Zippers for Your Ears

Everyday someone has to say it. Everyday someone sees them and is shocked by the mere sight of them. People crave to touch them but are fearful of causing damage to my being. No, I’m not talking about an extra set of arms or legs or anything like that. No, the excitement in my life comes in the form of little zipper earrings. And society isn’t afraid of them, but amused. Someone always says “cute earrings” or the even more popular “are those zippers?” Why, yes. Yes they are. Then, of course, there’s always that person that has to be “Mr. Jokey Jokemaker” and ask if he could unzip my ear if he pulled on one. Eh, no. But that’s what I get for being me.

I’ve always believed that expression is the essence of life. It creates and molds who we are, inside and out. It grips one tiny detail about a person and blooms throughout his or her life. Uniqueness makes a person. They can float through life – living as others live, seeing what others see, believing in what others believe in – or they can escape the silent killer formally known as conformity, spread their wings, and fly away.

But as easy as it may sound to just “fly away,” masses of people get sucked into that vacuum of unique-less-ness. Young girls see Paris Hilton in her tiny tees and miniskirts and assume that’s how they’re supposed to dress. That’s just sick. This is the women who starred in the “independent film” entitled One Night In Paris. Who would want to emulate someone like that? I don’t understand why people in general try to be or just look like someone they’re not, whether it be some wanton celebrity or even just a popular peer. Where’s the thrill in imitation? It’s obviously point blank in front of me on a colossal, flashing, neon billboard and I just happened to be blind. That’s just how it seems to be with all of these Paris and Lil’ Wayne wannabe’s walking around. I can honestly say that there’s only been one time in my life where I’ve wanted to be someone other than myself.

In our elementary years we tend to be very impressionable, and I was no different. As a child of about 9 or 10 years old there was one woman in my life that I fantasized to be: Alicia Moore, or more commonly known as Pink. She was so incredibly cool and had hair I could only dream of calling my own. She was my inner (and soon to be outer) rock star. Now, I didn’t completely transform into a mini-Alicia, but I did integrate her attitude and independence into my own personality, molding it to fit my picky standards. As unbelievable as it may seem to some, there is a happy medium between shunning all outside influence and ultimate reproduction. It’s called incorporation. A person can take one or two aspects from someone else and incorporate it into their own unique style, but taking someone’s entire wardrobe and duplicating it is just too much. You lose all sense of yourself in that crap.

Something else that really grinds my gears about the dying act of independent thought are these lame T.V. shows and magazines that tell us what’s “in” and what’s “out.” I should be the one telling myself what not to wear, not some naggy, 30-something year old women and a 7-foot tall, flamboyant guy with bad hair. It sickens me to see bright, teenage girls draining their brains reading these ridiculous fashion magazines. Why do you need a piece of paper to tell you which look is best this season? Why don’t you go out and just buy whatever you like or whatever you think is cute rather than buying something because Rihanna was wearing it in her latest music video on MTV? Why spend $200+ on a pair of Ugg(ly) boots that every other preppy chick owns when you could start a new trend with a lot better looking and a lot less expensive boots? I never quite understood the point of owning something that everyone and their mother owns. Is there some underground cult built around these boots that I just don’t know about? If I don’t get an answer, then I’m afraid I’m doomed to rely on this explanation until I receive further notice. Ugg owners beware: your secret is out!

Why can’t this impressionable crowd just create their own style, figuratively and literally? I mean, really. How hard is it to make an inimitable necklace or even a shirt? I’ve done it plenty of times before. I can’t even count how many items of jewelry I’ve made throughout the years. My best work yet was just a simple zipper hooked onto a necklace chain. It was so admired that I began a search for more zippers to make a matching pair of earrings. I, however, came across a pair of already made ones at (believe it or not) Kentucky Kingdom for a small fee of $5. These earrings have become my logo, my defining item of my personality.

Everyday someone comes up to me and compliments me on the strange yet unique look of these earrings. The zipper is what expression has gripped onto for me. Who knows, maybe someday I’ll have my own fashion line: Zipper: An Alternative Motif. The people who once ridiculed and laughed at my expression will be the ones modeling my latest works. Ironic? Yes. Possible? Who knows? It could happen someday. For now, though, I’ll just stick to doing my own thing (before tearing conformity apart at the seams). ‘Cause, hey, I’m unique (just like everyone else).