What Do Clothes Say About You?

         What Do Clothes Say About You?

            Something that has always bothered me was how people perceived clothing, mainly on women. Isn't what you wear almost like your armor? To me anyway. But in noway does clothing ever tell someone they can assume something about you. 

          The navy blue v-neck T-shirt I wore somehow decided that I was going to be taken advantage of. The heels I wore to work one day, because I felt like looking nice, told my fellow coworkers I was trying to impress someone. It was what I chose to wear, and yet somehow my clothes decided how I was going to be treated those days. Some ways more traumatic than others. 

            Clothes are funny that way. They can be tight or revealing. Or they can be big and comfortable. Something like a sweatshirt to be your comfort on a cold night. Or a bathing suit in the summer to let the sun rays give you a tan. But clothes never say anything else about you. They aren't supposed to.  In a way, they were my shield when I was trying to hid my bruises from others. Even on the sunny days of a July summer, my skinny jeans and long sleeves shielded me from the prying eyes of people's judgements. 

            I never wanted to be known for the clothing I wear. No one should want to be. Even if that is making sure that others believe that a piece of clothing is always a "no".  Clothes are armor; to protect you from harm. They aren't supposed to be the cause of any harm either. 

A L O N E(13)

 A L O N E

A feeling people have. One that sometimes feels like it goes away. It doesn’t. It’s still there, hidden below. Though that is the thing about being alone. You never truly are, completely alone. 

Even if it feels that way, you have to believe it isn’t true. You have to believe that you're not alone. Even when you feel like it’s the only feeling you have at the time. Not a second goes by when you aren’t. That feeling that you are simply tries to cover those who are there for the long hall. The ones who know you can be alone, but you can be alone together.

           Memories keep you company when it feels no one else is around. Some people are just a call away. Even those who you haven’t talked to in years are there again. Even when you feel alone, you have to remember that it only feels like that for now. That you aren’t as alone as you feel. 

          Loneliness comes and goes like the seasons. Some days are better than others might be. But, being alone sometimes allows you to heal when you need it more. To take time to understand that you are truly going to be okay when it feels like you might not be. It goes away when it’s time to be whole again. 

No matter how alone you feel. No matter when: day or night. You are never fully alone. I promise that. 

     -JS

I M P O R T A N C E(12)

 I M P O R T A N C E

To be important to someone. What does that truly mean? The definition of the word importance is, “the state or fact of being of great significance or value”. Does that mean the same for everyone? Honestly, this could be the same for everyone. For different things. 

Importance doesn’t have to be for people. It could be for objects. Something that means a lot to someone. People see the importance in others. They see something that only they can in each person. Everyone’s lives cross paths when they are meant to. That cross means that those people are important to each other. Something they might not have found out yet. 

Sometimes life can make it seem that you aren’t important. That can be hard when people constantly tell you that there are others more important than you. When you see someone as important, yet they don’t see it, they might need constant reminders. They might need to know that they are just like everyone else is. 

Though to yourself that might not feel like it. You are more important than you might think. You touched more lives than you know. Sometimes all you need is reminders. You are more important than you think you are. Everyone is. 

Ask yourself what is important, and find a way to shape your life around your answer. For yourself. 

-JS  

P R O T E C T I O N(11)

 P R O T E C T I O N 

A coat from cold weather. A shield from something. Someone jumping in front of you right before something could hurt you. Everyone protects something. It doesn’t have to be big or small, but protection comes from everywhere. 

It doesn’t have to be something real. It doesn’t have to be something that is right in front of you either. Protection can mean something as small as a car airbag being deployed. Or, it can be as big as someone putting themselves in harm's way so you don’t get hurt. It could mean protecting the rest of yourself from what it is on the inside. Something worth protecting, means keep it safe before it can be hurt again. 

Although sometimes protection might seem harmful than helpful. It could mean pushing people away to make sure you aren’t going to be hurt. You can’t predict if something is going to hurt you though. Protection can only work so far. It sometimes means in order to be protected, you have to be hurt along the way. 

Protection, to me, means when someone doesn’t want to see you hurt. It means that they could think they are saving you from something you can’t see. Protecting yourself could be harder to figure out though. Some people believe they don’t need to be protected. Others, only see protection as something they can’t live without because they have been protected too much. 

People build walls sometimes to keep others out. It might seem like that at first, but those walls protect what is left within themselves.

-JS