My everyday routine starts from taking a shower. After the shower I try to get dressed as nice as I can, depends on how much of time is allowed in the morning. I didn’t care or didn’t know how to dress up because I was required to wear uniforms all throughout my middle school and high school in Korea. I didn’t have to buy extra clothes and could save time in the morning, avoiding deciding what to wear that day. But uniforms took away freedom to express ourselves.

I look back now, I really did not mind wearing uniforms at all. It lifted the burden of the stress that I had to look nice somewhat. But now, I have to spend quite a lot of money on online shopping to buy nice clothes, shoes, etc. Because I care how other people see me, as I sadly admit that I sometimes cannot help not to judge others from their untidy appearances. Wearing clean, nice, and neat clothes everyday reflects how I would like to be seen from others. (I am not the most tidy person in the world when it comes to organizing and cleaning my room, however) I have my ears pierced, one on each side. But I don’t have any other facial or genital piercings. I don’t have any tatoos, either. It also reflects how concerned I am with what kind of impression I can make with my appearances to others.

In adolescence I got my ears pierced without asking for my parents’ permission. It was during my teenage rebellion phase. Having my ears pierced and starting to wear make ups were a means for me to express my emotions and frustrations on whatever I was having as a teenager.  I come from Asian background. And my parents are very conservative when it comes to body piercings or tattoos.  Luckily, I was not scolded too harsh for getting my ears pierced. But I remember when my older brother had his ears pierced without telling my parents. It was his first “rebellious” action in his life, as a celebration of getting admitted to a medical school. He showed up with earrings, and my parents almost disowned him that day. Girls may have their ears pierced (only one on each side), but no guys should have their ears pierced, according to my parents. I remember my mom saying to my brother that he would not become a good doctor if he keeps the earrings. That is how conservative my parents are. I cannot even imagine how they would react to tattoos. As a result, having conservative parents affected my values and beliefs on how to dress up.

In this society, there is no dress code. Body adornment is welcomed, as well. At least in Eugene, it is not too rare to see dreadlocks around. Tattoo parlors are pretty popular too. Having liberal mindsets,  welcoming tattoos, and non-existing dress code portraits how Eugene/Springfield is like. Because Eugene is a college town, a lot of young adults wearing nice clothes can be seen a lot too. Because there are varieties of styles of people living here in Eugene,  I think there is less judgement made on people’s appearance, compared to California. I believe people respect others’ taste on clothes and body decorations very well in Eugene, as they are used to present and express individual’s uniqueness in an art form.

As I’m sitting at a cafe, I see this person on the other side of the room. He is a male, looking like about 55-60 years old. He has grown a thick, long white beard. He seems to have a tattoo on his right arm that I can see very little through the sleeves. He appears to not have any facial piercings. He is wearing a very old black jacket with button down shirt underneath. He is wearing short cargo pants. The shoes he is wearing are very much worn with brownish dirt all over them. From his facial structure, the beard, and the body structure I could tell this person was a male. He is a Caucasian. I think he is very old and unhealthy looking, by looking at his eyes and the way he moves. He would go outside to smoke several times. He seemed very unstable, because he was shaking while he was chain smoking. I think he would belong to a poor community that he cannot afford jeans or long pants in this cold weather. And personally, his beard looked like they were never trimmed. I am not sure if he intended to grow his beard for a styling purpose. I think he did not care about how he looked in public at all. I don’t want to be mean or anything, but I wish he could have saved money for his cigarettes to buy a pair of long pants.

I also see a person waiting in a line at a cafe to order coffee. It’s a Caucasian female, and I can tell by how she dressed up. She is wearing a red plaid button down shirt with a tank top underneath. She is wearing a pair of leggings with red Hunter rain boots. From that, I could tell that she follows the fashion trends, at least around here. She does not seem to have any facial piercings or tattoos. She is carrying a North Face backpack, so I think she is a UO student. Also She owns a Louis Vuitton wallet. Her hair is very tidy and her nails are very neatly done. The fact that she could afford the high end items makes me assume that she must come from a well off family background.

Now I’m observing a girl who has a septum piercing. She is an Asian, tall, and skinny. She has very dark and thick  eyebrows. I think she is a student, because she is carrying a backpack which looks pretty full with books and other items. It is interesting how I noticed her from her septum piercing. I think it is because it is quite rare to see septum piercings compared to having ears pierced.  I assume she would know how unique the piercing is making her look from others. I think it was very brave of her to get a septum piercing, based on her ethnicity. I come from Asian background so I know how conservative the culture is, with body piercings like that. And I have to admit that I also thought it was rebellious of her to get the septum piercing. I try very hard not to judge people by their appearances. But the thought I had about her being “different than others” was not avoided. Not only it makes me think how rebellious, courageous, and bold she might be, but also it makes me think of her to be artistic, unique, and creative.