Your alarm sounds. Disgruntled, you walk into the bathroom to brush your teeth.  You may take one swipe through your hair with a brush, take one glance in the mirror, and despite an unsavory seal of disapproval, you amble toward class in your favorite pair of pajamas.
At this point in the new semester, our notebooks are starting to fray and our excitement for that 7:30 a.m. geology class has begun to dwindle. Complacency has started to creep its lazy way into our daily routines, and the most evident form is in our disconcerting garb.
Regardless of how comfortable you are in those Tweety Bird pajama pants that suffocate your lower appendages and the fuzzy pink slippers that you’ve worn since junior high, your classmates and most importantly your professors will judge you harshly. By no means are you being asked to wear a ball gown or a three-piece suit to class.
However, be aware that you are not welcome at an establishment of higher education wearing your favorite beer’s logo on a paint-laden t-shirt with a pair of athletic shorts. Those are not the most flattering of options. A simple collared shirt and a pair of suitable shorts are an easy way to stand out in the eyes of your professor, while making a good impression.
Since sleep is such a rare commodity among busy college students, very few are willing to wake up five minutes early to heat the iron and remove the innumerable wrinkles that plague that new dress shirt they have been wanting to wear.  Your respect and relationship from the eyes of your teachers are worth sparing that handful of minutes where you could be hitting the snooze button.
The impact of clothes, according to Mark Twain, is that “clothes make a man.” I think in today’s society, Twain would agree they also make a woman. How you present yourself says a lot about you. It’s nonverbal communication at work, telling the world who you are. We live in a visually-oriented world, and people assume that what they see is what they get.
Our clothes, shoes and overall outward appearance reflect who we are. Although that message is not always clearly conveyed to those around us, everyone comes from different backgrounds that cause them to express themselves in that way. Embracing your individuality is a powerful thing, but knowing the timing and setting in which to do it is very important.
Students should treat every class and every interaction with Nicholls’ faculty as a job interview. This call to maturity often falls on deaf ears, but those who adhere to its message reap the fruits of their effort. So as you amble to class with your fraying notebooks in hand, apprehensively entering the oppressive dungeon that is your geology class, try to look professional. Despite Tweety Bird’s hurt feelings, your classmates and teachers will appreciate it.