Like many words these days, “indie” has become a buzzword.
But to me, “indie” carries a lot of meaning. To me, pure “indie” culture is socially easy-going and friendly. But don’t mistake that for laziness, because indies are passionate people at heart. They get really excited by something — the unrestricted exploration process, discovery, and experience — of some particular field — maybe it’s music, science, social work, technology, fashion, food, or the outdoors. (Though some, perhaps many, may not have found their field yet.)
Indies don’t like to boast about their own accomplishments within their field. Whatever it is they love to do, nothing tops doing it, nothing tops the experience, nothing is better than discovering something new. Sure there may be a playful competition amongst close friends, which helps to stimulate constant progress. But that’s not why they do it.
For indies, true happiness comes from being able to engage in their field — to do what they do.
This pure sense of happiness can’t be faked. When you see someone in this state — someone who lives like this — it just brings a smile to your face. Like kids do; especially when they’re playing.
Indies are easy-going. But at their core, they’re also obsessive. What motivates them is the exploration process and discovery of new knowledge and experience. Stuff they can share with others to progress their field, in order to keep playing in their playground.
Indies are just older kids.