Being a Hippie

One summer in 2019, I met this Australia man in a hostel. I was there to meet my friend, Ro from other county who came for working holiday in my town. The hostel located at a little town,at east coast of Taiwan and was famous for surfing event, with greatest beach and weather to surf. Even though I grew up here, I knew nothing about surfing.

My friend Ro was interested in surfing, therefore we went to the beach with other guests of the hostel. Matt was one of them. He looked like in his thirties. He was tall and medium build man with short curly hair and warm smile. He was from Melbourne and was taking a vacation between jobs. He was amiable and enlighten. After he saw us surfed poorly. He went help immediately and patiently. It was really nice of him.

We had good chats all that day, Matt asked me about my job. I said I was in between just like him. He said,"So, you just hang out with friends and being hippie?" At the time, I wasn't sure whether that's a compliment or not.

In my memory, hippies look like those who dress casually with headbands and wear long hair and beard. They embrace liberty and nature. Most of them reject the established culture and advocate extreme liberalism in politics and lifestyle.

Maybe that's just stigma and stereotype. Don't get me wrong. I believe every lifestyle, such as hippie culture, has something to learn from. Every time I learn a new concept, I will always be humble and endeavor to comprehend as much as I can. You don't have to agree it 100 %. Again, it's not all or nothing. You can always incorporate new ideas which feels right and suit for you to apply to your life.

In this case, I take that Matt describing me as a free spirit and loving life which I am.