By Anna Schoeneberger
As the warm weather turned chilly, the wind blew hard and the first snowflakes fell, I realized that the seasons are changing, and this year, I would be here for all of them.
I was on my way to work — feeling slightly disgusted with the apparel I wore — a pair of regular jeans, a Bennie T-shirt, a zip-up sweatshirt and of course, a fleece. I looked around to find that I was one of many choosing to partake in this `scrubsville’ event. I was almost overwhelmed with the number of students wearing sweatpants, Ugg boots and fleece.
I continued my walk to the Main and thought, “I’ve never felt more American than today.”
This time last year, I counted down the days until I would leave for London, one of the most cosmopolitan cities in the world.
While abroad, we were living among some of the most posh and well-dressed Brits to be seen.
High fashion and high class, one might say, surrounded us. Granted, I was nowhere near their level of attire, I still found myself in a world where, unless you were in bed or at the gym, sweats did not belong.
Walking the high streets of London past hundreds of people each day, I noticed one trend. I could always pick out the Americans.
Although they may have thrown on their skinny jeans and maybe even some cute boots, it was the North Face jackets/fleeces that were always a dead giveaway to their country of birth.
As a 21-year-old, I must say my fashion has come a long way, from — yes — white spandex shorts in the sixth grade, to senior year of high school when my mom said, “Anna, could you maybe limit wearing sweat pants to school to three days a week?”
Although I am by no means anywhere near an everyday posh dresser, some days I do put in effort.
For those of us who have studied abroad in the UK and Europe, fashion is notable there and makes me nostalgic even when I see a Johnnie dressed in argyle, with a collared shirt, a scarf and a nice pair of trousers.
Overall, I must say that my first semester back from being abroad has been an adjustment like no other.
Going from 10 outfits for four months to a room full of stuff was a little overwhelming. And then there were classes.
In London, we had class three days a week and were done by Wednesday. Here, we have class and lab five days a week plus athletics, clubs and organizations to fill in the rest.
So seniors, as we wind down our last fall semester, I want to encourage you to embrace the culture you became a part of as you travelled abroad and share it even more with others as we close down another American college semester.