When attempting to answer the seemingly simple question of, "what is a Hipster?", I find myself at a loss for words. To be honest, I believe the definition of what exactly a "hipster" is, changes from generation to generation, so slapping a simple label, and or definition on said being is an extremly difficult task indeed. I suppose in this day in age, a hipster can take on many forms, and shapes. One might consider the frequenters of the local North End Boise Co-Op to be "hipsters", however then again, I am also an outsider to their culture. So where as one maybe a Hipster to others, they may not appear, and or consider themselves to be a Hipster in their own demographic of people, thus taking the power away from the label entirly. In my opinion what makes a Hipster, a Hipster is the simple, and yet seemingly impossible task of being different the the rest of the crowd, or being a non-conformist. So what makes "emo" kids emo, is the fact that they wear skinny jeans, where spikey belts, have borderline feminen haircuts, and wear "emo" band shirts. But if you were to ask one of these "emo" kids if they considerd themselves to be Hipsters, I'm sure they would deny such an existance, and bombard you with a multitude of reasons why they are "emo", as a pose to simply accepting the fact that they have indeed created their own demographic of people. Like wise, a "skater", or "snowboarder" much like myself, may also be considerd a Hipster by others, simple because we do not fit the model of social norms, and or expectations. We are a breed apart, living on the fringes of society, left to soak up what little love, and acceptance we can by locals like ourselves in the community. However, by recognizing, and labeling this group of people, and counting myself among them, I've given a meaning to the word "hipster" without any intention of doing so. I suppose "hipster" means to not conform to the socially accepted norms of whatever group you so choose to be a part of, whether it be enviormentalist, emos, punks, goths, skaters, potheads, preps, hippies or whatever other groups of non conformist you so choose to count yourselves among. We all have a little "hipster" in us i suppose, however it's really up to the Hipster to choose how far they truly buy into their own identity. Do they give up everything to create an entirly new identity, or do they buy some Vans, and throw on a Volcom shirt and call themselves a skater? No...no...I believe to be a Hipster is much more complex then the simple apparel we choose to throw on our feet, and backs, there has got to be more to it then that. To be a "hipster" one must also establish their own Slang Language. To be hip, it is essential to have words, and sayings that others outside the group simply do not understand, nor do they intend to try and grasp. In my group of "hipsters" we say words such as "hella" meaning "very" or "really". I'll use it in a sentence to bring more light to the word, because in reality Websters does not have that word in the dictionary, let alone a simple definition. "That backside feeble grind was Hella sick broski". To Literally translate what was just said in "skater lingo", I stated, " That grind you did on that handrail was very well executed my good friend". But if we were to state the obvious in such simple, and staight foward terms we would detract from our own identity, so we speak the way we know to speak. Another fine example out of the skating community would be words such as "tight" meaning very cool, or awesome. Words such as "steezy" or "weak" mean the exact opposite, with definitions some where along the lines of "lame" or "less then satisfactory". To go back to my original idea, and not lead you too far into my own sense of what is "hipster" status, let me finally address the fact that Hipsters do not belong to a certain region, or point in time, rather they belong to those that identify themselves apart from the crowd, and thus create their own crowd of like minded individuals.
