The “I had it before it was cool” movement is a beautiful thing. Maybe it’s something that’s been around forever – actually, it almost certainly has, but it’s still something that never ceases to amaze me.
The unbridled pride that comes out when trying to explain how you were a fan of something or knew about it before other people knew about it. You see it with new artists, you see it with products, you see it with movies, just about anything.
When that next big artist hits pop radio stations and you start telling people that you knew them before they were big or maybe even that you went to a “small intimate concert” where they were only the opening band.
It’s like there’s pride just in being the first to know about something. Continuing with the artist example, when that artist has 6 albums and has been making music for 15 years, then it becomes “I really liked their original stuff, but the new stuff is okay too.”
The sad part is how many of these kinds of situations I have been a part of. Where people are just talking about something that they’ve done and my brain goes “make them feel like their accomplishment is nothing compared to how amazing your accomplishment is.”
Most recently I had this thought because of a ridiculous thought I was having related to my Hydro Flask. I was thinking about how everyone has Hydro flasks now. They’ve taken off a ton and now it seems to be a true hipster you have to have one. I was thinking about how in my friend group I was the first one to have one. All these people who’ve had a Hydro Flask for a year or two are statistically not as cool as me because I had a Hydro Flask 5 years ago. The “I had it before it was cool” mindset shining through.
How obsessed are we with ourselves? It’s truly crazy. What a narcissistic generation of humans who care so much about being the best that we give up norma social pride levels to go all out on impressing a group of people.