Before attending college, I couldn’t dress what I want because the school requires us to wear uniform every day. My hair was short and my school uniform was a little loose.I also couldn’t wear any jewelries, not mention to make up my face. According to this week’s reading, the author says “People use appearance to place each other into categories, which aid in the anticipation and interpretation of behavior, and to make decisions about how best to coordinate social activities”(p 1). So at that time, everyone who saw me could know that I’m a student through my appearance. Before college, I needed to dress as requirements and if I violated the rules, I would get punishment. Even though I attended the college and I could get rid of these rules, their impacts still existed. I wore loose clothes for a long time and all of their style were like uniform before. I couldn’t define myself correctly and I didn’t know which kind of wearing was suited for me. At that time, this problem troubled me and I couldn’t be myself. Then after trying some different kinds of wearing and accepted some advice from friends, I began to realize what I need to wear and how to dress myself. I believe everyone has his/her own temperament. According to my own temperament, I can know what kind of clothes I can wear. At ordinary times, I like to wear some dark colored and a little mature clothes. Because dark color can make me fit, also I hope people can notice my maturation from my manner of dress. I’m not a high school student anymore. I’m a college student near graduation, so my dressing had better show my identity properly. Although I’m still a student now, I’m also a person who will step into the real world. When I have some activities need to take, I will adjust my wearing. For example, when I have presentations, I will wear formal suits and make myself more professional. Or when I will have dinner with some important friends for me, I will try to wear bright colored dress which can make me look active. After some years’ changing, I become more confident about my wearing. I believe wearing can represent more than we thought. From one person’s wearing, you will know his/her identity, preference and tastes, so decent dressing is very important.
In my family, both my parents are a little strict persons. They very care about their wearing, so they taught me whatever I wear at home, once I go outside, I must wear properly. They believe this is a kind of respect to other people. I have stayed abroad for some years and I notice that most Americans here dress very casually. Most of people like to wear slippers during summer. I have to admit that I like it. This makes me feel very comfortable and cozy. Then I try to do this at home. Obviously, my parents feel very unsatisfied about this behavior. They cannot bear me wearing slippers to meet people. Although sometimes I still wear slippers during summer, their values for wearing actually have an impact on me. No matter how terrible I look like at home, when I need to meet someone, I will choose suitable clothes and make myself decent. I believe I will never forget that my parents told me that proper dressing is a respect to others.
In my peer community, most of my friends know what kind of wearing is suited for them. In the meantime, they pay more attention to the brand. They believe the brand of clothes can represent their tastes. They will choose some brands whose clothes are high quality and fashionable. There is no doubt the main target of these brands they choose are young people. So when you see them, you will know that they are students. However, I don’t believe that brands of clothes are very important and can even show a person’s taste. For me, wearing properly and caring about brands are totally two different things. At the same time,Buddhism is the main religion and most people believe in Buddha in China. So almost all of my friends have a kind of buddha necklace included me. People in Chia believe that this necklace can protect us from something bad. Therefore, for people who need to go abroad or go traveling, wearing this kind of necklace is very necessary. Before leaving, our parents will get this for us from temple. The necklace also represents their best wishes. From these, we can know that wearing is very important for people. It not only can show people’s identity, it also can demonstrate a person’s religion and values. Therefore, when we communicate with other people, it is necessary for us to pay more attention to our wearings.