I think bras are ridiculous.I know what's next: you're going to try to fit me into a stereotype. You're going to write me off as a hippie, or an in-your-face feminist. I am neither of those things. I'm just one of millions of women who hate bras.

What I am, though, is a 22-year-old college student with a DD chest that thinks bras are the world's most irritating, expensive, irrational, uncomfortable, unnecessary, (yes, I could go on for days) invention on the face of the earth. They hurt. They cause back problems. They irritate skin. They're hot. And a good one costs about $50. $50 on an item that (almost) no one but you is going to see. Not only is it expensive, but after a long day of wearing a bra, I'll often have knots in my back and have to pop an Ibuprofen to ease the pain in my shoulders. Seems pretty ridiculous, right?

It gets worse. When you really put your boobs into perspective, hiding them with layers of padding and underwire seems pretty unnecessary. Not wearing a bra or having the shape of your nipples show is seen as unprofessional, or to some people, even dirty. Breasts have been sexualized throughout time, but why?

Sure, they're different from men's, but why isn't it weird if a man's nipples show through his shirt? Why is it that a man's nipple is the norm, while a woman needs to be hidden? I'm not even speaking about freeing the nipple. I just want the freedom to be braless and cold in a room without getting stared at like I have a third arm growing out of my breasts.

This past year or so I've really started to go braless more often. This semester, I went to class for the first time ever without a bra, and honestly, it felt great. At first, I felt a little uncomfortable and was nervous that everyone noticed, but slowly I came to the realization that no one really gave a shit. I got home and felt accomplished, but after thinking deeper realized that that's pretty stupid. I felt accomplished because no one called me out on being comfortable.

I have, to be honest, though, I don't always get such positive (and by positive I mean nonexistent) responses to going braless. I recently went to a late night fast food restaurant to pick up takeout. It was midnight and it had been a long night of studying. I was in a t-shirt and sweats, and there was a man at the counter blatantly staring at my braless boobs. At first, I ignored it, but became increasingly uncomfortable. I eventually asked him if he needed something from me and he shook his head, mumbled under his breath, and walked away. He continued to stare at my chest from across the restaurant, all the way until I received my food.

I want to live in a society where I don't feel uncomfortable going braless. Is it necessary for all women everywhere to be forced to wear something they may not want just because society tells us we should? I'm not so sure.

I'm not here to preach that all women should go and burn all of their bras. Bras can be helpful to some women in terms of support. Running at the gym or going down stairs can result in a smack in the face without them. But I think it's foolish that going braless is considered taboo in such a socially advanced society. It should be the woman's choice - not everyone else's.

They're our boobs. Let us decide what we wear on them underneath our clothes.