IMO: Express yourself with fashion

Today I got up at 6:30 a.m. to get ready for school. I really didn't know what I wanted to wear, so I just put all the things I'd like to wear together. I put on my black skinny-leg jeans, a pink shirt and a blue jean half-jacket. Next I put on my jewelry: a gold necklace, gold bracelets and pink and blue earrings. I didn't think it would look right, but it turned out to be a unique outfit.

As I looked in the mirror, I realized I hadn't paid attention to my hair. I started to, but I decided today wasn't about matching. It was about expressing me. I found a flower clip with a yellow center. It had blue, yellow, red and green flowers printed all over it. I put the clip in and stood in front of the mirror to examine what a unique outfit I'd put on.

At that moment, I realized something. I had always been color-coordinated, and I always wondered why famous people like Beyonce or Rihanna would dress in a way where the clothes were cute but never matched. I understood that this is an expression of yourself.

At school a teacher asked us our thoughts on wearing uniforms to school, and I totally disagreed. To wear a uniform would be to take away someone's individuality, which is important because it's what makes you different. It's what makes you you.

I received compliments on my hair clip and unmatching outfit all day. I came to realize it wasn't my outfit that was unique. It was how I expressed my own personality through my clothes and my hair clip. Yes, matching colors are cute and coordinated, but when it comes to expressing myself, it's deeper than matching colors. A sad person is more likely to wear dark colors and a happy, bright person will wear a lot of colors to bring attention to his or her happiness.

So express yourself in every way you can, so people know you for you. Because when you dress like someone else, you're expressing someone else.

Aleshia Warner is a student at the Cape Girardeau Alternative Education Center. If you are a student in Southeast Missouri, send us your opinion on life, the universe and school things at charris@semissourian.com.