Friday Fun: Finding Your Style!

by Jessica Stein

Over the years, mainly throughout grade school and the beginning of high school, I have been searching for who I am. I was always the girl who was unsure of herself, who didn’t know what to wear, how to act, or who to be friends with. Sure, I got along fine, but I knew deep down that who I was trying to be wasn’t really me. Grade school is tough like that, though. Nobody really tells you that you are allowed to be different or that it’s actually really cool and interesting to be unique. I know how hard it is, battling against who you think you should be and taking the time to find out who you are. It wasn’t until I got into high school and I was surrounded by all these new people coming from different places, with different views, and different styles, when I really found mine.

Now, it didn’t happen all at once either, it took a bit of time. Actually, it started out with an insecurity of mine; my hair. My hair has gone through all types of changes and at first, I wasn’t so comfortable with it. It started out thin, wispy, and mostly straight and ended up very curly and kind of frizzy. Dressing up to go somewhere nice was always an ordeal because of the hour or so it took to tame my mane into something presentable. What I began to do was to look for cute, comfortable clothes that I felt good wearing, while still being dressy enough to go out, and have my hair natural along with it. This meant I had to have confidence in myself, what I was wearing, and how I was wearing it as well. I know, it may sound impossible to accomplish all those things, and for a long time, it was.

I wasn’t even comfortable with wearing my natural hair down yet, let alone buying new clothes and finding a style to go with my look. Luckily, I came across a store that had just what I would soon realize I was looking for. Don’t get confused, the clothes didn’t do anything really. Finding clothes that I enjoy wearing boosted my confidence, but what really helped me was learning to love who I am. There was a point where I would look in the mirror and not only see hate towards my appearance but towards myself because I wasn’t being true to me.

I started this journey to find my style mainly to help me embrace all the special things that are unique about me. If you already know and love your style, more power to you. If you don’t, know that you can find it and learn to love yourself in the process. Just don’t give up on yourself, and keep an open mind to what you might discover about yourself!