Wednesday, June 25, 2014

Free Spirit

Free spirit. Free spirit. I hear it all the time now. But I don’t even know what it means. Okay, fine,  I just Googled it, but I still don't know what it means to be called a free spirit.
free spirit
n.
One who is not restrained, as by convention or obligation; a nonconformist.

It started a little while back; maybe 18 months ago or so. These words kept coming up as a way to describe me. The oddest happened earlier this week when I got a Tinder message (yes, I'm still on Tinder; I'll explain why later) from a new match: “Free spirited and all natural, huh?” And while my profile does point out that my hair and ‘figure’ are natural, it says nothing to imply “free spirit” – I mean, how would it? I don’t even know what that means.

So I showed my Seattle Senorita my bio (below) and asked: "What about this says 'free spirit'?!” Adding, “And should I be taking it as an insult at this point?”


 “Free spirit means you don’t conform to society bullshit,” she told me, adding, "It's my M.O."

“What about my profile says ‘free spirit’?” I asked. “I just don’t follow.”

“I think you just exude it. It’s a good thing,” she concluded before moving on.

And according to these steps on how to be a free spirit – which seems extremely ironic – it sounds like it’s a good thing. So alright, I’ll take it -whatever it means to you guys. But seriously, I don't get it; it has become one of the stranger things I've been called on repeat. Dumb? Sometimes. Goofy? A lot. Free spirited? Eh?! Even Goomba got in on the action earlier this year and I asked him what he meant by free spirit. "You're moving across the country and leaving everything you know behind just because. It goes against what society says," he continued to my remaining skepticism, "And that takes balls". 

So in conclusion, my Tinder profile gives me balls... wait, that doesn't sound right. Whatever it is that people see and I can't see in myself - it sounds good enough to own. I'll accept the title. Does it come with a tiara?

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