♥Background♥

Before getting the opportunity to chat with punk artist Rich Stremme, I reflected a bit on my punk background. Growing up, I lived with a culture to fear punks and anybody out of the ordinary. I, being out of the ordinary myself, was also afraid of not conforming to the norms of society. Since the beginning of my freshman year of high school, I realized I was more punk than I thought I was, and instead of fearing the misfits, I befriended them. This relates to the question I asked Stremme— how did you adapt to the stigmas surrounding punk culture?

♥What I Learned♥

Stremme’s response resonated with my experiences, where the general theme was that trying new things and doing what he loves mattered the most to him. With this in mind, I realized that punk rock is a protest. Punk individuals take a stand for what they love and embrace the parts of life that stray from the common, normalized trends that might be quite harmful at times. Punks take this stand especially when others or society pressures them to conform to common ideas in politics, fashion, or casual living. With these points in mind, I firmly believe that openly and happily being the black sheep is the freedom that the punk genre gives us, and it gives life more vibrancy. Punk art has made my life significantly better, and being able to listen in on a professional who actively participated in creating the type of art I love confirmed that this lifestyle is really about being passionate about who you are, and I believe that is the strongest and most peaceful societal protest against conformity.

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