The Halloween that Taught me to Stand Out!

All throughout middle school, I just wanted to fit in. I would wake up 6am and flatten the waves of my hair until it was pin straight. I dressed in the same dark colored bootcut jeans, white tank top, and brown Ugg boots that every girl in my class did.

I hid my Sailor Moon Magnas, oil paintings, and sketchbooks deep in my drawers and I covered my freckles with way layer upon layer of bronzer. I had become a total follower, and although my parents most likely assumed that I was just “at that age,” I was hiding the real me. The funny thing is, the people who I wanted to hang out with the most could see right through it.

In the eight grade, I was invited to a halloween party, and met up with several of my “friends” before to get in costume. I love all things halloween, and thrifted around to find the perfect Mary Katheryn Gallagher Super Star costume. If you don’t know what I’m referring to, she is a character from SNL that Molly Shannon played who is an awkward and hilarious. See the link above.

The rest of the girls I was with were dressed as boys and put on baggy jeans, flannel shirts, and backwards caps. When I put on my costume, they all stared at me and told me we were going as a group and to go home and borrow a pair of my brother’s jeans. So I went home, changed, and came back.

When I walked back in the door, the girl’s mother who owned the home looked at me and said, “I like your last costume better. Your last costume was creative and so fun.” So with those words, I walked out the front door and back to my home an changed into my original costume. And I’m so glad I did because it was a hit at the party, and I even made some new friends.

So over the next year I ditched my straightener and let my waves be wild and free. I dug through the bins at thrift stores and broke every single fashion rule, especially when it came to my blue sparkly Velcro star bedazzled platform shoes.

I stopped caring about fitting in, and I have to say that is one of the best decisions I ever did make because I found real friends. Friends that loved reading my Sailor Moon Magnas, friends that knew the lyrics to the songs of the Talking Heads, friends who dressed up as barnyard animals to the school dance.

If you are following others just to fit in, I’ve been there. I did it in middle school, I’ve done it with my business, and I’m here to tell you it doesn’t work. Be true to yourself, even if it’s silly, awkward, and a touch weird. The people that get you will thank you for it by connecting with you!

Do you march to the beat of your own drum? I feel you. Here’s another blog of mine that talks about that!
https://angeladivinephotography.com/unpopular-opinion/