My style has changed a lot over the years.  Now that I am in college, I am trying to dress in a more sophisticated manner because I will soon be in the business world.  In high school, I was more concerned with what I wore because I felt it was necessary to fit in.  Having good style was a key element to being grouped with “the popular kids.”  Looking back, I realize how caught up I was with changing myself, style included, so that my friends and boys would like me.  Now that I am in college, I am less concerned with changing my appearance for other people and more concerned with how I feel about myself.  I go to class dressed for comfort, usually in sweatpants or workout attire.  I think that because I grew up in Los Angeles, I felt the pressure to be more stylish and wear more expensive clothing.  Living in Eugene has made me more down to earth, which has definitely impacting the way I dress.

Currently, I do not have any tattoos or out of the ordinary piercings.  Having tattoos is fairly frowned upon in the Jewish religion.  Although I am not extremely religious, this factor has stopped me from getting tattoos.  My parents were also very against me getting a tattoo both because of the religious aspect as well as the unprofessionalism.  Four years ago, my ten year old cousin passed away from brain cancer.  After her passing, my mom got Alexa’s name tattooed on her wrist.  Even though it is against our tradition, my mom felt it was appropriate in this situation.  Ever since, I have wanted to get the same tattoo.  I have not yet, but I plan to in the future.  I think this proves how close my family is and how special each member is.

My family has instilled many values that have stuck with me throughout my life and that impact my dress.  Both of my parents are very hard workers and they have made sure to raise me in that manner.  They have also made sure that I am a respectful and confident person.  I try and dress that way both to please my parents as well as keep a good reputation.  People judge others by their appearance on a daily basis and it is important to be aware of that.  I would not want to be dressed in a provocative manner because on any given day, I could meet someone who could potentially have a big influence in my life; for example a future spouse or business associate.

I surround myself with friends that have similar values as me.  I have joined a sorority, which has helped me to associate myself with people like myself.  In addition, our sorority has helped to instill its own values in us.  My favorite line in our symphony is “to be womanly always.”  This is my favorite line because it is applicable to any aspect of life.  I believe that it definitely applies to that way in which one dresses.  Each individual could choose to dress in a “trashy” way but that is not womanly.  When we go to chapter, we are always in on our best behavior and wearing conservative, professional attire.  In other settings, my friends and I are usually dressed in comfortable clothes that allow us to be comfy in class and not distracted.  Comfort and class are definitely two values that influence the clothing that I choose.  I also try to never be too over the top.  I really value simplicity, so I never wear too much make-up and when I do wear make-up, it is usually natural tones.  I think that most of my friends share this value with me because no one is ever dressed in outrageous clothes or covered in make-up. I think my community in Los Angeles is more interested in fashion than the Eugene community.  Just in the range of 15-20 minutes of my house, we have four major malls that are always busy.  Since I live in a town pretty close to the beach, many people wear dresses and cute skirts.  I noticed that those types of clothes are extremely popular and people want to look cute and fit in, so that is what they wear. I think my community’s values are similar to mine. If I evaluate my group of friends and what I think their values are, I would assume family would be their number one as well. Everyone is extremely family oriented in my community and it allows people to keep their values in check.

While sitting at Starbucks located on campus, I observed a man that was sitting by himself.  He was around 40-50 years old and was drinking his coffee.  I assume that he was a teacher at the University because he was dressed in a nice blazer and dark jeans.  He also had his computer open with a large stack of papers on his table.  He had gray hair and wore glasses while he appeared to be grading papers or exams.  I felt that he looked very distinguished and dedicated to his work because he was very focused on his task.  Although I am not absolutely certain he was a teacher, I would say it is a very educated guess.  From his profession and attire I believe that he is smart, middle class, and in good health.  I believe that in my assumptions, I have stereotyped him as the average teacher that I have had in classes my entire life.  Teachers need to behave in a certain way on campus and in the classroom even if it does not directly correlate to their lives outside of teaching.

Over the weekend I went shopping at Costco.  Here, I observed a young couple who seemed to be shopping for game day.  They were in their mid to late 20s, possibly even newlyweds.  I came to the assumption that they were newlyweds because they were young, very affectionate, and communicated really well.  They were wearing duck gear and buying beer, chips, and other tailgating necessities.  I appreciated how well they were getting along and they appeared to have a healthy relationship thus far.  It is easy to assume that because they are a young couple, their lives are easy and they get along well a majority of the time.  My parents got married young and they always talk about how in love and how easy life was before having children, so I think that their experience has made me draw the conclusion that this couple is in their “honeymoon phase” as well.

Lastly, I observed a fellow student in my hip-hop lecture.  He was a Caucasian college student, around 20 years old.  He was wearing a Portland Trailblazer jersey and a dark grey beanie. I believe he even had his headphones in underneath his beanie.  He sat toward the back corner of the classroom and looked incredibly disinterested in what the teacher was saying.  I could appreciate his Blazers jersey considering that it is their opening game tonight.  I assume that he is a life-long fan and most likely from Portland, like many students at the University of Oregon.  I took his disinterest to mean he is most likely not the best student, he was tired, or he was bored.  He took no notes and didn’t talk to any of his neighbors.  I could never go to class in this fashion because I have always been dedicated to my studies.