture, and it is also for parents who don't understand why their kid's wardrobe has suddenly turned mono-chromatic or why they are suddenly coming home from the library with their arms full of vampire books.

     The big picture is that goths are not cast in a good light. People see someone dressed all in black, with an enhanced pale appearance listening to edgy music and their brains go nuts trying to explain it, and most of the time, it will come up with something ridiculous and/or amusing. Just because someone dresses in a lot of black, gets snakebite piercings, dyes their hair purple, or paints their nails black, does not mean they worship Satan, do drugs, or practices witchcraft, even if they do any of those things, it probably has nothing to do with their subcultural standing, just what they choose to do. If your parents actually believe what people say about goths, tell them what I said and mention that I'm a comfirmed member of a Lutheran church. If you become goth, nowhere is it written that you can't be part of a church or whatever other thing your parents or friends are afraid you are going to rebel against. I'm a devout christian, and I would still accompany my friends to a stroll through the graveyard on Halloween. In my experience, goth is not a religious following, its a subculture of fantastic, creative, and eccentric people who have a gift of finding beauty in strange and dark places, and express themselves in a way that leaves people staring when you (you black-clad child of night) walk by.

-Signed
Darker Son