Day One of The Goth Challenge

Over at the wonderful blog that is Juliet's Lace, Amy, who runs the blog, has created The Goth Challenge and I think I would like to tackle it the best that I can over the next month or so.  Which means I will probably start posting more than just once a week, and also because I have a little more free time that will end with the starting of school.  I think this was a genius idea of her's.  And well, here goes.

Day one: How did you come across the subculture?
I honestly can't quite put my finger on it, but I know it must have been a while back.  I know this because the term Goth had been nothing new to me even if I don't remember where I heard it.  Yeah, I don't always have the greatest memory.  I know that I came across it while I was first checking into emo (I might have left that part out on my last post), and I know I was thirteen when I began my research in the subculture.

Believe it or not I saw my first goth at church.  Yes at church.  Big black mohawk, spiked collar, black shirt, black ripped jeans with a wallet chain and boots.  I was ten when we started going to this church called Chandler Christian Church while we lived there in Chandler Arizona (for two years).  I was either leaving or just coming when I saw this person walk past and I was mesmerized and wanted to know more.  I had never seen anything like it and never quite forgot.

I was always the outcast, if you will, always on the outside and never really felt wanted or like I fit in.  I had friends sure, not always the best of ones but at least I had some.  I never really noticed till I got a little older, about ten when I really noticed that people would never bother to welcome me or talk to me.  It was in Arizona at the time when we used to go to this homeschoolers in the park day, for homeschoolers to get to know each other.  I was usually left alone to swing the whole hour.  Mom would try to help by introducing other kids, but I only found one friend who later found someone else that she would leave me to play with.  I never really dressed like the other kids.  My shirts were not fitted, I wore cargo style capris and the like.  I always wanted to be an artist and a writer since I can remember. 

When I was thirteen on Halloween my mom read us The Tell Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe, and from that moment on I loved Edgar Allan Poe.  (I knew this would come up.)  I remember when looking him up I came across the term Gothic referring towards the style in which he wrote.  And that brought me to a page on Wikipedia on the Gothic subculture which mentioned that Goths love to read his stuff.  (This came first actually:) I started going to Rift, a junior high ministry at Harvest Church.  It was my eighth grade year and there I saw a girl who wore no make up (like myself), had on bondage pants, a long sweater, and Converse.  Her style was dark.  I liked it and again was interested.  In small group she was the first person who talked to me and made me feel welcome.  We never really spoke again till a year later when at my freshman year of going to (now senior high) Rift when I was with my dear friend Sarah.  This girl's name is Charisse and we are now really good friends who both love Creature Feature and art.  In fact we are the only two goth kids who go to Rift.

And how could I forget this!  In the middle of all that was mentioned above, probably starting back when I was twelve, in the story my main character started out as a misfit.  She stayed that way for a while will I changed the story up, a lot, in fact started over.  Then instead of her being the misfit I had the idea of having her older brother become the misfit.  The one who seemed like trouble but really, he's not at all.  His style was dark at first, and then goth.  But wait, I couldn't make him something I knew little about.  So then the real research came into play, I liked it for him, it ened up fitting him just fine.  I always forget this little bit.  You could say that me and my character got into this together over the years.  :)

 And there you have it, all these little bits and pieces lead to me finding this wonderfully dark subculture.  (Along with reading my last post.)  If all that was a little jumbled together I am sorry, I'm quite tired as I got back from over night camping with my family this afternoon.

By the way, hello my two new followers.

Sincerely,
Angel of Darkness