Table of ContentsMiddle School: Limited by SMODThe Liberation of GraduationEmbracing Creativity and Individuality in High SchoolMeeting My Best FriendReferencesMiddle School: Limited by SMODI fondly remember the day and the way I met my best friend. About ten years ago, on August 27, I began one of the most terrifying journeys of a child's life: middle school. At the time I hated that new trip, especially since I had just migrated from Greensboro to Whitsett NC; removing all my previous friends forcing me to experience a completely new school and decide who to grant friendships to. Oh, I should also mention that the middle school I went to implemented SMOD. This is a shortened term used in Guilford County meaning standard mode of dress to help alleviate peer pressure associated with fashion by preventing certain behavioral problems for the improvement of school climate, discipline and achievement. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Let it be known that I had and in a way still have a level of hatred for the SMOD idea, but I think in a way it has strengthened my creativity. Listen to me, the limitations that were apparently placed on us made us, at least me, more imaginative and creative in how we wore our uniforms. I remember one morning, before going to school, I was trying to decide what to wear from the "many" options that were offered to me. At that moment of research, the spark was lit, I saw two polo shirts and saw the opportunity to layer them (which is one of my favorite design/styling tools). I distinctly remember one of my layering combinations was this police strobe light like blue polo on the outside with a crisp white polo underneath, I would pop the collar of the white polo out so when you looked at me you would see this two tone polo, with a white collar and a blue torso. I could have sworn I was the best fly dresser in that school with my layers of many different colors, although wearing layers in the middle of summer might not have been the best idea... you know, because of the heat and sweating not the best look .The liberation of graduationBut let's fast forward a couple of years, I'd say about four years, from the first day I started middle school. I finally got freedom from SMOD on graduation day. When those glorious bells of freedom rang in my life, I was given the opportunity to think for myself, to be creative in what I wore and how I presented myself. There was such beauty that day I was released from that restricted prison-like lifestyle. I don't know how I can express it enough... as Aretha Franklin would say 'Freedom (freedom), Freedom (freedom), Freedom, oh FREEDOM!!'. Being liberated increased my love and passion for fashion to such an extent that my creativity exploded. Embracing Creativity and Individuality in High School I attended Weaver Academy, or should I say Philip J. Weaver Academy Education Center of the Performing and Visual Arts for high school… I know the name might be a little longer and a a little longer than many other schools, but the "extra" fits the school. Weaver was a school created for people with greater creativity, greater ambition, and was extraordinarily diverse. This extra element seemed to promote confidence across the school in many ways. Like the way one portrayed himself, the way he stood taller in his own skin. And how you dressed, wearing what you felt like wearing,., 1968.