As a kid, I was bullied for not being blond. In an act of rebellion, I dyed my hair black. It wasn't until after that that people started calling me emo. At the time, even my teacher, (who also dyed her hair black), said ‘Emilie, Halloween was over weeks ago.’ Causing the room to break into a fit of giggles. This perpetuated the idea that teasing me about my goth-ness, my ‘emo'-ness was hilarious. The problem, of course, wasn’t those terms. By themselves they’re just personal identifiers that can help a person express their style. The problem was they weren’t true to how I saw myself. Cynical, dark-humored, depressed, a person who looked better with dark hair than light hair, sure, but emo, goth. They alluded to a style I wasn’t trying to emulate. Trust me, those styles are cool but they take a lot more effort than I was putting into my look. I didn’t wear makeup, I wore a simple black t-shirt, maybe featuring some media I was fond of, and usually, jeans or leggings. Human expe