I returned home this week, and although I was absolutely ecstatic to see my family and go back to my own house, I feel like they weren’t entirely ready for the freedom that college had given me. I had decided to experiment with different styles of self-expression during my time on campus, and that followed me home. My family watched as I painted my nails the colors of my pride flags, supportive when I wanted to chop off even more of my hair and were a little surprised when I came downstairs in leather, black lipstick and eyeliner because I had a dream where I was the drummer in an all-girl punk rock band and I wanted to try out that style. Although this may be very different from how I used to express myself, I’m glad that I’ve been given the opportunity to try new things, an opportunity that was made possible by the freedom that college life gave me.
This is not a new concept to me. My two best friends and I agree that college is a place to try new things and reinvent ourselves; the second they were on their own they both started dyeing their hair every color they could think of, which is something they could never do at home. And in my opinion, they look badass and beautiful, not only because they always were but because they’re finally expressing themselves how they want. The look in their eyes when they show me their new color or show me the subtle ways they’re expressing their pride in their identities warms my heart, and I’m happy because they’re happy. They have big plans to go further, to slowly work their way towards the versions of themselves they always wished they could show, and I’ll be with them during that process, every step of the way. I started to express myself in different ways too, such as covering a black denim jacket with patches and pins depicting different things I like, painting my nails, identifying with different groups and learning to speak out for myself and making my desires and feelings known. Being able to try new things made college more fun; I had a whole new audience to try different things in front of. It just made it all the more fun to try new things in front of a familiar audience, even if it did require a little more explanation.
One of my favorite things about meeting other people is learning how they express themselves. Some are subtle, some are obvious, some are somewhere in between. Piercings, stickers, dyed hair, pins, patches, tattoos, music choice, clothes; almost everything that you decorate or surround yourself with shows the world a bit of who you are, and I’ve always found that to be heartwarming, as well as a challenge. I want to show the world who I am and what I like, and I find freedom and happiness in that. It can be so validating to have someone ask you about yourself or your interests because of something they noticed about you. So I challenge you to express yourself in some way, if you want. You might be surprised at how nice it can feel to be known.