#side note/tip for life: dont be so self-deprecating on yourself

[safety-pin-punk]

(TW swearing just in case) Hi! I don't know if you care but I'll ask anyway:

I'm just starting to learn about what punk is and it sounds like an awesome community/scene. It's confusing though, as a lot of the things I've seen disagree about what punk is. I know (think?) the whole point of being punk is resisting authority and generally being your own person. I don't know how to do that even though I want to.

That probably makes me automatically not punk. Don't get me wrong, I believe in anti-authority, I just have no clue how to do any of that while still in school. I fucking hate being intimidated by authority constantly but I get panicked when I might get in trouble. My own mind is forcing me to be a fucking doormat. Can I get a bit of advice?

(Also, sorry for oversharing, you don't have to respond if I'm just being annoying)

What punk is can be VERY confusing if you are just starting to venture into the punk scene and youre learning from the internet. So don't worry, you aren't the only one whose ever struggled to figure that out. Honestly, the community as a whole cant agree on one single definition of what makes a punk. In this post, I've outlined the three separate aspects of punk. You might find it helpful :)

Getting into punk can certainly feel intimidating. The image people usually think of are leather clad troublemakers, but not all punks fit that image. Some punks work at the library and fight for community programs. Some punks go to protests all the time. Some punks are just struggling to finish their degree so they can survive in life (me a few years ago). My point is, not all punks look and act the same, there are pleanty of ways to be a punk.

That said, there are also different sub-categories of punks, such as crust punk, and solar punk.

Okay but moving onto the confidence thing, it takes practice. My suggestion to people is to start off with whats called 'little anarchies'. Take a pen that someone left. Give some food to someone who needs it. Research a 'punk' topic that interests you. Show support for a cause, even if its just wearing a pin. Eventually, when you're ready, you can work up to bigger 'anarchies' such as organizing a group of people for a project, volunteering at a soup kitchen, starting a community garden/library, putting up flyers for that cause you care about. And eventually, once you use your 'anarchy' muscles enough, you'll be able to do the BIG 'anarchies' when you need to. Like going to protests or even simply being able to defend yourself and your beliefs.