Your appearance matters

Being a teenager or young adult is no excuse for dressing shabbily! In fact this is the time to mind about your appearance! Leaving the house looking like you climbed out of your bed in the previous day’s clothes isn’t cool! Taking pride in yourself and the way you appear speaks volumes. What you wear does make a difference in how you influence people around you. When you appear lousy, you display laziness, a “don’t care” attitude, even an impression of a slob to some observers. So, before walking out the door, take a look at yourself and ask, is this really the image I want to send to people out there? What happened to wanting to look nice? Sadly, with most teens it seems to be a thing of the past. In today’s teenage population, it seems boys like wearing ragged jeans, which aren’t always a bad thing unless they are bagging off the butt or worse. Boys tend to wear t-shirts that are too big, too long and often with all sorts of junk written on them. These may look great on T-pain but in Kigali they may turn heads in contempt. Show that you actually care about your appearance. When you wake up in the morning, begin with simple hygiene. Brush your teeth. Bad breath is a really bad reflection of you and pretty much sums it up that you are just plain lazy. Even if you’re in a hurry, brushing your teeth shouldn’t be scrapped off the list of basics. Get your hair neat, wear deodorant, if you can afford it and take a shower. Never wear cologne without taking a bath—it only means that you are too lazy to shower and you’re covering your body odor with fragrance. Try to dress like you mean it. In other words, know who you are and what you like and dress accordingly. You may like many different styles, just don’t try to wear them at the same time as this will send the message that you’re really confused. Remember you don’t need to have a Sean Kingston or Britney Spears wardrobe to appear smart! A pair of Khakis, black pants, a pair of jeans, three or four fitting shirts in your favorite colour, two good pairs of shoes, one or two jackets or light sweaters and a good watch can make people think you’ve got the biggest wardrobe around. The magic here is to keep them clean and ironed. martin.bishop18@yahoo.com