Some advice for people who are going through phases that I’ve been through:
If you’re going through a hipster phase, know that there is value in presenting underappreciated or unknown things to people, be it music, TV shows, books, or any other medium that you choose to explore more deeply than others. But it is important to keep in mind that if many people enjoy something, they probably have their reasons. Just because something is popular doesn’t mean it should be discounted. Lighten up; listen to the songs that everyone else is listening to, read the books that have been read by all your friends. You might be surprised and enjoy some of them. In my experience, it’s been worth risking a few minutes of my time to discover something that will stay with me for the rest of my life.
If you’re going through a rebellious phase, the advice is simple, there are two pertinent types of rebellion: Doing things that harm yourself just to spite perceived authority figures who tell you not to and doing things that will be of benefit to you in spite of authority figures telling you not to. Always weigh your options, understand the relevant type, and proceed accordingly.
An interesting side effect of economic inflation:
Inflation targeting is the practice of setting a goal for how much your federal reserve wants currency to inflate. The USA Fed currently aims for a 2% rate of inflation every year, but over about the last 30 years the rate has fluctuated such that the cumulative inflation has been 102%, meaning that the price of things has doubled since the beginning of 1990.
Now, an important distinction must be made here between the quality of goods and the price. The price does not reflect the quality of the item, it is only a number assigned to it for the monetary transaction and is sometimes completely arbitrary. The quality explains itself.
Basically, if anyone’s ever told you that they never would’ve spent THAT much on one of THOSE, chances are, they aren’t aware of this simple economic principle: The same exact object would’ve cost half as much 30 years ago. Feel free to educate them.
One last thing:
If you keep comparing yourself to people who have already painted their masterpieces, you can easily lose the will to pick up the brush. Perfectionism, noble as it may sound, is a stumbling block all artists face. It can lead you to stop progressing, because the colors in your portrait are just a little bit off, or the words you use are just a little bit too convoluted, so you’ll “sleep on it” and “think about it” and you’ll procrastinate finishing that piece of art. Even if every line isn’t perfect, it’s okay to just post something to get it out of your head and save the mental bandwidth for future projects. You will eventually paint your masterpiece, but not if you stop practicing.