Exposition Not Included

I have had several people send messages letting me know that they have enjoyed reading my blog, or liked certain posts. Thank you all for the encouragement but truly, my life used to be so very interesting. I felt like I had something to write about every single day and I could expand on it to the point of an essay or short story. In fact, I have several of them tucked away on my MacBook. Now that I am actually dedicating myself to blogging, I feel like I need to go back to work in an office to feed the machine.

Out of the last 4 years, 2 of them were spent pursuing a graphic design degree in classes filled with 20-somethings and there was always something brewing there, let me tell you. There was the guy we called "shirtless guy"(cause we're original that way) who walked around campus even in the dead of winter wearing the following: black skinny pants (usually, but sometimes a red tartan pair) tucked into black leather rocker boots, suspenders, a knee length brown and white faux fur coat, and NO SHIRT. EVER. He was skinny, like Iggy Pop skinny and had shoulder length blonde curls. He was cute, not an icky gross random shirtless guy. In the summer, he traded his faux fur coat for nothing at all, but the guy never, ever wore a shirt. Now, you might question the addition of the suspenders, but let me be honest. Most of us were glad for them as they served to cover his nipples, a fact which was much appreciated when he was spotted over lunch in the cafeteria.

Eventually, even Shirtless Guy found his perfect match and started hanging out with the girl equivalent of himself, but thank goodness she wore a shirt. A very tight tank top, but still, a shirt. Personally, having grown up in the 80's, I thought he was punk as shit and exactly the kind of guy I would have gone for in my late teens/early 20's, sort of a (young) David Bowie/Mick Jagger lead singer type. Although all the younger girls in my class talked about how they thought he was gross and weird, I actually always admired Shirtless Guy. Because of the fact that I happen to like weird things simply because they are considered weird by (so-called) normal people, I always wanted to get to know Shirtless Guy. But aside from that, I mean you have to admit this guy is dedicated, he's no poser. He picked a style, put his Doc Martens down and stuck with it rain, sleet, snow or sunshine. I can also identify with him as a former "weird" girl myself. I spent most of my high school years not looking or dressing like other people did in my small hometown. (Thanks mostly to the addition of that "new" MTV to our lineup during sophomore year of high school) I know some people think you try to be different just to get attention, but I think for me it was mainly just an outlet. Just another way to prove to myself that I didn't have to look or be like everyone else. Because for me the thought that I had to be like everyone else was worse than threat of death.

And Shirtless Guy?  I never had the courage to introduce myself to him. I think I would have just stood there staring at him like an idiot not knowing what to say and trying not to look at his nipples. Actually, most people I talked to who had classes with him reported that he was whip smart and extremely nice. Just goes to show, you can't judge a guy by his shirt, or lack of one.

Note: This barechested thing is apparently a lifestyle choice as evidenced by this article that I found as writing this post.