Who cares what everybody else thinks?

If there is anything that I've always been jealous of about foreign countries is that in most Western cultures people just don't give a damn about what everybody else does. Nobody obsesses about how everybody should dress, act, eat, sleep, scratch their ass and so on, because they either don't find it important, since it doesn't really affect them, or they respect each other's right to be themselves and recognize that it's not their place to tell somebody how to live their life. You can be riding down the street wearing nothing but roller blades and a speedo and people will still carry on about their day like nothing happened. Elaborate hair styles, silly t-shirts, slogans written across your back, tattoos, piercings - you can feel free to use your look to express yourself, show people what you like or don't like and just feel comfortable. Your image is your business and nobody else's. And sure there will always be people who won't like it regardless of where you are, but that won't and shouldn't stop you, because who cares what they think? But alas, as always, that's not the case here in sunny Azerbaijan.

90% percent of people wear black and white and have the same haircut.
They might as well be clones.

For as long as I can remember, every time I've wanted to, for example, wear a video game themed hoodie, shave my head just to see how I'd look (the answer to that, as I later found out, is "terrible") or get myself the same bag that Chewbacca had in Star Wars, I've always been told the same thing: "What would people say?". I've never met these "people" but I am pretty sure we wouldn't get along if I did. Who the hell are they? Is there some kind of an office somewhere where they just sit around all day, making up ridiculous prejudices and judging others based on how they look and act? And even if they do, who the hell gives a shit? I've got an awesome Captain America t-shirt for my birthday and still haven't worn it once, simply because everybody in my family keeps telling me that it looks childish and that "people" would talk. The way you look shouldn't be aimed at pleasing total strangers, it should be an extension of yourself, designed, first of all, to make you feel comfortable. It's much more fun to have a personal style than to follow current fashion trends. And even if you do follow them, it should be because you actually like them and not because that's what everybody else is wearing right now. But instead we are forced to avoid certain things simply because other, absolutely irrelevant to our lives, people have deemed them inappropriate.

Go on, tell me how "inappropriate" she looks

This doesn't just go for the way you look. Everything you do has to be tailored to fit the opinion of these mysterious "people". And most of the time this opinion is based around the most ridiculous gender stereotypes imaginable. If you are a guy then you must, as is expected of you, act tough, dress sharp, like sports, know about cars, attend parties and etc. God forbid you wear a green Minecraft beanie or mention that you like to build stuff out of Legos. That kind of stuff immediately brands you as weird in the eyes of "normal" people. Here's an example: when I was a kid, this girl I had a crush on taught me how to knit. I thought it'd be boring and only did it to spend some time with her, but as soon as I got the hang of it, I loved it! It was so much fun and had such a soothing effect that later I asked my mom to buy me some needles and yarn of my own, so that I could do it at home. She was surprised of course, all other kids wanted model cars and footballs, but I still convinced her to buy them. For the next couple of days all I did was knit. I would always look forward to the part of my day when I'd finally come home from school, have dinner, do my homework and be free to get comfortable on the couch and knit away. I wasn't exactly good at it, I could only do the easy stuff, but I still enjoyed it immensely. That is until my dad told to stop being a girl and that "people" might talk. And I understand why he did it, no father wants somebody teasing their child. I knew that knitting wasn't something boys my age do, it's just that unlike my father I didn't care how it made me look, all that mattered to me was that I enjoyed myself. But, of course, I stopped doing it nonetheless, since I didn't want my dad to keep worrying about how it made me look. To this day, I still miss it and often think about stopping at "Little Needle" on my way home from work to buy a bunch of different yarns and needles. But I am not gonna do that, since that would mean putting up with a bunch of bullshit from some strangers I don't even care about.

What I imagine these "people" look like

It's really sad actually. This eliminates any type of individuality or self expression. Even when it comes to giving someone a Christmas or a birthday present, people still take more into account what "people" might think of the present as opposed to what the recipient might think of it, so everybody ends up with just the generic stuff. Now, I know that it's the thought that counts and I am not very materialistic so I am grateful for every present I receive, but it'd still be a lot nicer to get something that actually showed how much this person knows about me. For example, everybody knows that I am crazy about video games, but I have never received anything even remotely related to them as a present. Because an "appropriate" gift for a guy my age (according to the ever so wise "people") is clothes and cologne (or money, if you don't have even that much imagination), and that's what I've been getting for the last god knows how many years. Me, I always try to get creative when it comes to gift giving: my brother is a big Fight Club fan, so last year for his birthday I got him the soap they make in the movie, carved out of pink stone. He loved it so much he took it back to US with him and I was so proud of myself that I couldn't help but tell people all about it. The only response I received from pretty much everyone was "You couldn't you have gotten you brother something nicer than a rock?".

"Hey man, I know you said that you wanted that Deathstar Lamp, but
I decided that this is what you really want"

So long story short if you ever visit Azerbaijan, wear generic colors, try your best to blend in with the crowd and never mention anything that makes you happy. Otherwise, "people" might sentence you to be burned at the stake.