Back to School Girl
I had a great fall break. This semester's been rather overwhelming and upsetting at times, and I was just getting so burnt out. Plus I got sick. That coupled with fall break was a great excuse for me to just take a week off. After my weekend in Iowa, I didn't go to class Monday or Tuesday (still sick), and then after my students had their exam on Wednesday morning, I hopped on a plane to CO and stayed til Sunday. The only thing I worked on this week was a few makeup assignments for Monday's class, grading exams, and reading a medieval epic poem on the plane. The rest of the time I enjoyed Iowa, my apartment, and then Colorado. It was a much-needed break.
But it was also a bit of a shock to dive back into working on Monday after such a great bit of time off! Luckily we came back to nice weather, which helps keep things cheery. I was glad to get another week to wear warm weather clothes before summer finally ended it's monopoly on October.
So over break my family and I watched Bridesmaids, which was hysterical, obviously. And although Kristen Wiig's character was often such a laughable disaster, I loved her wardrobe. She was always wearing blazers over cute little dresses.
And as I watched and laughed my ass off, I thought, hey, I have a navy blazer, I could totally steal this funny woman's style! So, when it came time to head to my grad class on Tuesday, and it was 80 degrees out again, this is what I wore:
Navy Blazer: Express, gift from Mom
Red-Orange dress: Delia's
Blue Belt: Target
Brown flats: Journey's
Coral Earrings: Amazon
Glasses: Juicy, via Evergreen Vision Clinic :-)
Anyway, I was feeling pretty darn good, and a little patriotic too, given the color scheme. But then something weird happened. There is a girl in the theology department that I was talking with before class, and she said "I like your dress!" At first I was happy for the compliment, but then she said, "But I'd be afraid I wouldn't be taken seriously wearing such girly things to class." She had chosen to wear a button up shirt and khaki pants, and maybe she was complimenting me, but her tone sounded a lot more like, "you should wear more academic (aka male? or maybe just gender neutral?) outfits if you want to be heard in class." As if I would sound smarter had I chosen to wear pants. I was sad that she thought that and accepted it.
But my first year in grad school I dressed like she did too, because it made me look and feel like I matched the classroom tone set by my classmates (who were all men, in khakis and button up shirts.) But in the last year or two, especially after I started teaching, my outfits have definitely gotten more dressed up and more girly, with an influx of skirts and dresses. I used to think like she did, that a girl in girly clothes wouldn't be taken seriously here. But why the hell not? I'm smart. I win teaching awards. As long as I look appropriate and my clothes aren't too skimpy or too casual, why shouldn't I wear what makes me happy?
As I progress in grad school, and am more confident as a teacher and a student, I think that, rather than continue to be frustrated by the lack of women in my program, I've started to embrace that being a woman here makes me unique. And rather than downplay that or disguise it or try to be "one of the guys," more and more I've been happy to come to class and be smart in a skirt. Deal with it, SLU.
But it was also a bit of a shock to dive back into working on Monday after such a great bit of time off! Luckily we came back to nice weather, which helps keep things cheery. I was glad to get another week to wear warm weather clothes before summer finally ended it's monopoly on October.
So over break my family and I watched Bridesmaids, which was hysterical, obviously. And although Kristen Wiig's character was often such a laughable disaster, I loved her wardrobe. She was always wearing blazers over cute little dresses.
And as I watched and laughed my ass off, I thought, hey, I have a navy blazer, I could totally steal this funny woman's style! So, when it came time to head to my grad class on Tuesday, and it was 80 degrees out again, this is what I wore:
Navy Blazer: Express, gift from Mom
Red-Orange dress: Delia's
Blue Belt: Target
Brown flats: Journey's
Coral Earrings: Amazon
Glasses: Juicy, via Evergreen Vision Clinic :-)
Anyway, I was feeling pretty darn good, and a little patriotic too, given the color scheme. But then something weird happened. There is a girl in the theology department that I was talking with before class, and she said "I like your dress!" At first I was happy for the compliment, but then she said, "But I'd be afraid I wouldn't be taken seriously wearing such girly things to class." She had chosen to wear a button up shirt and khaki pants, and maybe she was complimenting me, but her tone sounded a lot more like, "you should wear more academic (aka male? or maybe just gender neutral?) outfits if you want to be heard in class." As if I would sound smarter had I chosen to wear pants. I was sad that she thought that and accepted it.
But my first year in grad school I dressed like she did too, because it made me look and feel like I matched the classroom tone set by my classmates (who were all men, in khakis and button up shirts.) But in the last year or two, especially after I started teaching, my outfits have definitely gotten more dressed up and more girly, with an influx of skirts and dresses. I used to think like she did, that a girl in girly clothes wouldn't be taken seriously here. But why the hell not? I'm smart. I win teaching awards. As long as I look appropriate and my clothes aren't too skimpy or too casual, why shouldn't I wear what makes me happy?
As I progress in grad school, and am more confident as a teacher and a student, I think that, rather than continue to be frustrated by the lack of women in my program, I've started to embrace that being a woman here makes me unique. And rather than downplay that or disguise it or try to be "one of the guys," more and more I've been happy to come to class and be smart in a skirt. Deal with it, SLU.