There’s a certain shift that goes on when it comes to springtime. The sun comes out, flowers bloom, windows open up and all of a sudden, that clutter that found its way into my home and onto the various counter space has got to go.

I don’t know what it is about the season, but the second that it starts to lighten up outside, I start to lighten up inside. The feeling of being carefree is dampened though, every time I catch a glimpse of the mess that found its way, well, everywhere.

Now I’m not sure about most other people out there in the world, but when I get stressed, frustrated or extremely bored I tend to clean like there’s no tomorrow.

Seeing a mess like the one I come across every spring gets me a little bit on edge, so of course some deep cleaning happens. Sophomore Erika Beaton reassured me that I wasn’t the only one.

“My mom was a big fan of spring cleaning. She would always round us all up and send us to our rooms to get rid of things we didn’t need,” said Beaton.

Along with Beaton, I can remember my own mother sending me to my room and telling me to clean out my closet, and I also remember dreading it with a passion. But unlike Beaton, I happened to grow into the habit and have seen its positive effects.

Spring cleaning is done once a year and happens to be based off of an old tradition to cleanse the home of all the dust, candle wax and soot – from the fireplace – that built up during the winter. The start of spring is warm but not too warm, bugs tend to keep to themselves, and people could clean their homes without worrying about pests.

Cleaning does not have to be the enemy. If you’ve been looking for that one evasive document, letter or bank statement, chances are that a little spring cleaning will help you out.

Spring cleaning is not only beneficial to the cleaner, themselves, but the community as well. Cleaning out closets and bookshelves and sorting through clutter tends to reveal unwanted items. These unwanted items have the opportunity to be donated and given to someone who has a new use for them.

Closets are the worst. I always find something I don’t use, which of course forces me to give it away. Friends often tell me, “If you don’t want to find it, don’t look” but that’s easier said than done.

I have sadly become a slave of the obligatory deep cleaning that comes with the start of the season. It is not always the most fun task, but year after year I can’t help but get it done.

It’s not easy having to explain the obsession to someone.

It feels as though I have annoying neighbors – a.k.a. clutter – that wake me up at night and disturb my peace of mind. I feel like I am suffocating, like I’m wearing pants and a turtleneck instead of shorts and a tank top, and the only way to change my clothes is if I clean out my closet.

I don’t know what it is about the season, but for me, spring time has me pulling out the boxes, trash bags and Windex before anything else.

When fans are truly dedicated, there is nothing that can stop them from catching a glimpse of the rich and famous. But as a result, the same people that we idolize hardly get any privacy. Recently the pop star Justin Bieber visited Eugene and even practiced for his upcoming tour in Matthew Knight Arena. The reactions to this, of course, was word spreading like wildfire and crowds of fans gathering around town.

As much as I want to say that I myself would never get worked up about a celebrity in town, I cannot deny the sort of excitement that can rile someone up at the prospect. People have been known to go crazy, breaking out their shirts, hats and jewelry adorned with their idols’ faces and names. They swarm around places that the celebrity has been rumored to be at and expect a picture, wave or maybe even an autograph, but the truth is that the person is in town for a particular reason that doesn’t involve any of us.

Personally I have never been a fan of Justin Bieber – ever. I was not one of the many people standing outside the hotel he was allegedly staying at, nor was I trying to catch a glimpse of him going in and out of Matt Knight. But I can understand exactly what was going through people’s minds when they did. My personal problem with the matter is that Justin Bieber’s business is his own business.

Whether or not he chooses to involve the rest of the world in that, is also his choice. That goes for all celebrities. Being star struck when you happen upon a celebrity is different than forcing your way into their lives.

Celebrities are people too. I can imagine they have their good days and their bad days. Which means they also get peeved sometimes when nosy strangers are snooping into what they don’t wish to share. They already have enough paparazzi following them around trying to get a picture of anything that is magazine worthy. True fans shouldn’t want to add to the stress of constantly being in the public eye. If Justin Bieber had wanted to see his fans, specifically, he would have made his visit public knowledge.

There shouldn’t be a reason to get so worked up about a celebrity in town. Unfortunately, you may go a lifetime never actually meeting your idol, but never meeting them is better than being the reason their visit was hellish. Harassment comes in many forms. Constant crowding is definitely one of those forms, even if it’s not the same people every time – it’s the same type of people, and that’s what matters.

Besides, there are other ways to see your idols in person. If it was someone you wanted to see – buy tickets to their concert. There’s no reason to crowd streets, block the way and make a commotion.

Celebrities have their way of giving people hope and inspiration. But they also have their own lives to lead, with idols, jobs and important tasks that need to be done. It isn’t our business to get in the way.

So the next time that you hear a celebrity might be in town and you find yourself a fan, think twice. Ask yourself, “If it were me, would I want to put up with a bunch of screaming fans today?” If the answer is no, then don’t go. Give your idol a break – they’ve certainly earned it.

Flu season is here, and as everyone who lives with me has noticed, I try to avoid sickness as though my very life depends on it. I am only so paranoid because it seems like it takes the germs of just one rogue sneeze to infect me. Taking preventative measures – like getting the flu vaccine – has never been enough to keep me healthy.

Every year during winter, I attempt to ward off any and all infected friends so as to better my chances of survival. This year I want to prevent as much spreading of the flu virus as possible, and would like to share some tips with those who aren’t always as careful as they could be. Preventing the spread of disease in any way we can is imperative in order to maintain a healthy community.

Avoid contact with others when you are feverish or feeling sick in general. Please, stay home. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recommends that you stay home for 24 hours after your fever is gone. Basically, unless you’re going to get medical care, it’s safer for the rest of the community to simply stay home.

Avoiding contact can also mean not touching, coughing or sneezing on others around you. Sometimes, when all you have is the sniffles, it feels ridiculous to stay home – I know, I’ve been there. If you have a cold and you feel you absolutely do not need to stay home, do your best to keep clear of your fellow peers.

Although the best way to prevent yourself from getting the flu would be going to get a vaccine, there are other ways to prevent the spread of disease as well. Cover your mouth and nose when you cough or sneeze, either with a tissue or specifically your elbow. Coughing or sneezing into your hands spreads disease faster than imaginable, especially in public places.

It has been proven by several studies that the influenza virus can survive on surfaces without a human host for two to eight hours at a time. Thinking about where I have to place my hands nearly every day (door knobs, bike racks, desks, etc.) makes me very nervous about that information.

If you blow your nose, disinfect your hands after with either soap and water or hand sanitizer, and please, throw used tissues in the trash. Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth, especially after touching public surfaces. The CDC warns that touching your face with such germs on your hands is one of the fastest ways to spread disease onto yourself.

Now that it’s week eight, people are hitting their highest stress levels of the term. We all know how that goes, but did you know that stress breaks down your immune system? When you are stressed, your immune defense lowers and you are more likely to get sick. Now especially is the time to be careful. Anyone who claims they haven’t been extra stressed recently – tell me your secret.

The University Health Center is always willing to help someone who is sick with the cold or flu. Staying healthy is a daunting task, but it is absolutely possible. If you are already sick then drink lots of water, get good rest, take hot showers and eat some soup. Above all, stay home. You can’t rest if you’re out and about, and you can’t spread your sickness if you stay put.

It cannot be ignored that there are many benefits that come to students who live on campus. There is a sense of close community and a good support system in the residence halls for not only a student’s education, but their new personal life away from home as well.

It’s actually been proven that students who live on campus are more likely to stay in college and graduate within six years. However, not every student can afford to live in the residence halls at the University of Oregon.

Along with opening a new residence hall east of Global Scholars Hall, the UO is requiring freshman students arriving in Fall 2017 to live on campus their first year. With this policy many students will unable to attend the University because of the cost it will take them to live here.

The University wants to ensure that all students have the utmost opportunity to succeed and graduate. But should the University solely be the one to decide what is best for all students? We as students should have the right to decide, especially since each individual is going to have different circumstances, which environment we would thrive in academically.

The primary focus for requiring on-campus residence is for students just coming out of high school who, for the first time in their lives, have to be self-reliant.

“Living on campus provides an enormous amount of support during that transition,” said Michael Griffel PhD, Director of University Housing.

While living in the residence halls a student has extra resources such as study rooms, resident assistants, easily accessible dining halls and the close proximity of classrooms. On top of that, the entire housing department is dedicated to being available to assist all students in any way that they can.

“We care about students very deeply and want to ensure that they know that they matter to us,” said Anna Schmidt-MacKenzie, Director of Residence Life and Educational Initiatives.

However, I have yet to see solid evidence that students were ever consulted about the matter. Wouldn’t we, the students, know firsthand what it means to live on and off campus? Freshman ASUO Senator Keegan Williams-Thomas lives off campus and believes that students should be more involved in the changes.

“There’s been a real lack of student input and we need to ensure that students are given a choice and not just told that a certain policy will best serve them,” Williams-Thomas said. “There needs to be more correspondence between housing and students.”

After all, our opinions could be useful; we did decide one way or another where we would live when we were freshman. Of course, the University made the decision to change policies – not the Housing Department alone.

As a public university in Oregon, we are getting into this particular policy’s game fairly late. Southern Oregon University, Western Oregon University, Eastern Oregon University and Oregon State University all have requirements for freshmen students to live on campus, but it also costs considerably less to live in residence halls at those universities.

The cost for a standard double room and standard meal plan at the UO is $11,430. The closest to us is Oregon State, which costs $10,650. Southern Oregon’s prices are in the lead costing only $4,035.

“We’re working incredibly hard to come up with price points that vary enough for students to afford.” Schmidt-MacKenzie said about the University’s pricing.

Though their efforts should not go unnoticed, is it still justifiable to require residence when prices are still not where the University wants them to be? Williams-Thomas doesn’t believe so, and neither do I.

“I’m sure the housing department doesn’t try to have high prices on purpose, I don’t think that’s their goal,” said Williams-Thomas. “I’m sure that they do their best to keep the prices low, but until there are results I don’t think that students should be required to live on campus.”

Students should reserve the right to claim for themselves where they would best succeed academically. It isn’t as though students who live off campus are at a disadvantage. Students are still able to access many resources without having to live on campus while also living in a community that further establishes the responsibility of being self-reliant.

There are students living off campus who came to the UO relying on the choice to live off campus. If students are denied that capability, the University will be shutting out the diverse group of students it wants.

I have one thing, and one thing only that will ever completely stop me from going out, and that’s showering. Once I have showered, all other deals are off, and I am crawling into bed to stay there. I call it a nighttime ritual.

The other weekend, I turned down going out with some friends simply because I had already showered. I knew that I had wanted to go, but I still declined them anyway. This got me thinking, “Why did my showering have priority over my decision to go out with my friends?” I asked around to see if anyone else experienced similar situations.

Pre-education major Livi Fisher said, “I usually wash my make-up off and take a shower, and once I’ve done that, I am not going out. It would take too long to get ready again.”

When I asked her why that particular ritual was so important she said, “Oh, I wouldn’t go anywhere without make-up on, honestly I probably schedule my entire life around it.”

Interested, I thought that one over. In my own case, I would not be willing to leave again after having showered, because showering was important to me in terms of finishing out the evening. I like to go to bed clean – not that going out with friends would inherently make me “dirty,” but it’s the principle.

All of these actions have come to symbolize that time in the evening when we start settling down, but do they inherently cause us to start to fall asleep? Possibly the very rituals that keep us from going out are the ones that we perform because our body is subtly telling us it’s time to rest.

When psychology major Megan Ollivera finally takes out her contacts for the night, she sees it as a sign from her subconscious that she is ready for bed.

“Yes, obviously logically I could put them in again and be fine, but there is a mental war with whether I should listen to my body and stay home, or not and go out,” Ollivera said.

It would seem that it isn’t just a will of the mind that influences our affairs, but a will of the body first and foremost. Of course nighttime rituals aren’t quite so important to everyone in the same way.

Environmental science major Mark Levin said, “Yeah, I brushed my teeth, but I’d probably still go out. I mean, I can always brush them again.”

This particular comment made me curious. The logic is so true, even though we brush our teeth in the morning, we still go out through our day. So what is different at night, how does the meaning change? After pre-education major Sydney Hustler gets home from a long day, she likes to change into comfortable clothes.

“It isn’t so much appearance as the routine of being ready,” Hustler said. “At that point, my body has gone through a routine to go to sleep. Doing other things, like inviting friends over would be fine, just going out would not be good. My body has already been convinced that it’s time to go to bed.”

Listening to what the body has to say is always important. It would make sense that after going through so many hours of the day, we would exhaust the energy in our reserve. Conducting familiar actions in a familiar order could certainly trigger something in our subconscious that it will soon be time for bed. The most important thing to remember is that it isn’t only the will of the mind you should be worried about, but the will of the body first and foremost.

At the beginning of the school year, I made a decision to give up social media due to the lack of free time that I found myself with. After only a couple of weeks, I started to feel lighter and more at ease, but I couldn’t figure out exactly why.

Months went by and at the end of fall term, I made an effort to check up on just how much I had missed. But the more that I scrolled and the more that I read, I started to feel a sort of weight press on my chest. I hadn’t actually realized until then that the seemingly out-of-nowhere happiness came from keeping my head out of all the ongoing social media drama.

Think about it, how many times a day do you happen to visit social media? Probably more times than you can necessarily count. The amount of time that many people spend scrolling through comments, videos and pictures is absolutely ridiculous. Not only are we indulging in somebody else’s life, but we are wasting our own. We concern ourselves with what’s happening to everyone else more than we concern ourselves with what’s happening right in front of us. Constantly being concerned with others on the Internet can send a message to the people that are actually in your everyday life.

We have all had someone we know pull out their phone when it really wasn’t an appropriate time. I can’t say that I haven’t been that person more times than preferable. Even worse, I have found myself unintentionally pulling out my phone for no reason then quickly putting it away after realizing I was being impolite.

Phantom vibration syndrome, or whatever you want to call the perception of thinking your phone is buzzing when it’s not, can have anyone reaching for their pocket at anytime out of fear that they are missing something. With a smartphone that can download any social media app under the sun, anxiety can overcome you if think you’re out of the loop, even just for one day. Like when you forget your phone at home and you’re constantly worrying about all the people trying to contact you, only to find out when you get home that nobody did. Like many others on social media, I started to feel dependent of the on flow of information. I felt like I hadn’t really gone through my day if I didn’t know what was going on with everyone else.

Nowadays many people find it more concerning to be out of the loop on the internet rather than out of the loop with their friends and family. There have been plenty of times where, even though I knew what was going on with my friends on social media, I had no idea that they were going through something completely different in their real lives off the screen.

Since I decided to cut myself off from social media, I have been more concerned with how often I actually talk to my friends rather than being concerned on how many likes, retweets and snapchats I get. When I first joined social media I didn’t expect to ever come to this point, but now that I have gotten off, I think everyone should consider it.

I find it really gratifying to not have to worry that I’m missing out on something that doesn’t really matter. I want the people in my life to know that I find them more important than what might be happening on my screen, and more central to what I should be giving my attention to.

So don’t let yourself be pushed onto the bandwagon, break free from the pack and stand up for a happier lifestyle. Cutting yourself off from social media may be one of the best decisions you’ll ever make. You’ll have a lot more free time on your hands to get your work done and really connect with the important people in your life. You might even have enough time to cross off some things from your college bucket list.

Sea level changes are nothing new. The consequences have been read out pretty explicitly, or at least, the understanding of the information is pretty clear. Sea level changes are eventually going to have large-scale effects on the Earth and its inhabitants.

For most, that’s not enough information to honestly want to do something about it. What happens in the future isn’t necessarily our problem here, in the present.

But truthfully, sea level changes are going to affect us significantly within our lifetimes. The “eventually” of our circumstances has started to become a serious reality, and there isn’t much room to skirt around the situation anymore.

The public has been told for some time that these effects would become apparent in the next hundred years. Community relocation would be necessary once the sea levels rise another foot or two, but already there are communities that are in need of relocation.

In Louisiana, a Native American tribe has already been forced to relocate due to sea level rise. The people of Pointe-au-Chien – who have lived on the Isle de Jean Charles for nearly 170 years – are losing their land and part of their culture due to changes in the sea levels.

This is only the start of what is to come. Sooner than many expected, we are being forced to find new homes for hundreds of people. The consequences of our actions have finally started to affect us on a personal level.

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the sea level in the southeast Louisiana region is rising at an average rate of three feet every 100 years. In the last 100 years alone, the state of Louisiana has already lost 1,900 square miles of land along the coastline.

The continuation of such loss may cause Louisiana to lose 570 square miles of land in the next 30 years. The loss of that much land could displace around 60,000 people.

Imagine the kind of money this relocation would need. Is that something the general public would be willing to pitch in for?

And that’s only Louisiana.

Other coastal states – Florida, Alabama, Mississippi and Texas – are all currently being affected by the rise of the gulf as well.

In addition, the saltwater that is rushing in with the ever-creeping coastline is eroding the forests, plant life and freshwater reserves. Many ecosystems are at risk of overflowing with the amount of water that has now found itself with no place to go but inland.

Marshlands – which are wetlands at the edges of lakes and streams – are being threatened due to sea level rises. Marshes are transitional ecosystems that house many species and serve a direct purpose to neighboring ecosystems.

The Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge on Chesapeake Bay has been reduced by a third since 1938 and is expected to be completely flooded within the next 25 years.

At Waccasassa Bay State Preserve in Florida, trees and cabbage palms are dying due to saltwater exposure and, of course, the lack of freshwater. This is only the start of many plant species dying out due to sea level changes.

There are many ways to prevent the sea level rise. Of course, there are fewer ways that the average American can, but it is still possible. We have to start somewhere.

There are simple tasks such as reducing waste and cutting back on motor vehicle usage that can do a significant amount of good for the environment. And there are always organizations working to fight the effects of climate change around the world that would appreciate any involvement or support.

As much as the general public may not want to admit it, there is no running away from the problem anymore. There is no more “eventually” when it comes to sea level changes, the effects are already here. The only thing to do now is work to fix it.

Body image is something that everyone struggles with at some point in their lives. Being unhappy with how you look or what you are means that you have a negative body image.

The environment we live in is a constant external pressure to change to be better. There is a distorted definition of what someone should look like and of what “normal” is. It’s damaging our society and our community.

“In our culture, almost anything can be blamed,” said University Counseling and Testing Center doctoral intern Claire Hauser. “It’s different for everybody.”

One of the most influential sources within our culture is the media. Media, of all kinds, often has a set agenda to sell products and therefore can portray an inaccurate depiction of any given body. In order to sell clothes, body soap, perfume, medicine etc., there is going to be a certain body type on screen, and there is going to be a specific representation of that body type.

Media is so incredibly unreliable and yet, nearly everyone relies on it for reference. If your body doesn’t look like the one on the screen, then you’re not attractive, or worse yet you’re not normal.

“As humans, it’s so important to feel belongingness,” said Hauser. “We want to feel normal because we want to fit in.”

But what is normal? To me normal is unachievable, to Hauser it’s “everyone else and not me.”

Looking at myself, there’s always going to be something that doesn’t allow me to fit in with the “normal” people. What is defined as normal is just not who I am, and I haven’t been given many options as to what to do about that.

Lately it seems that “normal” has become interchangeable with “ideal.” When people talk about what normal is, ideals are thrown out to define it. Men are placed in a box that is the male physique: utter stoicism, invulnerability, competition and extreme confidence.

Because not everyone is the same and not everyone can fit this criteria, one becomes convinced that they aren’t normal, simply because “normal” has been confused with “ideal.”

Yet there is still hope to reverse the damage that has been done. Efforts to make a difference include Dove’s Real Beauty campaign which features women of average, healthy body types in their ads and Victoria Secret’s The Perfect Body campaign with the slogans “every body is beautiful” and “healthy is the new skinny.” Always’ Like a Girl campaign focuses on younger girls still in their adolescence, teaching them that being a girl does not make you lesser.

Slowly society is reshaping what having a perfect body means and slowly stereotypes are on their way to being thrown out. Normal doesn’t have to mean ideal anymore and normal doesn’t even have to exist because everyone should feel perfect the way they are.

Throughout this week the University Counseling and Testing Center is teaming up with the Student Recreational Center to hold an All Sizes Fit campaign which celebrates all shapes and sizes and encourages body positivity. Throughout the week there are free events including an art gala and Rec Center workouts.

The counseling center has many dedicated staff members that want to help students not only accept themselves, but be happy with who they are. If you ever feel the need to talk to someone about your body image feel free to make an appointment.

The most important thing to remember is that there’s no such thing as “normal.” Normal has always been up for interpretation, so why not define it as whoever you want to be?

You hang up the phone, your hands are a bit sweaty and your heart is beating a little faster than usual. You can’t remember your last words exactly, but they must have been something like “thank you so much” or “have a good day.”

You’ve just been offered an interview. As excited as you are about it, you’re also nervous as hell. The first thing you want to do is prepare – who cares if it’s two weeks away? But how do you prepare for something effectively without overly stressing yourself out about it?

Breathe, relax and do your happy dance. You just moved on to the next step of the hiring process! Getting the job is totally possible, and it’s never too early to get ready.

Honestly, the first thing I think about is my outfit. Finding the perfect outfit to interview in is always tiresome and frustrating because of how much they affect first impressions.

“People make judgements about what you’re wearing,” Career Advisor Courtney Ball said. “It’s important that you research the culture of the organization, so that you can determine what their professional standards are.”

Once you know how you want to present yourself, it’s time to get ready to sit in the hot seat. Knowing what you have to offer will save you from some “ums,” “likes” and awkward pauses when answering questions, which is essentially what you want.

“There are lots of ways to prepare,” said Ball. “One of my favorite ways is to take the job description and start circling things that I’ve done or skills that I have.”

If you feel like you really don’t know anything great about yourself – take a moment. You’ve already sent them your resume and application so they’ve seen something in you that they want to hear more about. Don’t sell yourself short, the hard part is over.

There’s no particular reason for you to memorize your resume. For the most part you are looking for stories within your resume that might persuade the employer to hire you. When they ask you to tell them about yourself, they aren’t asking about your favorite color or late night snack.

“You have to pretend that they’re asking ‘Why are you a good fit for this job?’” Ball said. “Although those things about you might be interesting, they’re not what an employer is looking for.”

It’s not bragging to tell someone all your best qualities, especially if that person is someone who’s considering giving you a job. Look at it this way, an employer wants to ensure that the employee they hire has not only the skill, but the desire to work in that particular position. The more you tell them about yourself, the easier it is for them to determine whether you’re a good fit or not.

If you struggle with this particular aspect then go to the career center. It offers practice interviews where you can simulate an interviewing experience and receive feedback in order to improve for the real thing. The career center also has seminars like SOAR where you can learn more about yourself through a professional perspective.

There’s also a website offered to all students called UO Advantage that tracks experiences that you’ve had on campus. If you’ve participated in a workshop, program or session it suggest what skills you may have gained from them.

Besides knowing what to say about yourself, you should also have your own questions about the position or company.

“I always recommend that you write 10 to 15 questions to ask,” Ball said. “Have them written down so that way, when they ask if you have any questions, they can see that you’re interested and excited about the job.”

When the day comes, make sure that you show up early – Ball suggests 15 to 20 minutes before meeting time. Take travel time into account as well. Leave earlier than you think you should because anything could happen, and punctuality is a must.

Interviewing doesn’t have to be hard.

“Career development is getting to know yourself. The better you know yourself the easier it is to talk to employers about it,” Ball said. “The career center is there to help you connect the dots.”

Do you know that feeling that you get? That thought that says, “yes I want to dress up today.” Not for any particular reason, but simply because you want to feel great about yourself at least one day of the week. So, you pick out a nice outfit. Perhaps a cute skirt and blouse, maybe it’s some dark jeans and a fashionable shirt, or a button up shirt and some slacks, whatever floats your boat. Picture that outfit… now girls, imagine that you decide to fancy up your hair rather than putting up your bed-head hair.

You slip into the market and buy yourself some delicious sweet tea. You open your tea and take a swig while walking out the door. As you’re getting ready to put the lid back on the bottle, the unthinkable happens, the person in front of you stops abruptly and tea goes all over.

I am only somewhat ashamed to say that I have been that girl who spilt her tea. But let me tell you, it was embarrassing. Luckily it had been a Sunday and I had time to go change, but what if I had to go to class with tea down my shirt? Or worse, if I had an interview and didn’t have time to change?

Well, this whole experience got me thinking about why people dress up for important events. In particular, for work related situations like an interview, or a meeting, or really just everyday you’re on the job. It seems that dressing up has simply become one of society’s mandates.

Emma Zimmerman, freshman pre-journalism major, always finds herself dressing for the situation at hand. “It’s definitely a mandatory thing,” Zimmerman said. “You have to make sure that you dress in a way that matches the job, even if it doesn’t always match what you wear every day.”

Dressing ourselves appropriately has become an important part of everyday life. It would seem that society has placed a value on appearance that is unequal to the value of personality. A first impression is quite likely more when someone first sees you than when someone first meets you.

We even put ourselves to the point where we are uncomfortable in what we wear (i.e. shoes, ties, skirts, etc.). What is the sense of putting yourself through such an experience, when, truly, it is your demeanor and work ethic that determines whether you are hired, or whether you can act professional, or perform well? When looking at what an interviewer looks for, we find that they are more concerned with your body language, eye contact and your ability to give truthful and fitting answers.

Just exactly how much it matters to dress up is only met with how much it pains most people to do it. What is the point of wearing heels to work only to have to take them off before you even make it home? It seems only that one might judge whether you care about being hired based off of what you wear, rather than what you have to say within the interview or how much effort you put into doing your job.

Now I won’t say that clothing doesn’t represent you, but it shouldn’t necessarily summarize you. What you do despite your apparel should have infinite more meaning. Just because someone can afford that nice suit or those amazing diamond earrings, it doesn’t make that person smarter or better equipped for the job. If what someone is wearing during an interview is the focal point over whether their skill set meets the needs, then I would say that there is a huge problem. It seems wrong that we are not valuing the person in front of us, but merely allowing their appearance speak for them.