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Welcome to Chloe Harris' Blog

"Chloe Harris" really is the pseudonym for two writers, Noelle and Barbra, who've joined forces to write intriguing and sexy stories. A quintessential eccentric southerner, Noelle seems to find a story in almost everything. Ever ambitious to change her stars, she has a degree in Communications. Barbra lives together with her cat ('Princess Mimi'), who isn't very happy that she is spending so much time on writing. But this folly of the living can opener with opposable thumbs is mostly tolerated.

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Friday, June 5, 2009

Going against the Norm

by Barbra

(Sorry to disappoint y'all, but this post isn't about a sexy hunk. But at least there's a music vid in there.)


Some time ago all that “Superstar” hype started. Austria also joined. A little late as always, but that’s the typical Austrian for you: “Oh? There’s something going on in the world? Why would I care? Should I care at all? Well, let’s see what’s it all about... Okay, not too bad... let’s try it!” What? Are you shocked? Austria may be just a tiny spot on the globe, but, hell yeah, we Austrians are... different. *lol*

So when this hype started, those of us who wanted to desperately fit the norm, created “Starmania.” A show so horrible you can’t watch without losing half of your IQ for sure. You know the concept: Three judges as jury, hundreds of thousands of teenagers (if there even are that many in Austria - I should check, but I don’t care ;-) there you go, typical Austrian attitude) striving to become Austria’s next biggest, bestest pop singer. The winners of any of those contests never made it beyond one song that could be heard on the radio for about 4 or 5 times.

In the first season, however, there was this feisty, pierced girl that had “screw you” in stark red letters scribbled on her forehead. The jury kept telling her “she was not the norm”, she “had to work on her appearance”, she wasn’t “what Austria wanted”. She placed second in that contest.

Being different isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Because, guess what, she never adapted. She never stopped believing in herself. And here she is today, a real Austrian pop star: Christina Stürmer.

“Ist mir egal” ("I Don’t Care" - it’s a warning against people sweet-talking you into the norm)


She went against what "polite society" expected, realizing how small that mold really was. She didn’t give up struggling to be who she is, taking the stony trail of resistance instead of the well-trodden path to conformity. That gives me hope that “Fortune favors the brave” is not just a saying.

On a smaller scale, it’s the tiny things in life that others think you shouldn’t do because they never dared to jump off the cliff and see where it might lead them. There are those who kept believing in their dreams, worked hard to achieve their goals and got rewarded in the end. Like my dad. Or my mom. Or my cousin. Or (one of) my uncle(s). Or his wife. Or my friend, Christine. Or my other friend, Petra. Or my s-i-l. The list could go on, of course.

Did you at some point in your life have a dream and people thought you were crazy to want that? Yet, in spite of listening to what they thought was prudent, you followed your heart's wish and did/are doing everything in your power to make your dream come true?
Tell me. I want to expand my list of everyday heroes.

2 comments:

Noelle (Chloe Harris) said...

Neat Video. I love the concept.

I was one of those people when I was young, one of a few punks in a school of nothing but rednecks.
But what I realized as I got older is that it can be about the clothes, hair, tattoos and piercings etc. but it doesn't have to be. And even that can go from really being a rebel to just trying to fit in with a different kind of group.
No now I feel like I don't have to prove to anyone with any kind outward display that I'm an individualist, I know that I am and however I choose to express that is up to me and that's all that matters.

Anonymous said...

*lol* When hormones are raging through your body you want to rage against the world. But, like you said, it's not really about clothes or hair, etc.
Yes, if you believe in yourself, you don't have to prove yourself to anybody. There's nothing you can't do if you believe in your dreams and decide to ignore what people tell you to do instead (because it's supposedly "wise") - that's what makes you stick out in my opinion.