Urban Dictionary – “hipster is a subculture of men and women roughly in their 20s and 30s that value independent thinking, counter-culture, progressive politics and an appreciation for art and creativity. The greatest concentrations of hipsters reside in New York, Chicago, and San Francisco.”

Hold up, I grew up in a small town farming community of 500 people in Northeast Nebraska… pretty sure that is the farthest thing from being a hipster or even being within 500 miles of any form of hipster lifestyle.

Hipsters are said to be people who follow the latest trends and fashions. Don’t get me wrong I enjoy fashion, maybe a little too much according to my bank account, and yes I have tattoos one in memory of my mom and the second is flowers, quite hipsterish I know. However, just because I have tattoos or wear skinny jeans and converse and like to jam to John Mayer does not make me a hipster, I am ME.

I am not trying to be categorized in any type of subculture. I am me, I am not like thousands of other 20 somethings. Do I enjoy being around hipsters, YES. Am I judging someone for associating themselves with or calling themselves a hipster, ABSOLUTELY NOT, hipsters are some of the coolest people I know. But I am just not going to say that is who I am. My tattoos and flannels do not make me who I am, there are so many other things that make me, me. Being defined as a hipster for simply the way I dress, the music I listen to, or the people I hang out with is like saying I am a runner for wearing Nike tempo shorts or I am a scholar because I read books and drink coffee or I am a nerd because I really enjoy documentaries on the History Channel. Do all of these things attribute to who I am as a person? Yes. But they do not define me, I am me and there is no one else like me.

So be YOU. Dress how you want, get a tattoo sleeve, listen to Garth Brooks and then Chance the Rapper. Nothing and no one can define you simply by the way you look, but they can judge you, so make that judgment a good one. Be a hipster, be a nerd, be an introvert, be an extrovert just make sure you are being YOU because God made only one you.