For most college students, midterms are in full swing. With the endless to do lists, and exam dates are looming over us, the last thing on our mind is dressing up, me included. The past few weeks, sweatshirts and leggings have become refuge to me as I settle into my multiple hour long study session each day. For the majority of my life, I thought that dressing up to study was useless. Lets face it, most things I like to wear to dress up are kind of uncomfortable, and exactly study clothes, but recent research suggests that dressing up can help boost self confidence and even improve exam scores.
When we dress up, we tend to feel better about of selves as a whole. Admit it, when you have a great outfit on, your eye might catch a glimpse of yourself more often in the mirror than not, and that is totally okay! This positive perception of ones self can drastically change how we approach situations in our life. I like to call this the “superman cape effect.” The outfit may not give you the powers, but it can help you better use the ones you already have. A confidence boost from an outfit may make you more sure in your answers for an exam, strong enough to pursue the opportunities available for you, and try out for the things you were too afraid to in the past.
Now dressing up does not mean dressing to the nines every single day. We are not a Macy’s ad, and college is not conducive to a semi-formal life style. Rather, dressing up is wearing the things that make you feel good when ever you put them on. It could just be a sweater that you like the color of, or a sweatshirt reaping your favorite team (or school!) Ultimately, if its an outfit that makes you feel powerful, then its doing its job.
So, next time you wake up after hitting snooze ten times before rolling out of bed, don’t just reach for the first clean thing you can find, but take the five minutes to choose an outfit that will energize your day. Choose the outfit that puts a hop in your step, and makes you feel a little bit happier when you wear it. Finally, know that the clothes don’t make the person, but the person makes the clothes. If you can believe that the power and confidence that exudes out of your outfit was within you the whole time. Know that you have control of every choice you make each day, and those choices can start with what you reach for from your closet.
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