Adapting a Punk Rock Type of Mentality

Heather has a Bachelor's Degree in English from Moravian College and has been freelance writing for more than 13 years.

Been playing the role of a conservative do gooder for too long

Ready to take on a little bit of that devil may care attitude

Some seem to have and flourish with

No obsessing over things that cannot be controlled

Looking out for number one and taking no prisoners

Not giving a toss what the critics say on how I should behave

Time to begin behaving like a punk rocker in their glory days

Doing what was right for them and not what society dictated

Started in the 1970s as a way to rebel against disco

Also, a way to fight against the conventional norms of the time

Fighting for a purpose that went beyond checking off boxes

Accomplishing more than just getting by

Coming up with their own dress code and way of expressing themselves

Youth defying the odds of their predecessors

Sure, the era of The Sex Pistols and The Ramones reigning supreme

No longer applied, but the principle remained the same

Living above the rest of the unwashed fray; trying to be different

Breaking the rules, because they were meant to be broken

Wearing their faded leather jackets full of safety pins

Jeans torn to shreds in the knees after one too washes

Black combat boots ready to stomp on anyone who got in their way

Not literally, that would be an unnecessary felony

Allowed only at a rock concert, if they push first of course

Punk Rock music allowed men and women to come to the forefront

Women like Joan Jett were given the opportunity to rock with the best

Not that society was entirely accepting of it at the time

When her band The Runaways existed, critics were unconvinced

That girls could play rock music just as hard as men could

The band may have folded, but Jett's legacy as a solo act endured on

Creating their own unique style and outlook on life

A few raised eyebrows may come about

Nothing more, nothing less

Parents might give you some advice on how they did things

That was then; this is a totally different now

A lot more pressures abound society and all of them on television

Demanding you to do more, buy more and just be more

Knocks the wind right out of you thinking that you're not enough

Rich men in designer suits dictating what you should be doing

Like they did Jett for a good chunk of her music career

Avoided listening to their artist and looking only at the bottom line

Time to realize that not everything fits perfectly in a tiny little box

It's okay to color outside the lines.

That's where the best surprises come from in taking a chance

Punks may have been in your face, but their message wasn't

They just wanted to be themselves and everything else was secondary.