Beginning your college career seems like the scariest thing ever when you are first starting. Sometimes you know many people at your new school, sometimes just a few, and sometimes you know no one. We learn how to build new relationships, how to have self-discipline with regard to academics, and for most of us, we have to learn how to live on our own.
Throughout all of these changes, we also have complete freedom (mostly, depending on the college you attend) to dress the way we want. This is different for many who may have attended private or charter schools where uniforms were required, or even those who attended public schools in small, conservative towns where they felt they could not express themselves with their style for fear of being ridiculed. Basically, we have the freedom to explore different styles and express our personalities by doing so.
When I first started at Temple University, I was so excited to expand my fashion styles and wear clothes I could not wear to high school. Seeing everyone on campus expressing themselves through their styles was also very encouraging to me (btw, Temple University was named the second Most Fashionable School in the country in 2023). It was so refreshing to be in an environment where people didn’t care what you wore because everyone had bigger things to worry about than dissecting everyone’s outfits every single day.
Although this new time is very exciting, it can also be overwhelming– with this newfound freedom, also comes more decision-making. It can take time and trial and error to find your own personal style that expresses who you are. This expression is different for every single person, too. Just because someone is wearing sweatpants does not mean that they have a bland personality- some people do not express themselves with clothing, but rather with other things. But it can be hard to find the style that fits you and how you want to be presented to other people. It is also hard because we are now in an environment with tons of people from all different places, as they are all trying to find their style as well. Having all of these different inspirations walking around us all of the time can also make it feel more important to dress a certain way.
At the end of the day, college is a time made for us to find ourselves— and this includes finding our style. Everyone’s style is different, and everyone will understand style in a different way, it means a lot for some people, and not much of anything to others. We are all just trying to get through this time of transition, and that is the one thing we all have in common.