Summary: Lessons From My Year As A Freshman

In the world of most middle school students,there are many rules to follow. One particular rule revolves around “ What do I Wear today? ” The decision has caused many students to wish for a dress code. Implementing a dress code would unite the student body,giving students a sense of belonging, and eliminating bullies from making fun of students who are unable to afford name brand clothes. Initially, uniforms could provide students with a sense of belonging.

Conformity is when people comply to groups norms or expectations. We look at groups to understand how we should act, dress, and behave and young people are very aware of those who conform and those who do not (Little et al, 2014, p. 182). College students conform to the norms of college in order to fit in with groups of people and the college life. It is almost like there is unwritten rules of what to expect and what you need to do at college parties or even just the college experience in general. Women feel the need to dress in provocative clothing to parties because every girl does it and they want to be noticed by guys while guys still wear everyday casual clothing.

Sophomore year was an especially hard year for me. It was my second year at Wahlert High School and because I was the new kid the beginning of freshman year, I still felt like the new girl. Plus, I was trying to maintain my social life, play volleyball, participate in band, choir and show choir, act in plays, and manage school and homework.

But then why do schools want every student to conform to one set of rules that defines everyone. Individuality and conformity are two contrast topics that bring tension in the kids through dress code, mandatory classes, and how schooling goes hand

Conformity is present in every group situation with adolescents. Adolescents are always looking to be a part of a group, usually conforming to the standards of the group. Adolescents often conform because they want to have the approval of the peers that are well liked or “popular”. A great example of adolescents and conformity is in the chick flick ‘Mean Girls’ through the different cliques in high school and how it affects the peers themselves. Caty, the main character, is faced with several difficult situations where she decides to conform with her high school peers getting her in trouble that becomes hard for her to escape.

In S.E. Hinton’s story, The Outsiders, group identity is so important that sometimes people overshadow their own identity. In our generation it is kind of the same way to some people, for instance people sometimes act and dress differently around the popular kids to fit in. While at home they do their normal routine and stay true to themselves. This is so important to the story for many reasons. It is also really important to kids this age in 2017.

According to role theory, clothing may influence the self-concept and make the role easier to play, possibly determining whether or not a particular role is to be played at all” (Draa 25). Uniforms are a way for students to internalize and accept their role as a student. Admittedly, another problem is that uniforms force gender nonconforming students into the gender

List of challenges for students in their freshman year in college is remarkably long (see Clark, 2005). To name just a few, in their first year at college students must negotiate: a new level and kinds of academic demands (e.g., large lecture classes in huge auditoriums, large-scale projects rather than

The writer in the persuasive essay ¨Individuality vs. conformity: The Healthy Middle¨ focuses and explains that conformity is in all ages and everywhere around all schools. The author supports their explanation by pointing out that most high schoolers want to stand out and fit in at the same time. The author’s purpose is to show the audience how teens should find a healthy middle so that they know how to be different and stand out while at the same time the they can also be comfortable with who they are. The author writes in a logical style for the readers because he wants to get his point across and send his message towards all high schoolers and teenagers and others interested in the topic of conformity. I agree with the writer of ¨Individuality

She keeps her main focus on how foreign students interact with American students and the different type of relationships that they form. It is weird to some foreign students that Nathan has talked to how non-committed American students are, and how they will make small talk but rarely let it evolve into more. Then Nathan turns her focus towards the difference between a relationship and a friendship. Nathan discusses with different foreign students how they interact with their American roommates and the relationship that they bond. The classroom life is also brought up in this chapter.

Nathan talks about how she is not familiar with the lingo of this new generation of undergrad students, and

In addition, Ryan Padgett (2012) found that first generation student seems to be more unprepared to interact with faculty upon entering college than students whose parents went to college (p.261). The disadvantage a first-generation student faces upon entering college is due to the lack of contact with individuals who fall outside their parent’s social

Some deem others who do not wear the most fashionable clothes unpopular. In fact, according to the website Daily Mail, “children are so heavily influenced by brands that they bully or shun classmates who do not keep up with fashions and logos” (Clark). For example, in Heather Havrilesky’s essay “Bobos”, she discusses conflicts in school with fellow classmates treating her differently and ridiculing her because the shoes she normally bought were not the name brand shoes everyone else bought (Havrilesky 34). This is merely one example illustrating people being viewed differently and judged because of a misunderstanding of what normal is. In hopes to solve such problems, some schools even implemented school uniforms.

A Successful Freshman Year What is the best advice you could give to high school freshman (also known as fresh meat) to be successful students? There are many things that could help the new freshman become successful students, but I took the liberty to narrow it down. Three main things freshman could do to be successful students are always be prepared, ask questions if needed, and always pay attention. Starting off, fresh meat should always be prepared.

First, by invoking a sense of professionalism, students would learn valuable lessons that are implemented in the working world. Secondly, students would be more inclined to express themselves through other ways not limited to fashion. Finally, dress codes can erase the economic and social differences among students, and invoke a sense of equality. While uniforms in high schools promise many benefits, we should not expect that they are a solution for every problem. However, dress codes in schools can go a long way toward supporting students’ achievement by providing a learning environment that encourages