When I tell people I wake up two hours before school to pick out an outfit and get ready, they look at me like I’m mentally unstable. That’s okay with me, because I love my routine, and if people understood why, they might not think I’m crazy anymore.
I feel the constant need to wear something nice and color-coordinated, which is why it takes so much time to get ready in the morning. I honestly can’t remember the last time I wore sweatpants to school, and I can almost feel the eye-rolling due to that statement.
If every teacher showed up to school with knotted hair, wearing sweatpants and an oversized sweatshirt, there is no way students would take those teachers seriously. That also contributes largely to the reason why I try to dress nicely on a daily basis. I want to be taken seriously by the people who have my grades in the palms of their hands.
Believe it or not, it doesn’t actually take the entire two hours to coordinate outfits. Rather than getting up ten minutes before school and risking that caffeinated-zombie look, you’re already awake and properly functioning. Also, the brain will have had a chance to prepare itself for the day ahead. The best part is there’s plenty of time left at the end of this routine to make a Starbucks run before facing the long school day.
Now, I’m sure everyone has heard something about how first impressions are important. As annoying as it sounds, it’s absolutely true. According to a series of experiments conducted by Princeton psychologists Janine Willis and Alexander Todorov, it only takes a tenth of a second to form a first – and lasting – impression of someone.
Take those italicized words in and process them. That means pretty much every time two strangers at KHS see each other – which happens a lot – they judge each other based off appearance and clothing. To be more exact, 73.2 percent of KHS students make conclusions about strangers based on their appearance and the clothes they wear.
To be honest, dressing nice puts me in the best mood ever. I don’t feel half as sleepy or groggy – or even lazy – as I would wearing sweatpants. Let’s face it, we all need more endorphins, especially on a rainy Monday morning after just having watched The Notebook the previous night.
I know I’m not the only one at KHS worried about making good first impressions and being a happier, more color-coordinated person. Dressing nicely to school is not as crazy as it sounds, once there is good reason to do it.
