Basic Vs. Extra

 “Desire, burning desire, is basic to achieving anything beyond the ordinary.”

---Joseph B. Wirthlin

Remember when “beyond the ordinary” was exciting? This has not been an ordinary year. We flew past ordinary back in April, but as it turns out that’s not always a positive accomplishment. Nothing about 2020 has been basic, but in talking about it with some friends, I found that the word “basic” has a different meaning with younger people, and the opposite of it, is “extra.” These are two very distinct conditions and it was eye opening to see what they mean. 

In a nutshell, I learned that basic is a term often applied to people and the clothing and accessories they have. It’s a look, sort of, and somewhat of an attitude as well. It’s also mostly applied to young women, usually by other young women. Yes, mean girl catty drama is still around, in some places. It might have changed since my high school days, but the cool table is still very much a thing, and there are those who would say no basic girl is ever going to sit at it. That’s rubbish of course, but it was fascinating to hear what the concepts of basic and extra involve for some of us.

Basic can mean that someone has a rather generic look. Jeans, sheepskin short boots, long sweaters, and a coffee card that’s always loaded with enough cash to get a pumpkin spiced latte. In the summer it’s jean shorts, sheepskin boots (Ya I don’t get it either), a hair scrunchy and an iced acai tea. The opposite of basic is called being “extra.” Normally, you’d think extra is good, right? It’s about being above and beyond the baseline, so who doesn’t want to shoot for that? Who wouldn’t want to be more than basic? As it turns out, being extra has a downside as well. 

Extra has the connotation of being over the top. Too much, too loud, too big, too…something. Remember a few years ago when wearing an arm load of jingling charm bracelets was a thing? From what I learned, it’s not a good look anymore. Wearing more than one or two bracelets makes you extra. Brand names are an indicator as well. We all know what the trendy brands are in clothing; the right winter parka with the little patch, the designer purse, the plain, white, flat sneakers that must always stay perfectly white. Those are hot items, but if you have all of them on at once? You risk being extra. Therein lies the problem. No one seems to want to be basic, and yet, taken too far, trends can put you into the dreaded extra category. What about in between though? What’s in the middle? Is there a magic zone of just enough extra to keep from being basic?

I have no idea. Which is a trend in itself, especially this year. At my age, and in this time, basic and extra are far too complex to worry about. Not just in a fashion sense; that ship has sailed, if my shirt is clean and my jeans fit, it’s a look that works. Honestly, that’s how it should be at any age, right? Why are these two ends of the spectrum so important? We’re slowly limping to the end of a year that has been way too extra. Too much drama, too many arguments, too much heartache, and not nearly enough compassion, laughter, and understanding. Before this year, we all thought that going to a movie on a Friday night, or having a cookout with friends were all just regular events that were part of our ordinary, basic lives. 

And then it all went away. 

As we come back from that (in a two steps forward one step back kind of way) we can start to see that having a drink with a friend, or seeing a movie in a theater would be the best kind of extra ever. That a pair of winter boots, or the right kind of beverage, are not the indicators some think they are, but are rather just boots and a coffee. What is extra now is getting to see family and friends around a holiday table. Extra is a meal brought to your tableside, not the curbside. Scoring a mega roll package of the good toilet paper is extra. It’s a whole other debate now between being extra or basic. If there is one part of the pandemic that’s a positive, it’s that we’ve all (ok, most of us) come to appreciate some of what we previously thought was just, well, kind of ho-hum. Who cares what kind of boots or jeans you have on, if you get to sit with a friend over meal, you win. We’re almost at the end of this very extra year, but in the meantime, the basics are what I’m betting will carry me through to whatever comes next. Happy almost New Year. 

(YouTube video of the 2012 Ball Drop, it was a good year :) )