by Kasey Endsley

Created on: November 29, 2008

I remember being in my Honours English class in eighth grade, talking to a friend, when suddenly, one of the more popular lads leaned over and asked me in the most serious way possible, "Are you emo?" I patiently told him no, to which he replied, "Are you sure?"

To use the word emo in the absolutely correct way, you would be referring to a genre of music that originated from hardcore punk. 'Emo core' and 'Screamo' are also closely related. The style of emo is what has followed, and is how the word is more commonly referred to today.

Emo has become a trend, a subculture, a lifestyle. 'Emo kids' wear black because it is a nice color that looks good on them, and listen to music that is emotional, not hateful or evil. Personally, though I do not consider myself an 'emo kid', I enjoy 'emo' music, among other genres. It has much more depth than some rap and pop music, which focuses on sex, drugs, etc. Emo has almost become more about fashion than music these days, with emo kids taking pride in their appearance, and taking the time to style their hair and yes, wear makeup. Once again, this is because they enjoy it. Sure, sometimes they might want to make a statement, but every subculture tries to make statements every now and then, do they not? The terminology used these days is demeaning. As the saying goes, 'don't label people like soup cans'.

While the emo kid craze seems to be fading in my area of the world, I remember what it was like. Yes, some of my friends cut themselves, but only very few, and they did it for no reason at all. I will be the first to say that they were stupid, ignorant teenagers searching for problems that weren't there and looking for attention. But the rest, they were just doing what they did best, enjoying life to the fullest, as most people in their subcultures tend to do.

Bullying was always harsh for them, but they could see through it, as emo kids have always seemed to be much more down to earth and understanding. They understood that others thought them different, and while they were angry at these ignorant 'populars', they let it go.

Bullying these days, however, has reached a critical high. Emo groups in Mexico are being severely beaten by hate groups. In Russia, a law has been passed regulating the emo subculture and outlawing it.

While some 'emo kids' take it to the extremes, most are just happy, fashionable kids, enjoying their lives.

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