The controversial topic of uniforms in schools is heated subject and both sides have their arguments.

My argument is against the unfortunate ordinance of school uniforms.  Now, before the disciplinarian parents and school staff of private schools start barking at me, let me get my point across and maybe, just maybe, you’ll have second thoughts about school uniforms.

Our individualism as teenagers in school is endangered by uniforms. In school, students want to set themselves apart from their peers through clothing, but how can if we are threatened by drab plaid and bland shades of navy and khaki uniforms? With the installment of uniforms, the hallways would turn into a sea of mindless robots, stripped of their identity. Since you never get to meet the true student for who they are, students never get to accept others’ individualism. When students have the freedom to dress in whichever way they choose, students accept each other for their fashion choices. The way people dress says something about themselves.

When the school takes that away, a part of the student is lost. The idea of individualism also ties in with the freedom of expression we are given at birth. Like Charles Wright says in the song, “Express Yourself,” “It’s not what you look like, when you’re doin’ what you’re doin,’ It’s what you’re doin’ when you’re doin’ what you look like you’re doin’! Express Yourself!”

Freedom of expression is essential, and we don’t need restricting garbs on our bodies and the harassing school on our back “helping” us make our decisions of what we wear and how it’s “supposed” to better our education. If anything, uniforms harm how we express ourselves and our grades in school. This might just be me, but my effort level and grades would sink if I couldn’t be one hundred percent me, not some fake version created by the school.

I would not feel comfortable in a school uniform. Everyone has a certain style they add to their wardrobe that makes them unique, and without it, they’re naked.  Imagine looking at yourself in the mirror and seeing somebody that isn’t you.

Teenager’s are aleady insecure enough, and the deprivation of the one thing that makes us feel special worsens our already hectic and emotional lives. The first time our parents let us pick out our clothes, we felt so ecstatic marching into school wearing our new hand-picked gear.

Confidence leads to success in and outside of school, but when we are forced to throw on a uniform, our very selves, our identity, our freedom of expression through clothing, and our confidence is shed to produce a mindless “perfect” student created by the school.  That’s why I strongly argue against school uniforms, to save each and every individual out there.

Be yourself, and don’t care about what others think, because you’re you, and that’s all that matters.