True Goths

Being goth is not about the clothes you wear, the piercings and body mods you have, the music you listen to, the cloves you smoke, the death and undead you're fascinated with. Being goth is a state of mind.

A true goth is someone who recognizes the validity of all emotions. A true goth does not see any one emotion (such as happiness) as superior to any other, but finds all of them equally worth experiencing and exploring, and ultimately understanding. A true goth does not hide from any of the other ones, but enjoys them all.

A true goth rejects denial and illusions. Yes, there is suffering in the world. Yes, there are tragedies and people who wrong other people. Yes, these things do happen and sometimes no one is at fault. No, the truth isn't always comfortable to bear. All of those emotions are worth experiencing too.

Many goths have a darkness to the soul that makes the world appear bleak to them, and in that bleakness they find beauty. But there are also fundamentally happy goths - those who see the same bleakness and the same beauty, but have found balance between them and in being true to themselves, and have therefore found peace.

An emo, so far as I can fathom, is a goth by another name. The next generation down is trying to proclaim their differences from those who came before.

Being goth (or emo) isn't wrong. For those who are true goths, especially the ones who have found their balance, it's real and it's right.