The Weird Goth Chick is Going Back to School

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 After high school, I decided to take a well‑deserved break from my formal educational pursuits. I was a fairly quiet, introverted kid, and the years that followed became less about academics and more about becoming myself. I worked hard on coming out of my shell. I leaned into my truth. I embraced every inch of my exquisite weirdness. That journey led me straight into studying Wicca and fully committing to a goth aesthetic. In the mid‑90s, I didn’t know any Black goths, so I was, quite literally, an anomaly. 

I tried two different colleges. Neither felt like home. Eventually, I enrolled in a business school and chose Digital Media Communications as my major because I’d been online since 1996 and was deeply in love with the chaotic novelty of the internet. I was 24 years old in 2000 and several years older than most of my classmates...and the difference felt massive. The gap wasn’t just age; it was worldview, life experience, and energy.

In public speaking class, our first assignment was a classic icebreaker speech: introduce yourself, share a lesson you’ve learned, and explain how you ended up at the school. I had absolutely no interest in bonding with these people or offering them a sincere slice of my life. So I chose chaos.

On speech day, I arrived in full gothic regalia: spiked leather collar, black lipstick, the whole aesthetic. I stood up and solemnly explained that I was a Wiccan, and early in my studies I had performed a ritual from the Necronomicon, and accidentally summoned a demon. Because my protective circle wasn’t strong enough, the ritual went wrong. I was possessed and institutionalized for almost a year. And when I was finally released, I decided to enroll in business school.

The lesson? Don’t mess with things you’re not ready for.

I delivered it completely straight. No wink. No smile. No signal that it was a joke. Then I sat down quietly in my seat. The room was completely silent. The looks on their faces - including the professor’s - were absolutely priceless. Pure horror. Confusion. Existential crisis. Internally I was elated. My other speeches that semester were equally unsettling. Needless to say, I did not make many friends.

Eventually, I told the professor I had made the entire story up. I’m still not convinced he believed me. But I did get an A in the class.


#backtoschool #oldschoolgoth #storytelling #publicspeaking #blackgoth #weirdo

Comments

  1. Auset PopeFebruary 7, 2026 at 9:22 PM

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  2. Auset PopeFebruary 7, 2026 at 9:23 PM

    Hello Laura,

    I see myself through your story. I am a big introvert, I love staying in and away from things and people that disrupt my peace.

    Although have been a student a CMU for 3 years, I have disliked a majority of my time here. Similar to you, it continues to feel less and less like home every year despite my efforts to go out explore and join organizations. I feel stuck and I wish I could move on with my life outside of here, embrace my inner self, and just be me, like you. I'm glad you did because you only get one life and it's best to use your free will to make everything right for you.

    I loved your message, "Don't mess with things you're not ready for". That's a lesson that I have learned coming here, and I will follow it from now on but also live my life.

    Thank you for sharing,
    Auset

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