Quite Contrary

Posted on | February 10, 2010 | 1 Comment

I didn’t watch the Super Bowl this weekend. I’ve also never watched American Idol or read The Da Vinci Code. I didn’t have any interest in the Super Bowl, as I’m not really a fan of football. But I resist American Idol and Dan Brown precisely because so many other people do not.

Ordinarily, I’d say “to hell with what pop culture thinks” and go on my merry way. But I’ve been thinking (always a dangerous pastime) and I’m beginning to wonder if I shun stereotypical 20-something behavior because I truly don’t like it or because I am actively trying to be contrary.

In some cases, I can honestly say I’m simply not interested in following along with what pop culture dictates. If I based my life on the unwritten rules from various movies, television shows and books, as a single 20-something in a major metropolitan area, I should be at bars and clubs, having flings and drinking trendy drinks. Instead, I prefer quiet nights at home, with my never-ending stack of books, Masterpiece Theater on PBS or good, old-fashioned board games (I’ve never owned a video game system). I hate crowded bars, rarely drink and am hopelessly bad at flirting.

In other cases, however, I seem to enjoy being contrary for the sake of being contrary. Even though the hype surrounding The Da Vinci Code, for example, has mostly died down, I still haven’t read the book, in spite of the numerous reliable sources who tell me I would like it. My contrariness might make sense if I were truly uninterested in pop culture. But I indulge in Harry Potter, Twilight and People magazine just as much as I resist other things.

Maybe my natural instinct is to resist when other people try to tell me what to do. Maybe I like pretending that I’m somehow above or better than pop culture, even when I know I’m not. Maybe I simply like being unpredictable and unexpected.

Whatever the reason, I seem destined to arbitrarily pick and choose my way through the crowd, instead of following a pre-described path, which makes me truly contrary after all.

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