Fashion

            Like most people, I have changed my style of dressing many times through out my life. I look back and laugh at the countless phases of styles that I have gone through. It is partly due to a sense of exploration, partly due to growth and change, partly due to a confusion of who one is, but it is mostly about finding your true sense of style. However, it is also the outcome of the influences society, your culture and the entertainment industry have on you.
             I was in sixth grade at Frost Elementary. The sixth graders were the top of the class, we were in control and envied by all of the other classes. Or so I thought at the time. I had my distinct group of friends and my sixth grade boyfriend. I strived to be original but yet followed the trend at the same time. Hip hop was the popular trend in the 90's and it effected how I dressed. I went through a stage of what I refer to as "hip-hop prep". It may sound humorous, but it is true. Of course at the time, I simply thought I was dressing with my own unique style and taste. When in reality I was being influenced by every possible environmental factor. My entire life I had always been really clean cut and conservative, also known as preppy. This was embedded in me through my parents. Our culture was focused on looking presentable and appropriate. However, as I started the sixth grade, I became more rebellious and started becoming more impressionable by my friends, boyfriends and the entertainment industry. Mariah Carey became a common teen idol and hip hop and R&B became more popular. My boyfriend was more on the "hip-hop" side, as most boys were becoming. My style of dressing transformed from a jean skirt, flowered t-shirt with jelly sandals, no make-up and a loose side pony tail, to short jean shorts, black tank top with black puma street shoes, dark make-up and long and straight hair with a few highlights. I looked like a little pre-Mariah Carey with a thuggish touch.