I was going through my old computer when I came across a file named "Breaking the Trend." It sounded familiar and sparked my curiosity, so I opened it. To my surprise, it was an essay I had written for a class awhile ago. Expecting it to be a good laugh, I lightly looked over it. But as I read, I realized that it actually has a good point. So I decided to share it with you. My writing may be a bit repetitive at some parts, so I apologize ahead of time haha! Here it is:
I find that teenagers, being a teen myself, often copy each other when it comes to fashion. Now, when I say copying, I don't mean exact copying, although some actually go as far as that. But I mean copying a style, following a popular trend. Whatever's popular, or supposedly "unpopular," that's what teens wear. And by the way, I'm not excluding myself from this because I do find myself lost in following the crowd sometimes, but I'm not grouping myself in either.
Many teens interested in fashion, clothing and beauty are highly influenced by social media, especially in these times when technological advances are rapidly taking off with new phones, tablets, computers and more. We see celebrities wearing a new style of shirt or a new wash of jeans, anything, and that's what teens are going to start wearing. Tumblr comes up a lot, as well as Instagram. All of these picture sharing apps affect what is considered the "next big thing."
Now, as someone highly passionate about fashion, I want to dress uniquely to express myself. I want to find ways to break away from trends and what's so called "popular." But, often times, once something unpopular is worn, that's what becomes popular again and you start looking for something new, never seen before. I want to break the trend. Not just a fashion trend, but the trend of teens being all cookie cutter and stuff. We are not all the same. Yes, we may like similar styles, but I think what it comes down to is self esteem. We dress like those people we want to be like. You see a someone on YouTube who does amazing beauty and fashion videos and she's just so popular and pretty and you just admire her and want to be like her. You start to dress like her because you want to feel like her. You want people to feel the same way about you that you feel about her. I think that's what it's all about in the end, even if you don't consciously know it. And yes, I do it. And I'm not saying it's bad, and I'm not saying it's good, I'm just saying it.
What I want to do, is try to, again, break away from that mindset. I want to dress for me. I want others to dress for themselves. Yes, dress to impress, but keep yourself in mind. Pick clothes that you actually like, not clothes that the hottest celeb just walked out with. You are you, they are them. You will never be them. Yes, you can like their style. Yes, you can have similar outfits. But why are you dressing like that? That's the question. If it's for you, if that's who you really are, if you genuinely love it, and if that expresses who you are, then it's perfect. But if you're just doing it to be a player in the popularity contest, then it's not for the right reason. People don't like fake. Fake people aren't happy. They don't live their life because they set rules for themselves so that they only do what's socially popular and what's going to make them look the best. Real people have the most fun, and they are the happiest because they can be themselves without anything holding them back.
Anyways, my point is, don't dress for them. Don't dress for popularity. Teens, we need to dress to express. Express who we are. Don't try to be like someone that you're not. I know this is hard, I have tons of people who's life I would love to try out but really, your life is your life and it will be forever. Work towards your own dreams and goals. Be unique! Break the trend!!
So what did you think? Obviously I'm not a professional writer, but I actually like how it turned out. I definitely still agree with everything I said. If everyone is the same, nobody is special. Be different! Have a fabulous day!
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