By Nancilynn GattaSpecial to the Exponent A teen’s appearance says a lot about him or her. It can show how she feels about herself. It can tell the world how he wants to be perceived. Students from Alliance Regina Coeli Parish re-cently shared their thoughts on their appearance, whether they pay much attention to how they look, and the impres-sion that their style gives to other people who don’t know them. Many people would say that how a teen dresses for church reflects on the whole family attending Mass. Parents may influence what teens should wear through their example, or they might give strong or subtle hints for what they think is appropriate. “My parents have always taught me to look nice for church,” said Anna Benedetti, a sophomore at St. Thomas Aquinas High School and Middle School, Louis-ville. She continued, “We always have our shoulders covered and nothing strapless or showy. Never wear ca-sual clothes. Dress in something that is nicer than what we usually wear on a daily basis.” Alex Tarter, a freshman at Marlington High School, Alliance, and Sly Sampson, a recent graduate of St. Thomas Aquinas, who will be a freshman at Stark State College, North Canton, have similar approaches to dressing for Mass: “We have to dress up a little more than usual,” said Alex, and Sly said that he wears nicer clothes for church than he would if he was just going out with his friends. Many female teens begin to consistently wear makeup during their high school years, but they make de-cisions when applying it. Brooke Sams, a sophomore at Alliance High School, said that she is comfortable with or without make-up. “It depends where I’m at. If I’m hanging out with

my friends, it wouldn’t matter to me if I wore it or not. If it was at church, I would.” How much makeup you wear can also depend on your destination. “At school, they have a limit. Since I go to a pri-vate school, you can’t cake it on a bunch, but I prefer to have it on,” said Aja Shriver, a freshman at St. Thomas Aquinas High School. How your hair looks is also a part of your appear-ance that strangers can use to judge you. Male teens may just get their hair cut, but teen girls often have more hair issues to deal with in order to feel good about how they look. Typically, young women want whatever texture of hair they don’t have. And they prefer spending as little time as possible on their hair style on a daily basis.

“I just usually put it up in a bun because it’s really wild. It will be nice when I take a shower in the morning,[then] it dries up in the middle of the day and it gets really big. Everyone comments, ‘I wish I had your hair.’ I like to straighten it,” said Aja. Krissy Tarter, a senior at Marlington, also likes to keep her hair grooming as simple as possible. “I never wear it down natural because it’s kind of poofy. If I don’t feel like doing anything to it, I’ll pull it back or I’ll put it in a braid so it tries to stay together. If I feel like I have time, I’ll straighten it or curl it,” said Krissy Tarter, a senior at Marlington. Ashley Tarter, a freshman at Marlington, has her own hair concerns. “It gets really frizzy, so I just usually put it in a ponytail.” When Kyleigh Muniz, a freshman at Mar-lington High School, considers the way her hair looks, she also considers the functionality of the style. “Most of the time my hair is up because I don’t like my hair being in my face. A lot of the times my hair is in two braids because I play a lot of sports. I don’t have to worry about it falling out while I’m doing what I’m doing. So it’s either a bun or a braid. I do not like it down, that much.” The teens admitted that, even if they don’t intend to judge a classmate, the person’s appearance can provoke unfair thoughts about them. “I think if it is extreme, people will [judge]. There are people at my school, you see with dif-ferent color hair and makeup. You will see people judge them. I personally don’t think you should judge someone by how they look, but I catch myself thinking things sometimes, like ‘Why did they do that?’ I think people judge – especially teenagers in school,” said Maria Sams, a senior at Alliance High School. Brooke said she thinks that people who judge others do it without thinking; they just react. “I used to wear t-shirts and athletic shorts all the time, but now I hate wearing those because I feel like I look so bad in them. It was just comfort-able and easy. I have a different style now.” By their reactions, people thought she was coming from or going to a sporting event, Brooke said. Sly said he believes that sometimes people

judge others who look different from them and assume they wouldn’t get along with that person based on their appearance. But categorizing a person’s beliefs, values and personality based on their look does not always give an accurate portrayal of who they really are as a person, the interviewees noted. It is better to get to know someone rather than just form an opinion by their appearance.

Your Appearance

What does it say about YOU?

How TRUE is the message?

11August 11, 2017 The Catholic Exponent |

Featuring teens from Alliance

Regina Coeli Parish

With

YOU th

in Mind