Categories
Gentleman's Philosophy

Why I Consider Myself “Vintage”

Afternoon gents, it’s Max from The Young Gentleman’s Guide here! So, this article is going to be a little different from my other ones, and that’s because I wanted to talk a little bit my personal beliefs and values and how that led me to consider myself “vintage”. For starters, a lot of my ideas for this article come from this one by my dear friend A Vintage Athenian. She and I both believe that being vintage has a lot more to do than just wearing a dress or suit from the 1950s or listening to jazz music. Believe it or not, actually being vintage goes a lot deeper than that, and that’s what I want talk about. Because even though I love things like rockabilly, swing music, and 1950s fashion, it’s the very values and beliefs that I try to teach on this blog that lead me to consider myself vinage. If you aren’t catching my drift yet, keep reading, and hopefully I can make things a but more clear.

The very first thing that Elena lists in her article is that part of being vintage involves proper manners, which may sound weird at first, but in the end, it absolutely makes sense. One of the biggest reasons I started this blog was so I could teach young, up-and-coming gentlemen proper manners, something that is essentially dying in today’s society. And that’s why Elena and I both consider good manners as vintage. Sure, not everyone was like Adam from Blast From the Past, but back in the day, people in general were much more polite. Children were taught respect their parents and especially their elders. Siblings loved and supported each other, friendships were legitimate, and romantic relationships were stronger than they could ever hope to be today, and that actually leads to the biggest reason why I consider myself to be vintage.

I know I might sound like a broken record here, but I was raised with and strongly advocate for traditional family values, and anyone who’s read this past article may see where I’m going like this. By “traditional family values”, I mean children growing up and being raised by two biological parents with those parents living under the same roof, essentially how I was raised. I consider that such a blessing because today, that’s so rare. And that’s the biggest reason I consider myself vintage. If you look back as early as even the 1970s, the familial unit was so much stronger and had much more of an emphasis in society, even more so in the 1960s and 50s, the period which people like Elena and myself consider actually vintage. Back in that time, husbands supported their wives, wives supported their husbands, and both parents supported their children, and as a result, they were all much happier and even more successful. Men were true men, women were true women, and children were true children. And if you’re looking specifically at young gentlemen, those values can help them in spades. Being a brother, a husband, or a father can be some the biggest tests of commitment in any man’s life, and a man who devotes his life to his family can make that himself and his family stronger in every sense of the word.

So there it is. I’m sorry if I wasn’t entirely clear here, but in summary, I consider myself vintage because I try to teach young, up-and-coming gentlemen as well as myself things like proper manners and traditional family values, on top of having a love of things like jazz, rockabilly, and patriotism. Like Elena says, actually being vintage goes a lot further than just liking old music or wearing old-school clothes. It’s honestly very disheartening that these things should even be considered vintage, because in reality, they should still be around today since they just make life better for everyone. But with all of this in mind, if you’d like to at least get a start on adopting that vintage aura, please be sure to check out my friends over at The Vintage Gentlemen! Their store offers classy and rustic items and accessories, like bowties, pocket knives, drinking flasks, watches, and smoking pipes. I got one of their products as a gift for my dad for Father’s Day, and I’ve used a couple of their products, and they’re awesome! So if you’d like to get a start at at least looking vintage, be sure to check them out! In any case, I hope you enjoyed reading today’s article. Please be sure to share the post, follow the blog, follow The Young Gentleman’s Guide on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, and support us on Patreon. And on that note, this is Max from The Young Gentleman’s Guide, and I’ll see you next time!

Categories
Gentlemanly Figureheads

Reinhardt Wilhelm’s Guide to Manliness

Afternoon gents, it’s Max from The Young Gentleman’s Guide here! So, in case you’ve missed the first few articles about this subject, links here and here, I’ve started a little mini-series on the blog about how characters from movies and TV shows can teach young men to be true gentlemen, and now I’ve decided to open that up to video game characters, since in case you couldn’t tell, I love video games. So for the first character to receive this treatment, we’re talking about the German crusader himself, Reinhardt Wilhelm from the Blizzard game Overwatch! The embodiment of chivalry, honor, and friendship, I’m almost surprised I didn’t write about this guy before, but here we are. Here are a few things that Reinhardt can teach about being a true gentleman!

Practically anyone who knows me knows that there are very few traits I value more than loyalty, and Reinhardt displays this in spades. One of the most famous events in Overwatch history is the Battle for Eichenwalde, in legions of Omnics invaded the German castle of Eichenwalde. A young Reinhardt was among those who led the defense of the castle, but was severely overconfident, leaving behind his squadron to demolish the Omnics by himself; taking to heart the “die with glory” aspect of the Crusaders’ oath, “Live with honor, die with glory.” After losing his eye and being rescued by his commander, Balderich von Adler, Reinhardt took some of Adler’s dying words to heart before joining the Overwatch strike team: “The team needs you. Be their shield.” Although the Battle for Eichenwalde was ultimately a victory for the Crusaders, Adler lost his life at the hands of the Omnics, and Reinhart took his dying words to heart. Reinhardt now dedicates his life to protecting those who need his protection, and would lay down his life for his friends. One of his most famous lines in the game is “Don’t worry my friends. I will be your shield!” Even after being discouraged to rejoin after the Overwatch Recall was initiated, Reinhardt told his squire “I have been called, I must answer. Always.” His dedication to his friends, Overwatch, and the overall protection of humanity, is absolutely something to admire about Reinhardt.

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Crusader online!

Something else to admire about Reinardt is that he has a strict moral code of honor, justice, and courage that he follows almost to a fault. After Overwatch was disbanded he still continued to travel the world with his squire Brigitte Lindholm, helping protect any towns or cities riddled with crime or injustice. He can’t stand to see people in trouble and will gladly fight for anyone who needs his help. Not only that, but he also cannot stand cowardice. If he ever has to engage in a fight, he wants a good clean fight, head-to-head, mano-a-mano. That’s why in-game when he spots a sniper, Reinhardt will sometimes say “Sniper! Fight toe-to-toe, you coward!” One of the best things about having this attitude is that he just stays so positive. This strict moral code and chivalrous attitude allows him to bring out the best in his allies as well as himself. And if you’re asking me, that’s one of the most important things a gentleman can do.

I really don’t know what else to say. Reinhardt is truly an honorable knight and a perfect example of what a gentleman should be. Tough, trustworthy, courageous, optimistic, loyal, fair,  and friendly. If that combination of traits doesn’t make a true gentleman, I don’t know what does. In any case, I hope you enjoyed reading today’s article. Please be sure to share the post, follow the blog, follow The Young Gentleman’s Guide on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, and support us on Patreon. And on that note, this is Max from The Young Gentleman’s Guide, and I’ll see you next time!

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Categories
Gentleman's Philosophy

Gratitude: A Gentleman’s Greatest Quality

Afternoon gents, it’s Max from The Young Gentleman’s Guide here! First of all, my sincerest apologies for not putting anything out for the past few weeks. I was caught in the darkest pits of finals at San Francisco State, but now that school’s out, I should be back to posting regularly for you wonderful readers! With all of that out of that out of the way, let’s get to today’s topic.

For starters, why is gratitude so important? Well, in short, it just makes us happier. Gratitude leads to satisfaction, and satisfaction leads to happiness. Here’s an example of what I mean.

Two men working a decently-paying office job get their paychecks at the end of the week. After getting their checks, one man says to himself “I earned this, this is a testament to a job well done. Maybe if I work harder, I can make a bit more and maybe get a promotion.” However, the other man says “This is all I made? With the amount I’ve done for this company, I clearly deserve more than this.” What’s the difference between the two? The first man was grateful for what he had earned, which made him satisfied with the work he had done, and that will, in turn, make him happier not just at work, but in the rest of his life if he continues that attitude. The second man obviously felt entitled for more money than he earned, which only angered him, and that’s the biggest reason why gratitude is so important. If you take the time to appreciate what you have and what you earn, you’ll get more satisfaction out of them and therefore will be more happy as a result. Whereas an ungrateful will only demand more and be unsatisfied with what they already have. Unfortunately, with today’s increasingly materialistic attitude and increased feelings of victimhood, people in general are leaning more towards the latter.

It’s impossible to deny, people in general (at least in the U.S.) just have an increased idea that they’re victims, and multiple different activist groups will are trying to convince the mass public that they’re victims of patriarchy, white privilege, or any of that nonsense. And it’s very clear to see where this narrative comes from, and that’s ingratitude. Now I am in no way saying that every single person in any of these activist groups acts this way, it’s just that they are the most vocal minority and the ones who get the most attention. In any case, the people who spew this narrative simply refuse to or just simply can’t see how lucky they actually are, and as a result, they are unsatisfied with everything they’ve already been given (it’s practically become a joke that SJWs will never be satisfied). And I’m just going to stop here, since this is becoming much more political than I was planning it to be. In short, just keep in mind this mantra: gratitude leads to satisfaction, satisfaction leads to happiness. Ingratitude leads to entitlement, entitlement leads to anger.

So there it is. Gratitude, in my eyes, is the greatest key to happiness in anyone’s life. To any of you gents reading, ust take a little bit a time to acknowledge what you have and how lucky you are to have such things. If you do that, then I guarantee you that you will be much happier down the road. In any case, I hope you enjoyed reading today’s article. Please be sure to share it, follow the blog, follow The Young Gentleman’s Guide on Facebook and Instagram, and support us on Patreon. Also, keep an eye out for a collaboration between me and my dear friend Elena, the owner of A Vintage Athenian. She’ll be interviewing me for an article on her blog that I’ll reblog here once it’s up. And on that note, this is Max from The Young Gentleman’s Guide, and I’ll see you next time!

Categories
Love/Relationships

Can a Man and a Woman be Friends?

Afternoon gents, it’s Max from the Young Gentleman’s Guide here! Now we’ve all heard of it and I’m willing to bet more than a handful of you gents reading have been there before, I’m talking about the dreaded “friend zone.” For those of you who don’t know what that is, I think Ryan Reynolds in Just Friends puts it best: “When a girl decides that you’re her friend, you’re no longer a dating option. You become this complete non-sexual entity in her eyes, like her brother, or a lamp.” Essentially, the “friend zone” is a situation where one side wants to be involved romantically, while the other wants to just stay friends, usually with the guy wanting to take things further. While it is more common for this to happen to men, I’m sure it happens among women too, it just isn’t as frequent and/or talked about. In any case, this leads to an interesting question among those who are in that dreaded situation, can a man and a woman just be friends? So that’s what we’re setting out to answer today.

If the message of the movie When Harry Met Sally is to be believed, then no, it’s pretty much impossible for a man and a woman to be just friends. However, I feel like this movie takes a very simplistic look at the relationship between a man and a woman (which is in no way meant to talk ill about the movie, I love it a lot, and highly recommend you check it out). They make seem as if a man and woman will automatically think about each other romantically if they start to connect on a personal level. While this may be true for that certain person you happen to find attractive, you can still connect with that man or woman without thinking about them romantically or sexually. The most important thing here is communication. It obviously shouldn’t be right after meeting each other, but you should both let each other know early on what your intentions are before getting too involved. If you aren’t effective in stating what you want out of the relationship, this can obviously create a huge problem. In order to best explain this, I’ll have to tell you my “friend zone” story.

When I was in seventh grade, I was not very well-liked by about half the girls in my school’s student body for reasons that aren’t really relevant to this story. In any case, there was one girl, we’ll call her M, who was one of the few girls who actually stood up for me and felt some sort of sympathy for what I was going through. Because of this, she and I quickly formed a connection. And I’m not joking when I say I actually fell in love with her practically at first sight, but at the time, I didn’t know what that actually felt like. Despite not knowing how I felt, we continued to bond in friendship into high school, and I even ended up taking her to her first high school dance! She also invited me to her 16th birthday party, where there was in fact dancing, and M’s parents actually wanted me to share the first dance with her. It was during that first dance that I finally realized how I felt about her, but I didn’t have the nerve to tell her. We had been friends for so long, but I had no idea if she saw me in the same way I saw her, and I didn’t want to risk jeopardizing our friendship over that. So for the next few years, I was just stuck. I constantly was wanting more out of our relationship, but she just wanted to stay friends, and it was horrible. After years of keeping those emotions bottled up, I finally wrote a letter to her when we were both in college that spilled the beans. After finally telling her how I felt in that letter, that’s when the reality of the situation hit me. I finally came to the realization that she just didn’t see me in that way, and after talking to her a little bit more about that, I eventually came to accept it. Now M and I are now just friends and still talk every now and then.

So if there’s anything you can take from that, it should be that you should be clear about your intentions when you enter into a friendship with a woman, especially if you want to take things further. Though to be fair, I think my situation was a bit more complicated since I didn’t even know how I felt at the time. In spite of all of this, however, something else I haven’t mentioned is that you can connect with a woman without being attracted to them sexually. Maybe you and this woman have things in common, but there may just be that thing that keeps you from being attracted to them in that way. That said, I am in no way the arbiter of what people are attracted to, that’s entirely up to you. Just listen to your gut and make the smartest decision. Also, in the vain of all of this, I think it’d be smart to answer a similar question: can you be friends with an ex? The short answer is yes you can! As long as your breakup wasn’t toxic and didn’t leave any negative air between the two of you, then by all means, continue to connect and be friends. I was in a relationship with someone for almost a year in high school, but after a while, we just started to drift apart and we decided to end it, but our breakup wasn’t anything toxic and was perfectly amicable. And to this day, we’re still good friends, and she’s in fact now married with a kid on the way!

So what exactly am I saying here? In a nutshell, yes, a man and a woman can just be friends, as long as both the people involved in the friendship are clear with each other about each other’s intentions. There may just be those people who may not be sexually attracted to you, and that’s perfectly fine. Developing connections and friendships is what helps humans survive, and it’s perfectly possible to develop those connections with the opposite sex without being attracted to them sexually. In any case, I hope you enjoyed reading today’s article. Please be sure to share it, follow the blog, follow The Young Gentleman’s Guide on Facebook and Instagram, and support us on Patreon. And on that note, this is Max from The Young Gentleman’s Guide, and I’ll see you next time!

Categories
Gentleman's Philosophy

What Can a Gentleman Like and Not Like?

Afternoon gents, it’s Max from the Young Gentleman’s Guide here! So today, I’m going to talk about part of what truly makes a man a man. Let me ask you this: what makes a man a man? If you were to ask a hundred different people, you’d likely get a hundred different answers. If you were to ask me, I would say that a true man is assertive, confident, a strong leader, and is able to stand up for himself. On top of that, a true man is someone who’s agreeable, helpful, trustworthy, and respectful to those who respect him. With this in mind, I’d like to bring up something that many will say is tied to masculinity, what a man can or can’t like or find enjoyment in. Also,  before we get started, I just want to wish a very happy birthday to my dear friend The Vintage Athenian! She has been one of my biggest supporters for a long time, and I feel like this is the least I could so for her. So if you like, go ahead and hop over to her Instagram and wish her a happy, happy birthday, and tell her The Young Gentleman’s Guide sent you! Also, feel free to follow her if you want!

Continue reading “What Can a Gentleman Like and Not Like?”