Erin The Great

Perception. Perception is a funny thing. You go about your life seeing things a certain way and either you A.) Keep perceiving things the way do for the rest of your life and never look for a different view on things; B.) You perceive something a certain way and when you find out a different view, you crumble to pieces because things weren’t what you thought; Or C.) You perceive things; you see a different side and are intrigued by this new side and possible depth.

There are some people who think that this world is black and white. Good vs. bad, weird vs. normal, trash vs. class. With the exception of the last one, I believe the rest to be very gray. What determines these classifications? You could be nice to your fellow man and still be a jerk in traffic. You could steal from a store and then help an old lady across the street. I think as a whole the human race is basically good but all of us make decisions. Decisions that could alter people’s perception of us, and what we are all about. Take kids for example. You have a kid that gets good grades and grows up in suburbia and we automatically assume they’re a good kid. Take the same kid and put them in a trailer park and have them get into some mischief and then they’re labeled a ‘bad seed’. I think it starts when we are young. A kid hears how they are bad and it’s only a matter of time before the vast majority start believing it. Obviously there are extenuating circumstances in all things but I think as an over all assumption, it starts in our younger psyche.

I believe that the same thing goes for so-called ‘weirdness’. I think that everyone on the entire planet is weird; it’s just that some people are better at hiding it. My weirdness had been embedded in me since birth but it was around the fourth grade when it became apparent to everyone. It all started when I conducted my first experiment. I wanted to know if you could make cheese by simply letting milk solidify. I had heard of the concept a week before and I wanted to put it to the test. What I didn’t realize at the time is that smell came along with the milk fermenting process, and that after a few weeks of having it in my desk it started to smell up the entire classroom. After that I was forever more known as the ‘weird girl’. In retrospect I think it was a blessing more then a hindrance because it aloud me to be myself and express myself forever more how I wanted.

As my ‘weirdness’ has progressed, I’ve learned how to ‘fine tune it’ so to speak so that for the vast majority of the time, I’m just myself. It’s a really nice feeling to just be myself instead of trying to hide myself in various degrees of self-loathing. A lot of people walk around afraid to branch out and just be themselves for fear of what other people will think. This is where my experiment comes in. I live in Provo, Utah where it seems that every one is trying to be something they’re not. The longer someone lives here, it seems that they develop a certain air about them, an air of perfection so to speak. I grew up in a very, ‘just be yourself’ type of atmosphere. This is a very special bubble like place. If things aren’t picture perfect around here, the assumptions start flying. It’s crazy but it’s true. This is the point I’m trying to get across. It’s ok to get out of these bounds and just breathe and be free.

My little ‘Provo rebellion’ started pretty much the second I moved here. By the quotes, I mean that my very personality borders on rebellion in this city.

For the first day of my experiments, I observed. The first thing I observed was the reaction to my bumper stickers. I have several semi-political bumper stickers whose soul purpose is to ruffle feathers.

The Bumper stickers say; *Suburbia - Where they take out all the trees and name the streets after them. *Don’t drink and park accidents cause people *Think this car is to dirty then you wash it *Don’t steal the government hates competition.

Reactions to these stickers are either one or the other. There is the obvious eye roll and the hysteric laughter. There isn’t a whole lot of in between. The observation will continue as I go along with my research. Stay tuned for my crazy antics as I blow the lid off of Provo!