Bohemian

Bohemian. Bo-hei-me-an.

Not only is it an epic word, it is also in the title of a Queen song! (Bohemian Rhapsody, in case you didn't know, but you should've!). Yes, this word is a great word and it's in the English language. Well, like every other word in English, it's been derived from another language, making the word sound more 'exotic' (and cool!). French to be exact. The word appeared in the English language in the 1800's, but first appeared in France, where people used the word to refer to roving Romani people, calling them "Bohemians" as they were believed to have arrived all the way from Bohemia, Czech Republic. Wait, doesn't that technically make the word Czech??? (There is a point to all of this, hang in there).

Apparently, the word Bohemian is not just used towards people who come from Bohemia anymore, it focuses more on the type of life you choose to lead as opposed to where you come from (and I use the word 'choose' extremely loosely at this point). According to Wikipedia (ikr, too cool to look on any other website ¬.¬), 'Bohemianism' is "the practice of an unconventional lifestyle". Now, when I read that, I thought to myself, hey, my life isn't exactly conventional - I mean, I left school and college with qualifications which is pretty conventional (and compulsory), but I haven't gone to uni, and I went straight into a full time job (which I LOVE as I'm currently working as a musician. In Spain. Pretty unconventional eh?). Does that make me bohemian? Maybe I am. In addition to this, the word is also apparently used to "describe the non-traditional lifestyles of marginalised artists, writers, journalists, MUSICIANS and actors". But that would also make every pop star, rock star, actor, (ect.) Bohemian, as they don't live 'normal' lives.

Alright, so if I just nutshell the last paragraph, anybody who is a journalist, musician, actor, ect, or lives a so called 'unconventional' lifestyle is catagorised with this word? Right. Okay. Anyone who has an artistic or academic skill in any shape or form, is conforming to 'bohemianism'. It sounds like a religion, but at the end of the day, it's technically just a theory.

The word basically catagorises unconventional people, and I am one of them (apparently). There's actually a word for the sort of life I lead! 18 years and I didn't even know. Just sort of, boggled my mind a bit. However, I'm not so sure that people CHOOSE to be bohemian. They just slowly crawl into it without realising. But what do I know! Before today, All I knew was that it was a Queen song, so you may be better off just ignoring me (which means you've just wasted your time reading this post - you're welcome).

Geez, all this derived from me listening to 'Bohemian Rhapsody' and wondering what Bohemian actually meant!

Catch you later!