Reader, I wasn’t always very fashionable. In fact, I grew up into a high-schooler that was quite the opposite:
You may have had inklings of this through reading my posts (and to those of you who know me, this will come as no surprise), but I am a bonafide nerd. As in, I have a Master’s degree in Biology, and a Bachelor’s in Biochemistry. Solid. Gold. Nerdom.
In Junior High and High School, I was incredibly focused on my studies. I love (and I do mean love) water chemistry, especially when it revolves around aquariums and oceans, and I was more than happy to wear baggy flare legged jeans, ridiculous logo t-shirts, and red converse with the best of them. I didn’t give very much thought at all to what I wore.
Then, one day, while sitting in a chemistry class at the local Junior College during my Senior Year, it hit me. I had characteristically gotten to class early, and was settled into my seat listening to the chatter before we got started. Then our teacher walked into the room, and the class erupted into a whir of criticism. Her hair looked like it had been bleached too strongly, and was frizzy and disheveled. Her pale-blue button up was buttoned crookedly, leaving an awkward gap on her belly where the empty buttonhole bulged outwards and mismatched tails hanging over the waistband of her flare-legged khakis. She looked a mess, and no one took her seriously because of it, even though she was brilliant. I decided then and there that would never be me. People would take me seriously, admire the woman I was because I would show my tailored, elegant, intelligent self in what I wore. I would not allow my clothes to be a barrier to people hearing what I had to say. Instead, my clothing would support who I was, and open doors to speak.
And, I have to admit, it’s kind of fun to see how shocked people are when they find out I’m a scientist, because scientists simply don’t dress fashionably!
It took me a few adjusting years at the beginning of college, but by the time I entered my early-20s, I had blossomed, and my mid-to-late 20’s were glorious, and my 30's? They're the best yet:
So, Reader, did I shock you? When you did you realize that fashion was something that mattered to you?
