After contemplating how I dress, I’ve realized that I dress much differently at home in Southern California than I do here in Eugene. Obviously it’s most likely because of the weather difference but I believe that it is not just that. At home, I believe that I dress nicer and take more time on my outward appearance than I tend to do here when I’m going to school. One reason I think that this might be is because here at school, I’m more focused on school and work as opposed to going out and impressing others. At home, I have more time for myself and I tend to go out more. However, wherever I am, I believe that I dress pretty modestly compared to other girls my age. Several girls tend to show off their body wearing skimpy clothing and that is just not something that I have chosen to do. I think a main reason for doing this is that from fifth grade to my senior year of high school, I was required to wearing uniforms at my schools. By wearing uniforms and having a strict dress code, it was never tempting to wear very revealing clothing because if anyone had even attempted it, they would have gone straight to detention or they would have been sent home and suspended. Of course, in the beginning of high school, myself along with almost every other girl my age was tempted to go against the rules and try to break the dress code but that completely changed over the years; we learned to accept the uniform rules and not complain. I graduated high school almost four years ago and I feel as if I definitely dress differently than I did before. I believe that I dress more modestly which I feel has much to do with my current job hunt for my career after graduation in a month and a half.
I grew up in a Presbyterian household and although my parents were not extremely strict, I was definitely taught with a set of certain beliefs and values. One that definitely sticks out to me is that people should treat others the way that they want to be treated. I was taught this by my family and by each of the religious schools that I attended. Since I attended Catholic high school, we were required to sit through Catholic Mass every Wednesday, even if we were not Catholic. One of the speeches that I remember most was directed towards the girls of the school that basically was telling us what I mentioned before: the Golden Rule. The priest was pretty much telling us girls that if we wanted to be treated with respect, we had to dress in a respectful manner. He said that if we wanted men to treat us as real people, we should not dress in a sleazy way that would result in men treating us like objects. Although I was not brought up Catholic, this is something that has absolutely stuck with me until this day. This went along with the schools “your body is a temple” lecture, which scared people out of getting tattoos, and to this day, I still do not have a tattoo on my body.
I believe that the core beliefs and values of my peers relate back to my own, which is why I think my friends and I get along so well. Throughout the past four years in college, a lot has changed including how we dress. We dress more modestly because we want to present ourselves to the job market that we are responsible and ready for the real world. Although several of my peers have tattoos, the large majority of my close friends have not made the decision to get a tattoo. Many of them say that it is because their parents would stop paying for their tuition or that they would disown them, but I honestly believe it is because they just simply do not have an image that they want permanently on their bodies for the rest of their life.
Overall, I’m pleased with how I chose to dress myself and I feel that it represents my beliefs and values and who I am as a person. I believe that I make my choices in regards to my dress and body adornment because of the way that I was raised, what I have been taught in school over the years, and the peer community that I choose to associate myself with.