Where I live, I'm one of the few people who identify with the goth lifestyle. The only goth I've ever met in real life lives across the street and is one of my friend's dad's girlfriend, she's about thirty or so, and from what I've gathered, she's romantigoth mixed with corpgoth and some perky goth. She's also a D&D geek, and she's the person who influenced me to become goth. I've only spoken to her twice, but in those few times, I knew I wanted to be like her. The first time, I was playing video games (Oblivion, if I remember correctly, I was eleven at the time) with my friend Drake. We said hello, talked a bit about the game I was playing with Drake, and that was it. I continued to play on my Khajiit (cat-person) character. The second time, I was going to Drake's birthday (now that I think of it, his thirteenth or fourteenth is coming up soon...). I was with my friend Meredith and there was one other person there, some kid with a really dirty mind that I found quite amusing. Then, about an hour or so later, the goth woman comes in and brings in party favors. She brought in little tombstones and plastic skull necklaces. I still have the tombstone (which has a small spiderweb and  skulls on it) and it's on the desk I'm using to type this. Ah, nostalgia.

So, anyway, how to find goths. You may have some at your school, but I have none whatsoever. I'm part of a group with two "bronies" (male fans of my little ponies, a popular internet subculture, though since they're both girls are both twelve, myself being thirteen, I prefer to call them elder pony fans. Just saying.), one of which tried to become a goth after I started getting into it. By getting into it, I mean adorning a jacket with safety pins and making a T-shirt that has Bauhaus written on it in Sharpie. I'm wearing that shirt and jacket right now, even if it looked half-assed.... I tried to help her, but she's just... I don't know. She only wanted to become goth to "impress" me, or to seem "cool" to me. It did neither, just bugged me. I was twelve at the time. My little "group" has four people in it- Kali, who is pretty much a "prep" or "chav" but doesn't act that way, really. Emily, a "brony" who became both goth and a brony to impress Meredith and I, and then Meredith, who's been my friend for ages and went into an emo phase with me a few years ago, but other than that, she doesn't refer to herself as anything but a brony. The whole "brony" thing is annoying to me, but moving on.

 Most of my friends like some things that could be considered goth (Emily likes The Cure, Meredith likes Anne Rice, Bauhaus, The Cure, Creature Feature, medieval stuff, Victorian stuff, horror. Aye, she'd fit swimmingly into the subculture....) With the friends you already have, try to show them some gothy things that you like. Sing them/show them a song you like, let them borrow your copy of Dracula, just don't rant. I rant about goth a lot. And no one knows what I'm talking about.... But moving on.

I actually found out in my sixth grade (don't know what that is in the U.K.) that my teacher that year liked Siouxsie and the Banshees and The Cure. The day before a school play (Cats, I recall) she played Cities in Dust. A kid named Joseph and I also joked about goth music by writing a funny little song that sounds uber-serious (isn't that what a lot of goth music is? Like that Fishcakes song by Bauhaus...) when it's meant as a joke.

But about finding other goths, what this was originally about before I started ranting. If there are no goths you know of in your area, there are bound to be a few you haven't noticed. Go drive your butt to the bookstore, put on your gothy band shirt (or just where some ubergoth clothes), bring your gothy magazine, read it for awhile near the fiction and philosophy sections, or in the coffee area if there is one. Stay in the store for an hour or so, reading and eyeing those around you. If you see someone you believe to be goth, smile and say hello. Hell, if anyone comes up to you, sits near you, smile and say hello. It should become a habit of a sort.

I'm not saying that you should treat grocery shopping as club night to find other goths. But if you see someone who if obviously part of the subculture, greet them, if they want to talk, talk to them. Don't act antisocial when you're waiting somewhere, you never know when you might encounter someone who's goth.

Excuse me for not posting the past, what, four days? Homework and violin has gotten in the way of everything. :C

Bullies are mean. Obviously.

Whether it's verbal or physical, you've been or are going to be bullied because you're goth. It's like an acne cream that takes away all your acne, but may kill you in the process. A double edged blade.

My first point of advice would be to say something witty in return, if it's verbal. A rather cheesy, textbook type example:
"You're a dirty goth bleggh!"
"-some sort of witty response. Like I took a shower this morning or being goth has nothing to do with my personal hygiene.-" I don't know... I'm not exactly witty.

But if it's physical, for the love of Vulcans (get it, because Vulcans have no emotions...) tell someone as soon as possible. Punched/stoned/kicked while boarding a bus? Tell the driver. Or better yet, phone the police. Get a good look at them, call the police, they'll deal with it. If the police won't help you because you're goth, then the police in your area get their tongues stuck to icepops whenever they try to eat them.

Now, being bullied at school is a whole other story, I get bullied for multiple reasons and none of them involve my being goth. Most of them have to do with my sexuality, my support of gays, and the fact I'm vegan. But if someone really has a problem with you being goth, tell your teacher, for crying out loud. Tell the teachers, principal, anyone. As long as you aren't violating any rules at the moment (like the fact at my school, wearing hair over your eyes is a no-no for some moronic reason.), they are likely to deal with any verbal abuse. Physical abuse is something completely different. Tell the principal, and if they don't deal with it, contact the board of education and they'll deal with both the principal and the student. Really, I'm being serious. Look up the phone number for the board of education for your county/state/province/city/whatever. Tell your parents, as well. They'll help you if they already let you dress the way they do, but if you dress goth behind their backs, then don't give them a reason why they're bullying you. Simple.

The short version is stop the verbal abuse before it goes to physical, and tell anyone about any way someone has hurt you. Your parents, lover, teachers, principals, priest, doctor, whatever. If you don't tell anyone, then there will probably be no way to resolve it. If you don't tell anyone, then it'll get worse.

So, little eggies. You want your hair in a Death hawk? How about the Robert Smith? Edward Scissor Hands? No? Just me?

Well, on the rare occasion I get a hair cut, which I may later today, I go for the hairstyle my religious, conservative parents will accept, without killing me.

This is how I'm cutting it:

It's normal enough, I probably won't need to do much styling in the morning. But most of all, my parents won't catch the hint that "OH NOES, MY DAUGHTER'S A LIBERAL. THE POWER OF CHRIST COMPELS YOU!" or some shit. I am a liberal, but that's not the point. They'd cry themselves to sleep, then baptize me in the River Jordan if I even thought that a Death Hawk looked anything but "weird" or "freakish."

So, if your parents are anything like mine, then they won't let you get the darkly dark hairstyle of your nightmares. But never fret, there are plenty of  "conservative" (that word makes me cringe! Eww..) hairstyles for young goths.



So, here are some types of hairstyles you can have and still live for awhile without being killed by your parents. Does that make sense? Probably not.

The fauxhawk. It's not as... flamboyant as others, and it's a bit mainstream. But you won't die.
The dead-straight locks. Doesn't matter your hair color, but black tends to look better. Long, straight, parted down the middle. It's pretty, and won't kill you either.
The Robert Smith. Only really for short-haired people, take your Aqua Net, your comb, tease the living shit out of your hair. Obviously.
The Scene Cut. Not really goth, but I think it's cute.
Shave it off! Only really for guys if you're a babybat, but just shave it all. It also only really works on rivets.
The bangs and long. It's the universal goth style. Whether your bangs (fringe) are straight or V'd depends on your parents strictness.



So. That's everything off of the top of my head. Get it! :D Because... top of my head. This post's about hair...
:D