Thing #48: The First Day of School Outfit

The first day always gives me a jittery feeling. When I go to bed, I have to be ready with all my stuff in a bag and the clothes laid out of the bed. The lunch waits in the refrigerator and the coffee maker has the delay start ready to go. The outfit is yet another way to feel prepared for whatever might come my way on that first day. I can remember almost all of my first-day-of-school outfits. In first grade, it included a lovely skirt made by grandma. On the first day of high school, I had Airwalk kicks with a reflective band. My first day of teaching, I wore a lovely teal printed Banana Republic dress. The first day is often momentous, and for many years, those first day pictures were mailed somewhere as evidence of our successful return to school. Unfortunately, some of these pictures (especially the high school ones) are out there...looming.

I used to spend hours trying on clothes just to find the perfect combination of new school clothes for the first day. Generally, I'd find my new favorite pair of jeans, a cute (loosely defined) top, and the new shoes for the year. I cringe a little to think about what I wore in high school, but I felt good, and that's what I remember most. I knew that I was my best in that outfit, and I could take on the world...or the day.

I have become more adept at selecting an outfit for the first day. I have also become increasingly confident with myself and what image I want to present, so that helps a lot. At 25, you'd hope that I'd have some of that under control. Of course, being the teacher instead of the student presents new challenges - like wearing heals for the whole school day. Still, I have found that feeling good in your outfit really is key to having a confident start to the year. It's probably just a mind trick, but to be fair, I love a good outfit.

Today's outfit felt particularly excellent - a black pencil skirt and a white button down with fabulous heals (that hurt...ouch). I felt powerful, and that was JUST the attitude I needed to take on my two classes of seniors and study block. Sometimes, clothes do make the (wo)man.