#OOTD

As many know, I graduated from Holy Cross and Our Lady of Good Counsel. I was in the Catholic school system for 13 years. Throughout those years, one thing I did not have to worry about was what to wear. Thankfully we had uniforms that kept everyone consistent and cut out the stress of wearing the latest fashions from my life. I only had to really tear my hair out when we had jeans days in high school.

But now, I am in university. I had no uniform (though my dad would joke and say that I could wear my kilt if I wanted to). There was no uniformity. You could wear whatever you wanted.

This made me excited (shopping!) but also nervous. On the second day of school (my first day off, and what used to be my first day of high school), I woke up at 8:30, rifling through my closet. I was panicking because I could not find my kilt, until I realized that I was no longer in high school anymore.

My observations as I went from class to class, from one hallway to the next, is that there is a great array of what people wear to school. The pleasant realization? There were many people dressed like myself! 

The very first day of school brought heavy, heavy rain. Unfortunately, fashion had to be sacrificed for practicality and I had to ditch all the plans and outfits that I had dreamed about wearing for my first day. Instead of skirts, I had to resort to jeans. Forget the cute tops, I was rocking a hoodie all day.

Today's weather was a lot better, but I still kept the jeans.

A few questions and realizations after these two days:

1) In a lecture hall (especially in one with nearly 200 people in it), people really cannot see what you are wearing. Especially when you are sitting down for the entire lecture and short (like me).

2) Did I really care that much about what I wore during high school?

3) Do I still care about what I wear?

4) The uniform of university is as such - jean, some kind of shirt, and a sweater of some kind. The sweater, of course, is optional, depending on the weather.

5) How long do some girls spend trying to figure out what to wear?

6) One of these days I will wear sweats or something. One of these days.

I think that I will always care, to some extent, about how I look. They say that what you wear reflects on your character and can help to lift your mood. Though I will never be like those girls that wear 2 inch heels to class, I suppose I could stand dressing up a bit from time to time.

The point is, in the end, school is a place to learn. In retrospect, I think spent a lot of sleepless nights creating and recreating outfits for high school jeans days that would impress other people. I never really dressed for myself, and I would find myself in items that I felt uncomfortable in.

Clothing, like many other things, is a form of expression. I am beginning to learn now that it should never rule your personality - it should compliment it. Let your personality shine through the words you say, the actions you do, and your smile.

So shop for things that compliment you instead of just covering you (though covering you is a good idea too)! Be confident in who you are and never underestimate the power of a simple 'hello' or friendly smile, and keep spilling ink while you do. I hope everyone's school year is starting off well!

Throwback to the times when I wore my outfit of the year - my uniform. Maybe it will make an appearance at Halloween... #throwbackthursday

x R