![“[Building nerf blasters] became this outlet of creativity for me that hasn't been matched by anything else. The process [of] making a build complete to your desire is such a painstakingly difficult process, but I've had to learn from [the skills needed from] soldering to proper painting. There's so many different options for everything, if you think about it, it exists. The best part is [that] if it doesn't exist, you can build it yourself," Ishaan Parate said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/DSC_8149-900x604.jpg)
![“When I came into high school, I was ready to be a follower. But DECA was a game changer for me. It helped me overcome my fear of public speaking, and it's played such a major role in who I've become today. To be able to successfully lead a chapter of 150 students, an officer team and be one of the upperclassmen I once really admired is something I'm [really] proud of,” Anvitha Tummala ('21) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Screen-Shot-2021-07-25-at-9.50.05-AM-900x594.png)
![“I think getting up in the morning and having a sense of purpose [is exciting]. I think without a certain amount of drive, life is kind of obsolete and mundane, and I think having that every single day is what makes each day unique and kind of makes life exciting,” Neymika Jain (12) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Screen-Shot-2017-06-03-at-4.54.16-PM.png)
![“My slogan is ‘slow feet, don’t eat, and I’m hungry.’ You need to run fast to get where you are–you aren't going to get those championships if you aren't fast,” Angel Cervantes (12) said. “I want to do well in school on my tests and in track and win championships for my team. I live by that, [and] I can do that anywhere: in the classroom or on the field.”](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/DSC5146-900x601.jpg)
![“[Volleyball has] taught me how to fall correctly, and another thing it taught is that you don’t have to be the best at something to be good at it. If you just hit the ball in a smart way, then it still scores points and you’re good at it. You could be a background player and still make a much bigger impact on the team than you would think,” Anya Gert (’20) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/AnnaGert_JinTuan_HoHPhotoEdited-600x900.jpeg)
![“I'm not nearly there yet, but [my confidence has] definitely been getting better since I was pretty shy and timid coming into Harker my freshman year. I know that there's a lot of people that are really confident in what they do, and I really admire them. Everyone's so driven and that has really pushed me to kind of try to find my own place in high school and be more confident,” Alyssa Huang (’20) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/AlyssaHuang_EmilyChen_HoHPhoto-900x749.jpeg)
I don’t understand guys…fashion.
I’ll just be honest. I really don’t get guys’ in general fashion. It’s obvious possible that this disconnect is just a symptom of my larger confusion with the male gender.
It’s not that I think they have cooties or anything. It’s just something that’s sprung from my extracurriculars and lack of siblings. Take a look at what I do for fun:
- Journalism. There are zero male freshmen on newspaper.
- Crystal Children’s Choir. The gender imbalance is pretty evident if you come to any of our concerts.
Me surrounded by my fellow choristers. - Creative Writing. The demographics of HELM submitters are pretty indicative of the number of guys who actively pursue creative writing as a hobby.
- Girls Lacrosse. The gender breakdown is in the name.
So, in my quest to better grasp the intricacies of the Y chromosome, I went around and interviewed Harker males at random, asking them how they picked their outfits in the morning. In a trend that didn’t bode well for the amount of pride guys have in their outfits, each person I interviewed independently asked to be anonymous. One even requested that I delete his entire quote after I read it back to him.
“I just grab it.”
“I have a very methodical way. First I scout my pile of usable clothes (it’s not really a pile; it’s a system), which is lying on my couch, at which point I select a nice pair of shorts to compliment one of the two collared shirts have.”
“I don’t have fashion. I don’t care.”
“I just pick whatever’s there because I’m half asleep.”
“I see how hot or cold it is. I don’t try to follow a color scheme. I pick things that don’t look flashy.”
Assuming my results are credible, most guys put little to no effort into how they look. But that still doesn’t explain the over-gelled hair, neon shorts, and weirdly patterned socks I see every day around campus. There must be some rhyme or reason to this argyle mess.
If guys took cues from Milan runways, they would be sporting bro-tank halter tops, double-breasted blazers, and translucent knitwear.
Maybe in the same way that clothes are a status symbol for girls, maintaining the appearance of not caring about clothes is considered cool for guys. There are hundreds of tutorials on YouTube teaching women to perfect the art of “no makeup makeup.” Perhaps men’s fashion (or apparent lack thereof) is simply a reflection of the universally human desire to be naturally attractive without effort.
Meilan Steimle (12) is co-Editor-in-Chief of the Winged Post. She was a reporter her freshman year, Winged Post Opinion Editor her sophomore year and Winged...