Have you ever wondered if you are dressing how you want to? Are you holding yourself back because of how other people would react? High school status and reputation are temporary yet so important to high school students. But for one student, style came over status. 

“You don’t live in their world, they live in yours.” Mia Wikoff is a sophomore at LHS. Recently, she has explored more in her style and expression through clothes. To other students it might have seemed like a sudden change, but it is something she has wanted to do for a while. 

The “sudden” change has had its positive and negative outcomes. 

“A positive is that I’m finally happy that I can express myself confidently, negatives people have a lot to say about me,” Wikoff said.

While she has had many compliments about her style, she has also received rude comments from people who used to be her peers. When asked if she gained or lost friends due to her style change, she stated, “I gained true friends and left the ones who weren’t.”

Her friends have also been impacted by the style change, largely in the positive. 

Madeline Francis is a sophomore and a close friend of Wikoff’s. When asked about advice she would give to students exploring their style, Francis stated, “My advice for boys, girls, and anyone who is human is to just do it. If you feel comfortable in those pants then wear it. If you’re a guy and you see a skirt you adore put it on. Clothes don’t have a gender and if you’re comfortable in a dress, skirt, jeans or jacket wear it. At the end of the day it’s just an outfit and what is most important is if you feel good in it. Any gender can wear anything there is no gender for fashion.”

Another student who has gone under fire due to her differences is Elaine Thimyan. She has recently befriended Wikoff and they have bonded over the negative comments they have received from their peers. 

“It’s more than what’s trending or what others are wearing, it can be a way to tell how you’re feeling,” Thimyan said. “And I think that applies to anyone; boy, girls, non-binaries. Clothing has become so much more flexible, and it’s not uncommon to see women wear collared shirts, pantsuits, baggy jeans. Or uncommon for boys to wear skirts, cropped tops, makeup even. So it’s just a matter of personal style.”

By Wikoff expressing herself and fully putting herself out there, she has inspired her friends and other students who want to explore their style. She took the step that many have feared to take and instead of forming to what the other students want her to be, she is standing true to herself.