As you all may know, college life is pretty typical. You wake up at what seems like the crack of dawn (in reality, it’s around 9 am…), drag your feet to the bathroom to brush your teeth, head to the closet to slip on whatever your hands fall on first (we’ll talk about this later…), grab a fruit or a cereal bar for breakfast, and you’re out the door to endure another day of ongoing instructional banter from your professors. While I fall into the common niche of the lazy college student, I have made it my mission to at least enjoy my morning prep while I gear for the day’s sure-to-be migraines and stressful assignments.
Photo Courtesy of smashingmagazine.com
My routine is slightly similar, but I take a little more time at the closet picking out my clothes for the day. I also spend an absurd amount of time on my laptop, surfing the likes of style.com and the terribly addicting bloglovin’ (you can follow my blog there as well!) while munching on some pancakes, but that’s a completely different story.
Now, I know that many people reading this (especially the macho guys) might contemplate the reasons why one should care about fashion, or just might think to themselves, “that seems pointless and like a complete waste of time,” but I must tell you that thinking about the way that you look for the school day not only wakes you up faster without you noticing it (you’ve got to use your head…), but it also guarantees a perfect head-to-toe ensemble for the school day. In a way, you’re killing two birds with one stone… fashionably. Again, you might be thinking, “but why would I care about having a perfect look for the school day? It’s just school!” But why shouldn’t you want to look your best for school? I understand that this topic takes us back to our pre-school years when our parents dressed us up in our best and urged us to impress the teachers and fellow classmates. Actually, now that I think about it, I can’t believe that they made us do that because we didn’t even have the mental capacity to know what was going on! But even though I am saying that now, some odd 19 years later, you should remember that timeless “dress-up” lesson, taking those extra 5-10 minutes in the morning to decide on an outfit that reflects your true personal style will indeed have a wonderful impact on your life.
Soon enough, the stress from the books will be gone because of your care for the looks (pardon the coincidental rhyme). There’s no need to suddenly live a life of vanity, but there is nothing wrong with caring about the way you look. Especially in college, when class demands so highly of you and fashion seems like a wonderful but intimidating outlet through which to relieve your stress. In fact, think of fashion as a complicated calculus assignment- you don’t really want to care much for it but you know that if you do and take some time to let it in your life, you will feel great and accomplished in the end. I don’t mean to sound like a shrink, but going through the process of geek to chic can be an exhilarating one.
So, next time you wake up for another day of college toils, freeze once you cross your closet, open the door, and let your imagination run wild. If not, you can always opt for the stacks of books piled into your backpack. But where’s the fun in that?
~Ricardo, The Style Inquisitor
Ricardo Hernandez is a Venezuelan fashion writer living in Houston, Texas. He is an NSCS member currently attending Lone Star College CyFair. This fall he will be attending the University of Texas at Austin as a Journalism major. Ricardo is a freelance journalist and fashion blogger pursuing a career as a writer and potential editor for fashion magazines both in the US and in international markets. His fashion blog, The Style Inquisitor, has been recognized by Teen Vogue. Follow Ricardo on Twitter at @styleinquisitor.