By Michelle Pitcher
Editor-in-Chief

Graphic by Lauren Ussery

A cultural plague has fallen upon the halls of CHS, leaving few unaffected by its symptoms. For the past few years, opposition to mainstream media has become airborne, leading to grotesque transformations of average students into hipsters.

At least, this is how people appear to feel about this cultural phenomenon. As more and more students opt to listen to independent artists rather than Lady Gaga, more and more people become quick to classify these individuals as “hipsters.”

But I am here to boldly say that there is no such thing as a hipster. Rather, every student at CHS is afflicted with some strain of the alternative virus; it just manifests itself to different extremes in varying cases.

It all comes down to the idea of originality.

It is human nature to want to be stand out in a crowd, to not be just another faceless and mindless student shuffling through the hallways. Nobody can honestly say they are OK with being categorized as “just another Coppell girl/guy.” However, how people respond to this stimulus reflects how far they are willing to go to maintain their individuality.

For some girls, it is as simple as borrowing one of their dad’s oversized sweaters and coupling it with a pair of hiking boots. For guys, all they have to do is get rid of the Bieber flow and put on some wide-rimmed glasses. There are definitely worse things you could do.

But for some reason, these large sweaters and bulky glasses incite a sort of witch-hunt. Some students are so opposed to these apparent “hipsters” that they classify them as such and never take a look at their own rationale. From what I have seen, those who are so offended by “hipsters” display an inordinate number of hipster-symptoms.

Such symptoms include: listening to alternative music, loudly referencing the fact that you don’t watch Glee, wearing any of the aforementioned articles of clothing, detesting brand names and carrying around an oversized camera. I have not met one “hipster-hunter” who did not exhibit at least one of these qualities. This leads us to the conclusion that everyone, no matter how much they protest, wants to be “hipster” to a certain extent.

Every time I hear my friend (who coincidentally shows all five of the “hipster” symptoms written above) say things like, “I can’t stand that girl. She thinks she’s so hipster,” what I really hear is, “I wish she would stop trying to take away the only thing that makes me unique.”

I will be the first to admit that I have been infected by the Hipster Plague, but I will not concede that it is in any way a bad thing. One should not be penalized for trying to form a semblance of an identity – we are all trying to find ourselves, and it can be more than slightly confusing. So if someone is comfortable listening to basement artists and wearing clothes from the 80s, then they should be allowed to do so without fearing the judgment of their peers.

To me, the word “hipster” is synonymous with “original,” and everyone has a right to maintain their own originality. We would all do well to embrace it.