Let me be the first to admit that on more than one occasion, I have been guilty of throwing on just about any clean T-shirt and heading off to class. For me, as well as for a lot of girls on campus, it’s so much easier to wear a frat tank and call it a day as opposed to actually putting thought into what to wear. This past week I did the unthinkable and decided to dress up for class. I know what most of you guys are thinking — “Why bother?” The truth is that aside from my first day of class ever, I have been pretty much bumming it since I arrived at UF. Even though I felt out of place and uncomfortable at first, nothing compares to the positive outcome I’ve experienced once I finished out the week. Here are all of the ways in which dressing up to class impacted my life.
My days became more productive.
I found that on days that I wore actual clothing as opposed to gym wear, I became surprisingly productive. My afternoon routine usually consists of a nap in between classes, but trading in my yoga pants for jeans made me want to skip the nap and instead get some actual work done. This change surprisingly pushed my entire week into high gear, and I found myself completing assignments on time as opposed to scrambling at the last minute. My change in pace got the ball rolling and inspired me to knock things off my to-do list as soon as possible. I have honestly never seen my apartment as clean as it was during this week.
I felt confident.
Although at first I might have felt uncomfortable and like I was drawing too much attention to myself, this feeling quickly vanished. Looking put together and presentable in front of my peers and professors gave me a boost of confidence that I didn’t think was possible. More often than not, I have a shy demeanor and am not one to raise my hand or speak on a daily basis in my classes. Dressing up to class, however, made this anxiety disappear and I found myself taking more of an active role in discussions, unafraid of what people might think of my appearance.
I made friends.
As silly as this may sound, this is one of the best reasons to dress up to class. Let’s face it — making a friend in lecture halls is not an easy feat. Most of us can go entire semesters without befriending a single student in the room. However, it is always more than helpful to have someone you can swap notes with or form a study group with, but it’s not easy to establish such a friendship. Dressing up to class did just that for me. All it took was for one girl to comment on my Steve Madden boots for me to make a friend. It was seriously as easy as that. Not only did I make a friend, but it also brightened my entire day.
Although I can’t say I loved every second of it, as nothing can ever compare to the comfort of yoga pants, putting a little effort into your appearance each day can make a huge impact in your life. Dressing up to class doesn’t have to be as tedious of a task as we’ve made it out to be. The change could be as small as swapping out your frat tank for a cute sweater, but its effects could be widespread in boosting your confidence and adding that extra pep to your step.
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