College is a vast majority of things.
College is confusing, fun, stressful, tiring, embarrassing, silly.. you get the point. College is a lot of things. But most importantly, I've found college to be my safe space.
High school is small.
I came from a class of 52. My high school had about 200 kids so my circle was very small. I had a select few to choose from to be friends with. Not that I didn't want to be friends with everyone, but in high school, you find your niche and where you fit in. However in a school that small, sometimes it was hard to feel like I was in the right spot constantly.
With a school that small came a few opinions that dominated the hallways. Duh, we had a dress code. But certain brands were favored over others, certain styles were cooler to wear. Things like that. And things like that got so old to me. I never could express myself the way I truly wanted to due to either what others would think, or how the school would react. Now, praise to the kids who did dress or express themselves the way they wanted without a care in the world. I wish I would have. But even so, I saw the backlash you encountered for being the person you wanted to be, and I'm sorry. I always rooted you on from afar.
The transition was overwhelming.
Coming from a narrow-minded high school to a world of every hairstyle, clothing style, piercings shown, tattoos, and no dress code... I knew I found my element.
I've always been open to however other people want to express themselves as well. Do you embrace your religion? Awesome! You don't? Cool! You're part of the LGTBQ+ community? Hey, I'm proud to tell you I care about you and your feelings and rights as a person! You're a person of color? Welcome! There's honestly nothing stopping me from viewing you as an equal.
And as far as clothes go, while I don't think my style is truly outrageous or wild, I've learned to wear whatI want to wear. I see kids who wear what they want to wear. Whether its pajamas, sweats, a groufit, a dress, stilettos, a full face of makeup at 8 am, crop tops, piercings, tattoos, blue and pink hair, UGGS in September, or even only boxers during a fire drill... I've never seen people look and feel so confident.
College gave me the confidence I needed
I've never felt more empowered to wear the same outfit to my MWF class and then to my T/TH class (sorry, mom). I've never felt more empowered to get the tattoos or piercings I've wanted because people don't look at me any differently for it. College is the most open and accepting place I've ever been to. There's really no such thing as only one style that's accepted. There might be trends, like Birkenstock sandals or Rainbow flip flops, but it's not like if you don't have them you're not cool.
You know what's cool? Knock off brands. You know why? Because every college kid is broke. There's not much that surprises us anymore. A bathrobe at commons? Wouldn't even think twice. Wearing a cape while strutting down the sidewalk? Do you boo.
At college there are so many opportunities to express yourself through clubs and organizations, friend groups, events to attend.. college really caters to everyone's needs.
College is the safe space I needed to fully express myself in a way that I feel necessary.
For that, I will be forever grateful.