Shadowfax

Well, humans are a social species, so wanting to fit in is a deep, primordial desire everyone has. If you can manage to tame it, you'll find life much better. Oh, I will give a word of warning. Try not to be too much of a hermit. I'd say the one thing I regret not doing is being more socially open. I've missed out on lots of potential friends, now that I retrospectively see it. I found myself too comfortable alone, and let me tell ya, it does get to the mind. It's a balancing act, really.

Ah yes, peer pressure and fitting in. This is something that I've struggled for a while on. Being one of those smart guys who didn't like farting around with stuff like partying, drugs, and other stupid things, I basically became a hermit. Not that I do not have friends, but I just don't have those large social groups my peers do. There are several keys to my conduction. The first key is finally accepting that much of it is nonsense, if not self-destructive. I've talked to many who have participated in these things like partying, casual sex, etc. There is a resounding and unanimous agreement that it was a waste of time, and that it held them back. So trust me when I say that you aren't missing out on much! The second key is to try and find those you can be with who don't pressure you into that kind of stuff. For example, I have friends that do drink a lot, but if we go out to a bar, they never force me or give me flack for not drinking more than I'm willing. Plus I have other friends to talk about stuff like politics, obscure topics, or gaming friends to goof off with. It's about finding people of all creeds that you can enjoy. But in my personal case, I cannot hang out with them much, because we're either busy, or live to far away (i.e. moving away to college for the school year, can't really go back home to see friends). Thankfully, we live in the age of the internet, but finding friends this way presents a laundry list of it's own problems. Just keep your head high. The third key is to focus on yourself and improve your own character. I've spent much of the time I have to myself to learning various things, self-contemplation to discover who I am and how to improve myself, or even experimenting in various hobbies. While I'm lacking in the social department (I'm awkward, though in a way most find charming), I have an immense intellect, work ethic, and thoughtfulness that most can appreciate. While it doesn't get me friends, it can smooth over many social interactions. But his has immensely helped out in my schooling and work; there are activities that I can do easily others find challenging. If I had to summarize, I'd say to first accept that peer pressure is nonsense, then, from there, work in such a way that it's beneficial to you. When you cut the ties of peer pressure, you have immense freedom; use that freedom wisely!

I find most popular, cosmopolitan fashion styles to be bland or goofy.

Ya know, I've actually heard of these guys before. Only vaguely. I think I listened to one of their albums, but I don't remember. I keep this on my "to listen" list and try it out later; it sounds nice so far. Do you listen to other metal?

Unfortunately, I've committed the grave sin of not actually having read any of the Fallout Equestria material. Ooh, what song are you listening to?

Hello everyone. How are you all doing?

I've had long hair for the longest time, barring a one year period right before I entered college. My hair has been well below my shoulders for my entire college career thus far. I've received complements from just about everyone, from friends, acquaintances, college professors, coworkers and managers, and the occasional random women passing by. My dating partners (the few times I'm not a shy hermit and actually manage to get out into the real world ) were fond of my hair. Even most of my ultra-conservative family likes my hair, and they only tell me to cut it in humor and not in seriousness. And the greatest irony is, I'm far from a hippie (but not ultra-conservative, like my family). I think long hair is great. But the issue for men is, they forget to work with it; they tend to forget it requires more elbow grease. I see too many of them just having long hair just to have it, and not working it into an aesthetic, or worse, not taking care of their mane, and it ultimately looks unappealing and slobbish. So when someone tells you to cut your hair, it may not be necessarily because you have long hair. You need to find a way for the long hair to fit your personality. Yes, there are many different ways for a man to style long hair, and there is definitely a style for everyone, if they're willing to look for it. Then he needs to find a fashion style that fits both this personality and long hair. I myself have my own style. You need all that extra ""feminine"" stuff to keep your hair clean and healthy. Stuff like dry shampoo, hair products, or event hair straighteners (which I have two of; one is for general days, and another one which is finer for special occasions), and so forth can work wonders, if they're not outright required. Heck, it's generally recommended to shower less with long hair, so that your hair can retain it's nutrients instead of constantly washing it away. And in my personal opinion, good, well groomed facial hair extenuates the long hair, while an absence of facial hair makes it look a tad too goofy. Just some thoughts. Hopefully someone finds it helpful. Last minute edit: When growing your hair out, there is a general "awkward zone" where the hair looks goofy because it's neither short nor long enough. There's not much you can do for this, except their sticking it out or going back and trimming your hair.

Honestly, one game I come back to every so often is DOOM 2. It's not the game I've spent the most time in. However, it is the the game I have the longest history with, as I find myself coming back and marathoning it every few months. I know what you're thinking. "Huh, but isn't that game only 4 hours long?" Yes, it is, but what keeps it alive for me is it's modding community. Yes, it has a modding community; it's been around ever since the first DOOM. Thriving, though niche, the community creates loads of mods for DOOM 2, spanning anything from goofy stuff, hardcore map packs, reworks, story driven mods, and so forth. Compiling onto this is its simple gameplay. Fast paced, and challenging under the right circumstances, the core mechanics have always been appealing to me. Unsurprisingly, DOOM 2 is relatively easy to mod, so others have tinkered with the core mechanics and made new mechanics, or enhanced the existing ones. It's a blast to play, and it's always exciting to come back to it and see what more the community has made.

Worst I ever did was get a little tipsy drinking rum and played an amazing night of Overwatch. Sadly, that was the most fun I had with OW.

If you like the Conan series, check out the Dark Horse 2003 comic reboot. It's arguably one of the best comic series period. Unfortunately, Marvel recently got the rights again, so the Dark Horse reboot closed up earlier this year. Considering how they've been *ahem* behaving recently, I have no hopes for whatever they'll do.

Thank you everyone else for the warm welcomes!

Thank you for the warm welcome everyone! I hope to chat with you all sometime in the forums. Indeed. Starswirl could use a little more love.

"The Coming of Conan the Cimmerian"; the first book in a series which collects all of the Conan stories, but ordered in when they were written, and not when they were published. It's been a fantastic read so far! From the immense creativity of the locations, settings, and situations, to Robert E. Howard's efficient writing style - writing in such a way where he only needs a paragraph to describe what most modern authors would unnecessarily use pages to describe - The Conan series truly deserves it's spot as one of the great fantasy series. I read this book just a few months ago. I wont say much, but I found it immensely disappointing after the first third.

I've been to a couple. Fun occasions, but nothing dramatic. One of them was actually a surprise! An uncle of mine, about 50yrs, was unmarried, and the family thought he was a lost cause. Then out of the blue - BAM - he got in contact with an old childhood sweetheart and decided to marry months later.

People are assholes. They'll always find a way to be one. Even if you manage to extinguish racism (which is not possible), they'll just enact their behaviors under the guise of some other excuse. While racism can be tended to, it's just something everyone has to find a level of content with. But as others have said, it's probably better not to dwell on the issue of racism itself too much. Absolutely this. I, as a h'white guy from the humble working class, always get the most flack about racism from those upper class hippies trying to "enlighten" me on these issues that I'm "obviously too ignorant" to get. I go to college, and have moved between a couple of them. The story is the same. The ones who generally have the biggest issues on stuff like this are the starbuck marxists. Ya know, those guys who always hang out at expensive, indie, coffee shops browsing on their Macs? The ones who get a free ride in college off of daddy's trust fund, riding around in their brand new cars? The ones who almost never seem to take their schooling seriously? The ones who always virtue signal about stuff like this online, but you know you'll never see them out in the real world doing actual work that produces legitimate practical value to those in need? If there was ever symbolism for hypocrisy, it would be these guys. And if there was ever a group of people who tested my nerves, it would be these guys!

Hello everyone! I've been a fan of MLP:FiM for the longest while. I was a part of the community proper, though left around S4 for various reasons. I still watched the show for a little longer after, though completely stopped. I came back last Fall when the movie released (which I quite enjoyed). I decided to come back to the community because, quite frankly, MLP:FiM just isn't as fun without others to enjoy it with. Cheers!