Category: Unit 05

While reflecting on how I dress and customize myself I realize that one of the main beliefs and values that is supported and expressed by my dress and body adornment is that it is important to be comfortable and happy in your own skin.  I believe that how you dress and customize yourself says something about who you are, and I think it is important to customize yourself how you like instead of how you think others want you to.  I think that today it has become very common for women to do their hair, makeup, and wear a stylish outfit every day in order to fit in.  I believe that there are times when it is appropriate to wear makeup and get dressed up, but on a regular day I think that my dress and body adornment expresses my belief that it is not always necessary make yourself up and make yourself look like someone else.  I value the way that I look naturally and I do not see the need to change how I look to make myself look like every other girl.  I make these choices to dress like this because this is what makes me comfortable and being comfortable makes me happy, which is something I value very much.  I do not think that this has always been the case.  I think when I was a young teenager in middle and high school I used to wear more makeup and dress in what other people thought was “cool”.  When I was younger I used to value fitting in more than dressing in a way that made me comfortable, but over the years I’ve realized that customizing yourself to fit in really does not matter and being happy in your own skin is a lot more important.

I think that my family has always valued being happy and believed it is important to be happy with who you truly are.  My parents were always very supportive of whatever my siblings and I believed in and never forced us to dress or customize ourselves in a certain way.  I think that my family has always found it important to express yourself how you want.  This was communicated through my family by my mother allowing us to dress how we want.  When we were kids we were allowed to experiment with different styles of clothing and body customization in order to find a style that we are most comfortable with.  We able to color our hair different colors, wear different kinds of clothing, and customize our bodies with body piercings.  By doing this we were able to discover our own personal values and beliefs and how we want to represent ourselves in a way that makes us happy.

I think that a core value of my peer community is the relationships that we have with other people.  I think many people my age find it very important to have a close knit group of friends that they spend time with and can trust when they need them.  I think that this is expressed through dress and body adornment because people with similar styles and clothes tend to be friends with one another.  People will choose the way they want to dress or customize their body based on their certain beliefs and values, and I think that they often become friends with people who express the same beliefs and values.  I am not trying to say that people only build strong relationships with one another based on what another person wears, but I do think that relationships with one another at this point in our lives are very important and can in a way be expressed through body adornment.  I also think that people our age often want to attract people that they are attracted to in a romantic way and often express this by dressing a certain way.  For example a girl or a guy may wear a nice smelling perfume or cologne to attract someone, or maybe wear a nice outfit.  Another core value of my peer community is happiness.  I think many people believe that it is very important to be happy with life no matter what you are doing.  I think that this can be expressed through dress and body adornment by the colors that we use.  If someone is wearing brighter colors I think it represents a happier person, where as if someone is wearing darker colors like black and grey they may not be as happy.  I think that people often dress in different colors depending on their mood.

The first person that I observed was a young lady.  I think she looks to be about in her early twenties.  She has dirty blond hair that goes to her shoulders.  She is wearing a black sweat shirt that zips up in the front and a pair of shorts, and has red painted finger nails and makeup on her face.  From what she is wearing and how she looks I am assuming that she is female.  She was walking with friends laughing, so I also assume that she is a happier person.  Because she is wearing shorts, I believe that one of her values is not keeping her skin covered up.  Her skin is also very light, so I am assuming that she is has an American cultural background. By looking at her red painted manicure and the makeup she is wearing, I think that she values having a nice appearance.  When I assumed that she values looking nice because of her makeup and nail polish, I think that this says something about my values.  I think this shows that I think makeup and accessories help make a person look nice.

The second person I observed has short hair, tattoos, and piercings.  They are wearing baggy shorts and a short sleeve bright blue shirt.  I believe that this individual is male.  He has light skin and his tattoos have writing in English, so I am also assuming that he has an American cultural background.  I think that their tattoos and piercings demonstrate the belief that people should be free to do whatever they wish with their bodies and valuing self-expression is important.  I am assuming this man is in his mid-twenties based on how he is dressed.  I also feel like this man is emotionally healthy because of the bright colors he is wearing.  These assumptions say that I believe that bright colors represent happiness and positive emotions.  These assumptions also say that I value letting people be expressive of what they believe by what they wear or how they modify their bodies.

The third person that I observed was someone that I am assuming is a male.  He is tall, has nicely groomed hair, looks very in shape, and is wearing a very nice looking suit with a tie.  He looks very serious, and almost unhappy.  Because this man is wearing a suit that looks expensive, I am assuming that he probably has a good job and makes a good amount of money.  I am also assuming that he is probably in his mid-forties.  I also feel like he is probably very healthy since he looks very in-shape physically.  I think that his clothes demonstrate that he values his appearance.  I think that his dress also demonstrates the belief that working hard is important.  These assumptions show that I believe that working hard can lead to a successful future with a good job.  But these assumptions also show that I do not believe that success leads to happiness, because this man looks unhappy.