It’s time again to reach in the back of our closets to dig out our sweaters, jackets and gloves for the winter. One thing you should not grab off the rack – letterman jackets.
As a senior at A&M-Commerce, I always dread the winter because every fall semester I see students sporting their letterman jackets from high school.
Don’t get me wrong; letterman jackets were cool in high school. I still remember getting mine for earning good grades my sophomore year. My jacket was gray with blue lettering and on the sleeve there was a profile of a menacing Viking with my name printed in cursive on the back. I no longer felt like a dorky freshman who didn’t belong. The thought, however, never crossed my mind to pack it along with all my other belongings when I moved into Berry Hall in the fall of 2004.
I can understand first semester freshmen, but upperclassmen, really? It’s one thing to be stuck in Commerce for your very first semester and not have the opportunity to shop for a coat, but after weathering more than one winter as a college student, you need to have a coat that complements more than just jeans and a T-shirt.
Not only are you flashing your high school colors instead of the University’s blue and gold, you’re also dating yourself. It’s pretty sad when you see a student’s jacket that has printed on it ’02. I don’t think I’d be too proud blatantly wearing an item of clothing advertising to the student body I’m a super senior for the second time.
Good for you if you made all-state band, were cheerleading captain, a member of the chess club and class president your senior year. Put it on your resume instead of plastering it all over an article of clothing. No one cares what you did in high school because it doesn’t define you anymore.
If I didn’t have a coat to wear other than my letterman jacket, I’d rather put on layer after layer until I looked like Violet Beauregarde from “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory” than hurt my pride.
After spending thousands of dollars on attending college, invest in a coat that you can wear with just about any outfit. For ladies and gents alike, a plain black pea coat is just as warm as a letterman jacket and way more stylish.
Even more irking than letterman jackets are college students still wearing their high school class rings. It’s not like you need it to keep warm – it’s an accessory. You don’t need a reminder of how you survived high school and all the drama that accompanied it. Trust me, high school will not be the glory days of your life.
If you like wearing a piece of jewelry that holds sentimental value, buy a new piece of bling that can represent the same thing. This saves some scuffs on your ring and if it gets lost, you won’t feel as bad.
Guys: from a lady’s perspective, I would never date a guy who still wore his letterman jacket and his class ring. It ranks up there with still living with mommy and her doing your laundry.
I’m not saying toss your letterman jacket or your class ring into the garbage, just tuck them away in a safe place where you can look at them from time to time and remember all that happened in high school: the good, the bad and the ugly.
Stop living like you’re still in high school; college is not like the 13th grade. Take down the tassel that hangs on your rearview mirror and instead try starting the next chapter in your life with a new jacket and a new outlook on your future.