One of my favorite things about attending the school that I do is the clothes that I feel I’m allowed to wear. I spend a lot of time working on my body, so I enjoy showing off my hard work and progress. I work out for a minimum of 50 minutes a day 5 days a week, run every other day, and stretch and do yoga twice a week. (The running is not included in that 50-minute timeframe, I run two miles every other day which takes me twenty minutes.) I changed from a person who always wore a hoodie to hide their arms and never wore shorts into a person who’s incredibly confident in their looks, and physical capabilities. I began working out at home with my mother almost exactly a year ago and continue to do so. We follow the workouts of one of the most amazing people in the world named Caroline Girvan, who runs a fitness youtube channel. Despite the bad reputation home workouts have for some reason, I’ve found that I can do more reps of any exercise than any of my friends who work out at gyms can. Regardless, “dressing” is the word I took from today’s prompt, so I’ll get back on topic.
I never wore anything other than jeans and hoodies in middle school and elementary. Somewhere during that time I has become incredibly ashamed of my body for several reasons and felt as though I wasn’t allowed to wear any other clothing. When I entered high school things changed, the high school I choose to attend provided me with a completely different environment than the middle/elementary school I’d gone to. I found myself in a school of people who were filled with love and life. People who gave compliments and lifted you up rather than pushed you down. In high school, I finally felt that I could expand my wardrobe and began to do so. I began with Tee-shirts and different types of pants and soon found that I could wear whatever I wanted to, and people were even commenting on how good I looked even on days when I felt I wasn’t looking so hot. Unlike in middle school and elementary where I felt I would be ridiculed for buying new clothes, diversity in clothing was celebrated at my school. One day a girl who I’m friends with came to school in a very nice dress, she looked amazing. It was as if she’d walked out of a magazine, she looked very clean and professional; unlike my middle school where she would’ve been told that the dress “wasn’t her style” or “she was copying someone else.” The students in my class were celebrating her, everybody was taking pictures with her, hugging her, and complimenting her beautiful appearance. Her effort was appreciated. She made an effort to look good, she did, and therefore people noticed and told her. As I advanced through grade levels, my style advanced too. All of a sudden I was comfortable enough to rock tanktops, throw on suspenders, and even wear button-ups. (I only do the two bottom buttons in order to show some chest;) In junior year, I finally began wearing shorts again after years of refusing to put them on. All of a sudden I felt that I could wear anything I liked, and I did. Thanks to the encouragement from my peers at school and the constant love I felt from them, I was finally able to rebuild the self-esteem that had been destroyed during my years in middle school and elementary.
Today, I’m comfortable taking my shirt off in public, and I don’t mind when people see me when I’m not completely dressed. When people ask me if I have abs or ask to see a shirtless pic (those things happen at my school) I show them without a second thought. It wasn’t working out that rebuilt my confidence, but rather the love and support I was constantly provided by my peers at high school that helped me rebuilt my self-esteem. Working out just gave me something I enjoyed showing off. So although some adults look at me disapprovingly when I wear button-ups with barely any buttons done, or white beaters that leave little to the imagination, unless someone in power tells me to cover up I don’t. Instead, I smile at them and say hello.
I work hard to look the way I do and I enjoy sharing it with others. I do show off for attention, and that’s something I admit openly to anyone who asks. I love it when people point out my muscles or ask me to flex and I take absolutely no shame in that. I believe that bodies are a work of art, and I work hard every single day to sculpt my body into the way I want it to look. To me, showing off my body is just like showing off my writing. Just like I enjoy showing off my writing and sharing it, I also enjoy showing off and sharing my body. In my opinion, my body is a work of art.. And I don’t believe that people should have to cover up their bodies especially if they don’t want to. If you’re comfortable with what you’re wearing and what you’re showing, then don’t let anybody stop you!
— March
I never wore anything other than jeans and hoodies in middle school and elementary. Somewhere during that time I has become incredibly ashamed of my body for several reasons and felt as though I wasn’t allowed to wear any other clothing. When I entered high school things changed, the high school I choose to attend provided me with a completely different environment than the middle/elementary school I’d gone to. I found myself in a school of people who were filled with love and life. People who gave compliments and lifted you up rather than pushed you down. In high school, I finally felt that I could expand my wardrobe and began to do so. I began with Tee-shirts and different types of pants and soon found that I could wear whatever I wanted to, and people were even commenting on how good I looked even on days when I felt I wasn’t looking so hot. Unlike in middle school and elementary where I felt I would be ridiculed for buying new clothes, diversity in clothing was celebrated at my school. One day a girl who I’m friends with came to school in a very nice dress, she looked amazing. It was as if she’d walked out of a magazine, she looked very clean and professional; unlike my middle school where she would’ve been told that the dress “wasn’t her style” or “she was copying someone else.” The students in my class were celebrating her, everybody was taking pictures with her, hugging her, and complimenting her beautiful appearance. Her effort was appreciated. She made an effort to look good, she did, and therefore people noticed and told her. As I advanced through grade levels, my style advanced too. All of a sudden I was comfortable enough to rock tanktops, throw on suspenders, and even wear button-ups. (I only do the two bottom buttons in order to show some chest;) In junior year, I finally began wearing shorts again after years of refusing to put them on. All of a sudden I felt that I could wear anything I liked, and I did. Thanks to the encouragement from my peers at school and the constant love I felt from them, I was finally able to rebuild the self-esteem that had been destroyed during my years in middle school and elementary.
Today, I’m comfortable taking my shirt off in public, and I don’t mind when people see me when I’m not completely dressed. When people ask me if I have abs or ask to see a shirtless pic (those things happen at my school) I show them without a second thought. It wasn’t working out that rebuilt my confidence, but rather the love and support I was constantly provided by my peers at high school that helped me rebuilt my self-esteem. Working out just gave me something I enjoyed showing off. So although some adults look at me disapprovingly when I wear button-ups with barely any buttons done, or white beaters that leave little to the imagination, unless someone in power tells me to cover up I don’t. Instead, I smile at them and say hello.
I work hard to look the way I do and I enjoy sharing it with others. I do show off for attention, and that’s something I admit openly to anyone who asks. I love it when people point out my muscles or ask me to flex and I take absolutely no shame in that. I believe that bodies are a work of art, and I work hard every single day to sculpt my body into the way I want it to look. To me, showing off my body is just like showing off my writing. Just like I enjoy showing off my writing and sharing it, I also enjoy showing off and sharing my body. In my opinion, my body is a work of art.. And I don’t believe that people should have to cover up their bodies especially if they don’t want to. If you’re comfortable with what you’re wearing and what you’re showing, then don’t let anybody stop you!
— March
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