Summatime & Dave

Ahhhhhh. Summer. Summa. Summatime (and the livin's easy?) I'm supposed to be doing math homework right now... but screw it, you know? It's summer time. And yes... the livin' is easy. Well, sort of.

Guess what. I found a high. Literally. You know that cute saying... "I remember when getting high was just on swing sets"? It's true. When I was little, I had an old, wooden swing suspended by two frayed white roped between two trees in my back yard. In my opinion, every kid should have this. Anyway, a couple years ago the old ropes finally gave out, unable to bend to my animated plea to complete and utter happiness. It had to come down.

HOWEVER

My daddy has just put it back up, after about 2 or 3 years. I never knew how much I missed it. Or how much it missed me. My legs contoured perfectly to its welcoming wooden bench. And when I'm rocking back and forth in it (and going really high too) I feel...free. Cliche, right? I know... but there really isn't any other way to describe it.

I feel such a rush as I fly forward. It feels dangerous and safe all at the same time. The wind flies over my face, through my hair, encircling me in its warm embrace. Blood flowing my legs as I pump them back and forth, back and forth. It's as close to high as I've ever come.

Another thing on my mind... I recently watched a Youtube video concerning Dave Matthews Band. The guy in the video was basically saying that Dave Matthews and all of the people who like his music are "fuckin' faggots". Yes, he really said that. Look it up. Now, besides being completely rude and uncalled for, in addition to extremely offensive... dude no.

He went on to say that "Nobody is born liking Dave Matthews...it's not a natural thing". First of all, fuck you, for your ignorant closed-mindedness. Second of all, I'm not gonna sink to your level and just say "oh... you suck man YOU'RE a fag." I've considered your point and yes. I do think that people "like" something just because their friends do. To fit in with the group. But is this such a bad thing?

I admit. I "like" Dave Matthews Band to fit in with the group. Hold, don't jump to conclusions. You mentioned before in your video that people use coping strategies. You used the example of hiding behind jokes to bring sensitive or dark subjects into the light so one is able to freely discuss them. For me, Dave is a coping strategy, and it works. So no. I don't think Dave's chord structures or lyrics are deep. BUT, they are a coping strategy that I use to find common ground with people I wouldn't otherwise talk to and get to know (who, by the way, are worth pretending to like something to gain access to).

Because I didn't know if you knew or not... but it's difficult gaining access to someone's personality and someone's friendship if you don't have that "key" - that one common thing that makes it less awkward. Dave is my key. Dave is my coping strategy. So the question is this: Is it better to have friends and have that unimportant, not so significant thing that you feign liking (which is WORTH it) or to not have friends and be completely honest with yourself. In my opinion, in this day and age, if you want to be successful in your life, it's better to overlook that coping strategy and focus on the relationships you've created. Also it got me thinking as to if it was possible to learn to like something if you've forced yourself to listen to it for the benefit of those relationships... because I'm pretty sure that's happening to me. He's pretty deep.