Popular culture

Popular culture seems to idolize a certain way of living. As I listened to “Pop That Pussy” by 2 Live Crew, I couldn’t help but notice the themes: open sex, partying hard, doing drugs, and living without limits. The message is clear—freedom means indulgence. In another one of their songs, “Banned in the USA,” the group pushes back against censorship, arguing that their lyrics are misunderstood and not meant to promote violence or disrespect toward women. They claim to be simply expressing pleasure and freedom in a new era, pushing against the morals of those who don’t understand—likely white, conservative America. Hearing those lyrics made me reflect on the current state of popular culture, especially from my perspective as a middle-class white guy in my early twenties. Today, in much of rap, movies, and TikTok, there’s this ever-present sense that to be “free” is to act on every desire. If you want to fuck, you fuck. If you want to do drugs, you do them. If you want to party and lose ...
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In vs Out

I've always felt like an outsider peering into others worlds. Their worlds always seem vast and full of excitement and connection. Mine has felt like a repeat of the same events and circumstances for the last 4 years. I've matured in many ways thankfully but I feel like there were risks and opportunities I didn't take. I want to break this cycle which i've been trying to do through sobriety and therapy. It feels like the next move is to expand to new friendships that suit my needs better.

When I do try and make friends the same thing tends to happen. We talk and have a good time but then I see them again and i start to think of ways they wouldn't be a good friend or why they wouldn't want to be friends with me. Like if they figured out who I was and what I did and how dumb I actually was they wouldn't want to be friends with me. Feeling this way makes it very difficult to connect further and usually we end up not becoming friends.

On this topic I also think they would judge me or not like me if I didn't have other friends or have things to bring them to. I want to leave my old friends for new ones but don't think new one's would like me if I didn't have old friends. This thinking keeps me completely stuck. It demotivates me and makes me judgemental and hateful of old friends who haven't done anything to harm me.

The question is then, how do i stop this thinking, how do I stop with the games and start living authentically? I want to say what I mean and be with people I genuinely enjoy.


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