Hollister Research Paper

As a teenager, growing up tends to be a struggle for us. Most girls would say that fitting in is a huge deal. Nine times out of ten, finding that one outfit is difficult when you have all these rules. Dress code at school has been a battle between who can get away with it the most. An unknown author once said, “Self-confidence is the best outfit, rock it and own it.” This quote hit home for me in multiple ways. For starters, teenage girls are having trouble trying to be confident and when we have so many restrictions it is hard to feel comfortable in our own skin. With all these restrictions we feel as if we can’t express ourselves. On the other hand, the guys get away with almost everything when it comes to the dress code. I feel as

Adolescence is about being yourself. Some people can’t determine wether or not it is better to fit in, or stand out. In “Lord of the Flies”, Piggy was being picked on and told Ralph that he was “the only boy in school that had asthma,” (Goulding). In “Lord of the Flies”, most of the kids on the island picked on Piggy. This is very similar to real life situations. In high school, or even grade school, there is normally one child, who is exceptionally different from the rest, who gets picked on. But, how do they determine if it is better to stand out or fit in? Either way, it’s kind of a lose, lose. If you stand out, you are more prone to be picked on or judged, but if you fit in, you are not being yourself and you are conforming to everyone else’s exceptions. We as individuals, shouldn’t be worried to be ourself, we should be able to be whoever we want.

Within the walls of Nobles there are many social norms that seem to be implied, and are things that students are expected to follow. Following these norms has become a way of life for students here, and if you decide you aren’t going to follow, you get left behind. Nobles breeds competition, and just like in the natural world, survival of the fittest determines who leads and who falls. For example, the way students dress determines parts of their social status. There are concrete expectations that students are held to when it comes to what they chose to wear, but there are also social expectations. Many students who attend Nobles are of a high economic status, allowing them to purchase very nice clothes and other accessories such as iphones and computers. I have always felt that clothing is a way to express one’s personal style, but walking up and down the hallway proves that Nobles students may not be expressing how they are different from each other, but rather doing their best to fit in. I think this is a subconscious pressure that not many realize they are susceptible to. In high school adolescents are in a time of their lives that is insecure. There is so much stress and anxiety about school, and family, and friends, so it is understandable that kids do not want the stress of someone making fun of them for being different. This is where all the unease ties back in. By joining the masses in wearing name brands, buying apple products, and more, kids further adjust

Everyone follows the current fashion. People just want to fit in and be cool. In this generation, others make fun of the kind of shoes you have and what you wear. Therefore it makes us feel that we need to be like others and dress like others in order to be

For example, when a child that is less fortunate than others comes to school bearing ratty or `out of date' clothing, that child is viewed as an outcast and is tormented for reasons he or she does not have control over. In turn, this affects that child's ability to focus on schoolwork and puts a damper on his or her educational ability. Also, if the popular children with fashionable clothing are only worried about picking on those less fortunate than them, their minds are diverted away from their studies. Situations like these should not happen and can be easily avoided if kids in public school were all wearing the same articles of clothing.

Then it progresses in secondary school, you have to have the popular clothes, you can’t be seen in clothes that does not have a designer label on them. These are what I consider positive conformity; there is nothing wrong with trying to fit in in this type of fashion.

Have you ever wondered why most people have a tendency of following the dictates of the majority only to have a feeling of satisfaction? It is normal for adolescents to have the need of feeling accepted in society. Adolescents are capable of doing anything just to belong in a group they would want to feel accepted, they would do what it takes no matter the results of it. Most of the time this results happen to be life changing, leading adolescents to accept peer pressure, conformity, which then will advance to rebellion. These adolescents will eventually end up having a problematic and self- damaging life with avoidable consequences. Adolescent can be influence by peer to change even their appearance for example, clothes plays a huge role when a peer is not

One might even notice that this whole “clothing epidemic” is going on right in front of their own eyes. Girls these days especially are prone to being sucked in by the way they dress. They believe that how they dress affects their popularity status. I myself have gone through this being a young girl at one point! I wonder where they could have gotten this idea from? Oh, that is right, this idea has been going on since the ancient times!

What teens wear identify them as belonging to specific cliques or groups who wear similar apparel. Having this confidence helps children try new things without a fear of rejection. It will give them a sense of belonging and togetherness with other students, and they will feel included and wanted which is essential to a teen’s self esteem (Faber & Media, 2014). In middle school and high school teens need a feeling of belonging and clothing with name brands helps bring them closer together. Teisha-Vonique Hood from SMU (2012) stated that when people associate themselves with a particular brand or branded image, they immediately assume a new identity that is in some sense, confined to the social points of that brand. When people wear a certain brand they are telling people they like that company and what it conveys. Children know that a certain brand could make them popular or

In “ The Name of the Wind” Patrick Rothfuss once said, “ It’s like everyone tells a story themselves inside their own head. Always. All the time. That story makes you what you are. We build ourselves out of that story.” Our identity is what we know ourselves by how others view us in the world. Their many identities that we have some examples are race, gender, fashion, class, sexuality, etc. All these identities shape the way we think, act, and view the world. We may not know it, but our identities impact one another either in a negative or positive way. Either we make our identities by our interests or what we feel like we should be viewed as. Some let others make their identity for them, they’re influenced by what they see on T.V. mainly by what celebrities are wearing. I know for me when I was younger I would watch all these NBA games and see these players wear Jordans. Jordan 's back when I was a youngin and still today where cool shoes you had popularity if you had Jordans. All the cool kids had Jordan 's and I wanted to be like that a cool kid. So I acted like someone I wasn 't, buying many pairs of Jordan’s (which are expensive) so I can fit in and so everyone can know me as a cool kid because as a little boy at Colonia Middle School I wanted to have recognition as the kid with the expensive shoes and the showy clothes. Also, I was pressured by my surroundings to buy these items because I saw a lot of kids being bullied for wearing inexpensive clothes and I didn 't

Media has influenced a lot of today’s trends and ideologies. Adolescents, being on the psychological level of self-identification, bring this deceptive notion of fashion and social classes to school. The problem comes when this trend affects the performance of students and their personal lives. We all remember our days back when the talk was “Who are the jocks, the cheerleaders, the rick kids, the geeks, the losers, etcetera?” Believe it or not, the status quo in schools is always composed of them. These cliques have identities exclusive for each. Students who do not look, act, or dress the same as one group are, more often than not, left out. They could be hurt physically and or psychologically with cruel teasing and rumors. Bullying and

The desire to fit in with peers can be a very strong influence on teens.

School uniforms help maintain a sense of equality amongst the students. They help rid any socioeconomic barriers that may be causing certain students, or groups of students, to be alienated from the rest of the student body (Wilde). In other words, the financial status of a student’s parents no longer matters. Parents “are no longer pressured to buy the latest fashions, and they spend less on their children's clothing” (Isaacson). They no longer feel obligated to keep their children up to date with the latest fashion trends. Due to this, students are less prone to form cliques, which only lead to the alienation of students ("School Uniforms.") At the same time, students no longer feel inferior or superior to other students. No longer do students respect each other on the basis of how stylish they look. Their clothes do not gauge how popular they are in the school. Instead, uniforms force people to look at each

     Going to public schools all my life, I heard the gossip of "fashion" and "whose wearing what,"pretty much everyday; at least in the four years of high school where it seemed that looks mattered the most. As people grow up, the way they present themselves becomes more and more important. Leaving a good mark in high school means a lot to some people, and some are ready to do whatever it takes to make that mark, whether it be putting someone down for their clothing or being an individual and not caring what others think of you or what your wearing. Having friends from middle school that branched out and went the alternative route; private schools, one of the first things that came back

Evidence that supports the claim stated from the perspective of a teacher stated, “I don‘t see kids being judged now by their classmates for not having the ―right clothes or for wearing hand-me-downs” (Huss, 2007, pg. 34). Evidence from the claim one would presume such distractions are gangs or peer pressure with clothing competition. Uniforms help to make the learning environment safer.