For some reason, people think that always going to class looking like you just rolled out of bed is a good idea — and that's often the most common stereotype I see online about college students. Perhaps it's because my mom stressed the importance of always looking presentable or because I rarely see anyone actually dress like that at CSU, but I literally don't understand how this is a thing.
Nobody is going to go into their place of employment wearing fuzzy pajama pants, a ratty old t-shirt, and flip-flops. So, why would anyone wear that to class?
I mean, college is practice for when you actually have a job in your field of study. You pick up skills that you need for your future career, learn how to handle difficult situations, build rapport with potential future colleagues and experts in your field (i.e. your classmates and professors, respectively), take on new responsibilities, and practice working in unfamiliar situations. All to prepare you for your career.
Why not prepare for your career by actually dressing somewhat professionally? I'm not saying you have to put on a suit or do a full face of makeup or anything like that. What I'm saying is actually get dressed — even if it's just jeans and a decent t-shirt.
For one, that tells everyone, especially your professors, that you actually want to be in class. It says that you actually care enough to go out of your way to make yourself presentable. It just leaves a good impression, which is important if you want to ask your professors for a letter of recommendation or to use them as a reference.
Actually putting some effort into your clothing also helps get you ready for the day in general. It gets you up and moving around in the morning. If you have to get up and get dressed, then it helps wake you up. Meaning, you're probably not going to fall asleep in your 8 a.m. class.
On top of that, it teaches you time management. Depending on how far of a commute you have in order to get to class, you have to get up early and pace yourself so that you get there on time. And that helps you practice for your career because you're probably going to have a uniform or dress code of some sort that takes more than the five minutes you take to brush your teeth, comb your hair, and put on shoes.
And finally, it makes you feel good. Putting on clothes that you like and making yourself look presentable makes you feel more confident and even more comfortable because your showing off your style and your actual clothes are probably cleaner and nicer looking than your pajamas.
Putting even just a little bit of effort into your appearance says a lot of things. Putting no effort into your appearance also says a lot. It says that you're lazy, that you don't care, and even that you have no sense of time management because if you did, you'd get up early enough to actually look presentable.
College isn't a Walmart in rural Ohio. There really isn't any reason to show up to class looking like you just crawled out of bed, even if your class happens to start at eight o'clock in the morning.
Trust me, if you can't get dressed for class no matter what time of day it is, there's no way you're going to survive in your career — especially if you have to get up super early, like at 4 a.m., just to get to work on time. You don't have to dress like a CEO or a politician (unless that's your style; you do you), but putting on an actual pair of pants is really the least you can do.
