The Great Awakening
Ahh, yes, the limelight! I love the glitz and glamour of stardom and how it loves me back. I am luxurious, radiant, extravagant, and I have always been this way. Bright red plaid with gold tread for extra pizzazz. Before I was added to my human’s wardrobe, the only skirts in the closet were the uniform ones. I knew I was made for this life when I arrived at my forever home. But we should focus on my grand, eye-opening debut, the annual school costume contest.
The night before, I was still shoved in the back of the amoire with the school uniforms until my human brought me out with a red sweater to match me, obviously. The sweater asked, “So, are you new too?” “Yeah, somewhat. I think I came in a couple of weeks ago with some black pumps. Do you know what’s going on?” “Something about a spirit week and it being movie day or something like that.” So, I guess I’m the highlight of this outfit since I and the pumps were bought first. I hadn’t seen the pumps since the human opened the box. I wondered where he was stationed and if he was doing alright. Then the lights were turned off, and the morning came, seemingly, very slowly. I was ready to have my moment in the spotlight and for my human to see me in action.
When the morning came and the outfit was assembled, I felt a certain satisfaction from being the centerpiece of the ensemble. However, my human was hesitant to step outside the house in a short skirt, as opposed to a respectable Christian school skirt. “Never mind them, let’s hit the road, Jack! Off we go to the masses!” But obviously, she couldn’t hear me, so her mom told her to hustle into the car. The whole car ride, my human spent most of the drive trying to lengthen me or using a weatherjacket to cover me up. “Dang, can’t a girl get some sunlight. Why do I have to be the problem?” Finally, her mom told her to stop worrying and that everything would be okay. Then we pulled up to the schoolhouse, and I was ready to be seen by the whole world, or really the entire school. As soon as we stepped through the doors, I knew that this was the life for me. “Oh my god, I love Clueless.” “Wow, that skirt is so cute!” “You are ROCKING that outfit, girl!”
All the compliments and all the attention were the validation that my human needed and the confirmation that I love being in the spotlight. That day was filled with great memories and much-needed looks from the boys, which were a first for my human. The costume contest was the lightbulb moment that helped my human realize that clothes don’t have to be uniforms. And since that day, a shift happened within her closet. From neutral sweatsuits and ratty sneakers to bright colored shirts, skirts, and patterned pants. Every weekend, my human went to acting classes, and those were the one day of the week when she experimented with mixing patterns, different shades of the same color, and creating an outfit from the bottom up. It was glorious to hear stories from the clothes that went to acting classes. “Oh my gosh, I didn’t realize how many people like sleeveless shirts or funky patterns.” exclaimed a New York & Company shirt. A brand that would become very synonymous with my human and her family.
NY&C opened doors for my human’s fashion sense. I was the catalyst that started her on a more fashionable path, thank goodness! All the clothes in the closet were riding the high of getting equal exposure to the outside world. It felt like there was no other way but up for us. Then came the pandemic, and being stuck inside for what felt like forever. My human reverted immediately to her old ways, wearing oversized hoodies and baggy sweatpants. “I always knew ya’ll were short-lived.” stated one of her oldest hoodies. “You guys didn’t realize it because y’all were blinded by the compilaments and the glamour. Don’t you know everything comes in cycles.” I didn’t know that in that moment, he said something that would be too true for my human because college was right around the corner.
The weeks leading up to the start of college were a blur of rounding up all the stylish clothes and folding them into packing cubes to be taken to the dorm room. For the first time in years, we were able to experience the public’s love once again, albeit very slowly. Like a caterpillar coming out of their cocoon, she had to come to embrace individuality once again.
jada Davis 