What's Up With That? #42: Baby, it's cold outside
It's a brisk 28 degrees Fahrenheit today in our little burg. Still air, therefore no wind chill factor, but chilly nonetheless.
This morning, after I dropped my daughter at school, I saw a young woman walking onto campus wearing a paper-thin cotton shirt with three-quarter-length sleeves, and flip-flops on otherwise bare feet. Up the block, along came a girl in a sleeveless tank top with nothing covering it. Also joining the morning trudge to high school were several boys and girls whose only upper body garment was a T-shirt.
Now, this isn't a particularly affluent community, but neither do we have many residents living in extreme poverty. Even the poorest of kids owns at least one hoodie.
So why would these kids choose to freeze? Is a sweatshirt or jacket that uncool?
This morning, after I dropped my daughter at school, I saw a young woman walking onto campus wearing a paper-thin cotton shirt with three-quarter-length sleeves, and flip-flops on otherwise bare feet. Up the block, along came a girl in a sleeveless tank top with nothing covering it. Also joining the morning trudge to high school were several boys and girls whose only upper body garment was a T-shirt.
Now, this isn't a particularly affluent community, but neither do we have many residents living in extreme poverty. Even the poorest of kids owns at least one hoodie.
So why would these kids choose to freeze? Is a sweatshirt or jacket that uncool?
Labels: Aimless Riffing, My Home Town, Taking Umbrage, Whats Up With That
SwanShadow was randomly pounding the keyboard at 8:14 AM
2 insisted on sticking two cents in:
I'm 32, and to this day it takes a conscious effort for me to wear a heavier jacket in the Winter, and I'm resistant to wear a hat and gloves while my friends bundle up in scarves and more with no compunctions. In elementary-middle school it was a sign of weakness, and other kids mocked me relentlessly. Granted, it was probably just the stupid hat with the pom-pom on top that my mom made me wear, the blinking "play keepaway with this fool" sign, but the message that stuck with me into adulthood was be tough and show you can take the cold.
Kids are dumb, peer pressure is dumb, and sometimes that stuff lingers in the subconscious. Fashion trumps comfort. It all stems from what the "cool"(take or leave the pun) kids are doing. If Johnny was going to jump off the Brooklyn Bridge....
Proper cold weather gear is uncool, as are umbrellas on rainy days, and winter boots for that morning that greets one with six inches of unpredicted snow. Just ask my 14 year old daughter where her winter boots were last week when she needed them!
Back in the day when you and I were but mere teenagers who knew everything, even I used an umbrella. Looking like a drowned rat all day at school wasn't my forte!
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