Growing up, I’ve always been a tom boy. In high school all my friends would dress up and wear makeup. I never felt like I had to dress up, or wanted to. Society and the media showed women as dressing girly, like wearing dresses, heels, and makeup. I preferred wearing comfy clothes and being myself. Every day I was faced with someone telling me I needed to dress up, or play my gender role. People judged me because I dressed like a “boy” even though I am a girl.

            I was inspired to show these two pictures of myself over spring break. It was mandatory to dress up for formal dinner nights. The picture on the left is how I looked going to dinner. The one on the right is how I looked after dinner. Although I felt pretty, I couldn’t wait to get back into my comfy clothes. I wish society hadn’t portrayed women as always being dressed up because I don’t like getting dressed up. The few times I actually do dress up, everyone makes a big deal about it and tells me I should always dress like that, but that’s not who I am.