We've all heard the stories of the transition from high school to college; as kids realize what career they want to spend their time and energy on, they really start coming into their own and "find themselves" in a new way. Yeah, that's all sunshine and rainbows, but what the story always leaves out is the fact that "finding yourself" doesn't always equal social acceptance. What about the kids who choose to be different, and choose to give a middle finger to the status quo?
I don't see myself as that extreme, not at all. Sure, I wear all black and use a healthy heaping of black makeup daily (and I can't even begin to tell you how much I've spent on different shades of dark lipstick). I read Stephen King between classes. I'm extremely shy and only speak in my English classes to answer questions. I've been called Morticia Addams, and I reveled in the comparison. I listen to music that has made people leave the room (communal bathrooms aren't the best places to have solo shower jams, I've discovered).
But I absolutely love it.
I've found my own style, and friends that are as diverse with theirs as they come. They accept me for the way I am and love me for it, and I couldn't ask for more. Mine is not a conventional style, sure, but neither am I. My look reflects who I am: a person who isn't afraid to turn a few heads and be reprimanded for being different.
Some people might say that I hide behind the way I dress, but I have to disagree. In fact, I feel more like myself wearing all black and lots of eye makeup more than I ever would in sweatpants, sneakers, or just plain bare-faced. If someone asks why I look like I do, I always respond the same way: "Well, why do you look the way you do?" Simple. A person's style is a representation of themselves, but it shouldn't have to be a death sentence.
Typically, people with darker styles such as mine are portrayed as brooding, harsh, satanic, and overall creepy. Because of this, I try that much harder to make my actual personality known. Who would've thought a teenage goth girl would always smile at the cashier, have an optimistic attitude, and even be a choir singer for her Catholic parish?
When it comes to a specific person's style choices, what you see is not always what you get. You aren't required to understand why they do it, but you shouldn't rush to any assumption either. You know what they say: haters gonna hate. Oof. I have to cleanse my keyboard of that phrase now, don't I?