Misperceptions

Misperceptions in life can sometimes get us in trouble or even deprive us from laughter, love, or any influence that may be able to help us grow, understand, and become better people. Or sometimes they're just funny. To conceive a thought without exploring other truths is simply one of mankind's interesting flaws. The true stories you are about to read below will help explain my point... again, these three stories are true experiences in order of importance... not so serious to serious.

This first small story I'm about to tell you is sort of funny and may even be interesting to some people who know me. One day while I was doing homework, I was listening to nature music. It helps me relax. I had a few friends stop over unexpectedly finding it strange that I was listening to water falls, birds chirping, and Indian chants. They laughed making me laugh too. I then pulled a tape out of my VCR. The tape was the Disney movie Aladdin. I told them I like to watch it before I fall asleep. They laughed once again. I found it funny. Just because I have an eccentric imagination and that I may act strange sometimes, doesn't mean that I am deprived from rational, positive, or innocent thoughts/actions. I'm a little surprised sometimes how people only know one or a few small details about your life and exaggerate that thought, branding you into something you're not. I'm sure we all have countless stories we could all tell relating to this subject. No matter how funny, serious, ignorant, or disturbing the story may be, I'm humored by these silly human actions. Especially when I see them within myself.

People do things that may be considered different or unusual, but to judge a person for their actions without understanding why the actions are taking place is a big problem many people have. I've seen this after high school and I still see it now. Years ago when I was still doing special effects, I asked my uncle if I could repaint the sign in our yard that advertised the cottages he'd rent out.
(I was trying to do something nice for him)
My uncle looked at me and said, "No, I don't want you to paint any monsters on the sign." What the hell was that all about!?! I never mentioned changing the sign or adding monsters. I only wanted to repaint the sign to make it look respectable again. Just because I was making monster masks at the time, my small-minded uncle couldn't separate my artistic hobby from my everyday life. I found that very sad.

Living in my early high-school years, I was a dork just as I am now. I was interested in scary movies, gore, science fiction, and fantasy. I saw a movie called HELLRAISER and immediately did my best to learn how the costumes were made and began a journey down the road of special effects. After this, I was introduced to a band, from Virginia, calling them selves GWAR. My young mind was fascinated with the art and the theatrical display their costumes had to offer. Dabbing into the art of special effects, I wanted to become part of this band, so I started working on a mask and costume similar to their styles. Listening to their music, I even started writing my own creative songs/stories that I felt GWAR would appreciate.

Proud of writing over 10 songs full of filth, all those who were interested to check out my portfolio of songs, and pictures of my costumes, were free to do so. The people coming to my study hall table left with many laughs, and that motivated me to write even more. Looking back, I wrote over 20 songs filled with violence, hate, disturbing realities, and anything disgusting I could imagine. All those who gathered around to read enjoyed laughing and the entertainment I provided.

This is where the story gets interesting. I was taking a Spanish class and a young lady in my class with beautiful blue eyes and dark hair caught my eye. I was too nervous to go up to her and ask her out myself, so I leaned to the girls who sat next to me and asked what the blue eyed woman's name was. The girls told me the name. I then asked, "is she dating anyone?" What they next told me was truly shocking.

When I asked, "Is she seeing anyone?" The girls gave me a strange look and said, "No, she's not seeing anyone, but I don't think she'd go out with you." I asked, "Why?" The girls then said to me, "She heard about the songs you wrote and she thinks you're a rapist."

I was shocked! What else could I be? I tried to laugh and shake off what I just heard, but I couldn't. I didn't know what to do or say. I didn't come out and admit to the girls that I was still a virgin. I was a damn virgin! I was just a kid who had an imagination for the grotesque knowledge GWAR could teach me. I was a good guy. I never picked on people smaller than myself, never been in a fight... I was just a dork who wanted to catch GWAR's attention so I could learn what they could teach me about special effects. Now, all of the sudden, I'm thought of as a rapist by a young woman that doesn't even know me,
"The dorky little virgin boy!"

This, all because of something I wrote on a piece of paper. I can understand how other students thought I was strange because of the monster masks I created. No one else in my school created foam rubber latex masks like myself... but a rapist? It's crazy to me looking back at this experience because I know that many humans still do the same thing. Some people need to grow up and push some of these high-school mentalities aside and find room to evolve!