I’ve never really been the kind of girl who cares excessively about the way she looks. In middle school, while my fellow peers were experimenting with eyeshadow and lipstick, I was busy burying my nose in a book. When high school finally came around, rather than trying to contour and buy expensive cosmetics, I was combating acne and trying to get into a good college. Despite wanting to be thin, blonde and pretty enough to attract a boyfriend, that simply was not the fate meant for me.
My focus has always been on the more important things. Getting to class on time, juggling extracurricular activities and getting the right amount of sleep has been my top priority throughout my academic career. I’ve always seemed to have my life together, unlike my fellow students. Because of this, I get set apart from a lot of my peers. But this year, I decided to make a major change in my way of life: I decided to try to put more effort into my personal appearance.
Most of my sophomore year of college was spent in a sweatshirt and sweatpants. My hair was always pulled back, and I felt incredibly unmotivated to try and look halfway decent. This is something I must say I’m not proud of. How could I have gotten so lazy I couldn’t be bothered to put real pants and a shirt on? The last thing I ever wanted was to be remembered as the misshapen blob who was barely noticeable. I vowed at the end of that year that I would make sure my next year was spent looking more like an actual human being.
Now that junior year has finally started, I’ve found that for once in my life I like the way I look. Granted, I don’t wear tons of makeup. I’ve never believed caked-on clown face looked attractive on anyone. But a little bit of mascara and lipgloss have made me look much more put together, in addition to some new clothes and shoes. Once the cold weather comes around I can wear my hair down a bit more. Plus I can finally break out my sweaters. Nothing is better than a cozy sweater on a cold fall day! I’ve been doing my natural face more for the first few weeks though as it still is warm enough out to cause me to sweat.
The biggest takeaway I have from my transformation is the fact that I like myself more and feel prettier than ever. It seems much easier to balance both my looks and my school work. I won’t lie, there are some days where I feel too tired to plan a cohesive outfit and revert back to sweatpants and a tee shirt. But the point is that I’m no longer dressing like this everyday. I feel more confident walking across campus. Hopefully I’ll keep up this pattern of dressing nicely throughout the semester. It feels good to know I’m living my best version of myself.