I’m an eighth grader that dresses in black, listens to My Chemical Romance, and is rather shy most of the time (due to a case of social anxiety disorder). Do I consider myself ‘emo’? Absolutely not. The problem is, everyone else does.

When most people today hear the word ‘emo’, they think of dark clothing, self-injury, suicide, and Hawthorne Heights. They imagine a group of kids that whine in a corner, holding razors to their wrists, and writing suicide-themed poetry as they do. While these types of kids do exist, this has nothing to do with what emo really is! Nothing at all!

See, the word ‘emo’ originally meant ‘emotional hardcore’ – it was a music genre. Bands such as Rites of Springs lead this movement of sorts, playing a brand of hardcore that focused more on emotion than politics. (See more: http://www.fourfa.com/) Now it’s morphed into something entirely different, something that even the media can make lies about. The worst case of this being The Daily Mail, who blamed My Chemical Romance (who are not ‘emo’!), and ‘emo’ for multiple suicides: http://tinyurl.com/mkey39 . Here’s what that music really does to kids: http://www.thankyoumcr.net

The other problem with the misunderstanding is the self-injury thing. As somebody who struggles with chronic depression, and used to cut as a coping mechanism, the idea these things are ‘emo’ is ridiculous. All types of people struggle from mental health issues – kids (I started before age 6), teenagers, young adults, adults, etc – and not one person’s story is the same. I actually refused to get help for years, in fear of being labeled as an ‘emo’. I’ve had multiple friends do the same. This ‘emo’ stereotype is just horribly dangerous.

On a closing note, I have nothing against those who label themselves ‘emo’ – just make sure you read up on what you’re actually saying. Listen to stiff like Rites of Springs, Moss Icon, Indian Summer, Swing Kids, Portraits of Past, Saetia, Union of Uranus, Orchid, Jerome’s Dream, Pg.99, Envy, City of Caterpillar, and Circle Takes The Square – if you like it, then you like emo. (mp3s can be found here: http://www.mesaverde.co.uk/mp3/) If not, you’ve been misinformed.