The Skirt | Teen Ink
  1. Home
  2. Nonfiction
  3. Personal Experience
  4. The Skirt

The Skirt MAG

March 8, 2008
By EmilytheAuthor DIAMOND, St. Francisville, Louisiana
More by this author
EmilytheAuthor DIAMOND, St. Francisville, Louisiana
55 articles 20 photos 10 comments

Favorite Quote:
Be who you are and say what you feel because those that mind don't matter, and those that matter don't mind. -dr. seuss

View profile

I will be the first to say that I am not materialistic. My friends label me as a goody-goody; my parents say I am conservative and modest when it comes to clothes. I don’t wear bikinis, and none of my skirts or shorts end above my knees. That is my choice.

So why, why did I feel so tempted? My family and I were in Target, and there it was, waiting. A skirt, specifically designed not to cover anything. It was tan and looked like something one of those anime schoolgirls would wear.

I checked my purse. The skirt cost $10. I had the money. I could buy it. I imagined walking into school and my pals’ jaws dropping. Guys would ask me out, and I would be happy. I could buy it – no, I should buy it.

I showed my mother. She was surprised but said it was my decision. My sister looked on enviously.

I went into the dressing room to try it on. So sure was I that this skirt would change me, somehow make me not what I am but what I wished to be. I slid my jeans off and put it on. Now for the decisive moment. I looked in the mirror. There I was – a geeky girl in a Superman T-shirt and sneakers. My glasses fogged up as I started to cry.

The skirt did not change me. Though it fit well and might make me look good in the eyes of ­today’s world, it was not me. I am not a girl who flirts or wears cool clothes to fit in.

I took the thing off and slid back into the ­comfort of modesty. My mom knocked on the door. “Emily, are you okay?”

I wiped away my tears. “I’m fine.” I looked in the ­mirror again and saw a blond skinny girl with dorky ­glasses and a ponytail. I saw myself.

© Marisa S., Alexandria, VA

Post a comment
Submit your own

Similar Articles

Previous Next
Nonfiction
My First Job
By Anonymous
Nonfiction
Not Such a Normal Day
By Anonymous
Nonfiction
Glimpses of the Past
By Anonymous
Nonfiction
Gibby the hamster
By Anonymous
Nonfiction
I know you love me
By GageKing GOLD
Owatonna, Minnesota
GageKing GOLD, Owatonna, Minnesota
16 articles 0 photos 14 comments

Favorite Quote:
"The only way to find true happiness is to risk being completely cut open. Sure, everybody wants to play God, but for me it's a full-time job. What you don't understand, you can make mean anything." Jeferree Star

View profile
Nonfiction
funn times...
By Anonymous

JOIN THE DISCUSSION

This article has 341 comments.

_ella_herondale BRONZE said...
on Apr. 30 2012 at 10:26 am
_ella_herondale BRONZE, San Diego, California
4 articles 2 photos 222 comments

Favorite Quote:
"...If the Thames that ran beside them...recalled a night where the moon shone as brightly as a shilling on the same boy and girl... and thought to themselves, 'at last, the wheel comes full circle,' they kept their silence."

View profile
This is a very beautiful piece full of ideals I wish everyone had. You wrote this so perfectly, it is so deserving of the magazine publication you received. I especially loved the part where you "saw yourself." good job!
GodSpell98 GOLD said...
on Apr. 19 2012 at 7:19 pm
GodSpell98 GOLD, Lincoln, Nebraska
18 articles 1 photo 16 comments

Favorite Quote:
"THE HUNKY-DORY THING ZAPPED ME!!" or "“We are the music makers, and we are the dreamers of dreams”. or anything from Lord of the Rings or Star Trek.

View profile
I really connected with this piece! I checked ur profile and we have so much in common, even tho i didn't put a lot of the stuff down. GO LEANORD NIMOY! TREKKIES RULE!!! P.S. whats ur fave episode? I <3 Private Little War (and Chekov) sorry that im being a geek and talkative but I don't get to spaz like this very often! YAY! Anyway, loved the article! And the superman shirt! Woot Woot! 8D!
ModernMissBennet BRONZE said...
on Apr. 7 2012 at 3:05 pm
ModernMissBennet BRONZE, Spanaway, Washington
3 articles 0 photos 22 comments
View profile
I really identified with this piece, and I think the writing is great! 
thelostsiren BRONZE said...
on Apr. 7 2012 at 3:02 pm
thelostsiren BRONZE, Missouri City, Texas
1 article 0 photos 1 comment
View profile
Wow, I loved this. Great job.
livelaughloveeatsoup said...
on Mar. 30 2012 at 10:41 pm
livelaughloveeatsoup, Lincoln, Nebraska
0 articles 0 photos 6 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;If you&#039;re going through hell, keep going.&quot; <br /> ~Winston Churchill

View profile
This was amazing:) good job! :)
Lletya BRONZE said...
on Feb. 23 2012 at 8:37 pm
Lletya BRONZE, Aurora, Colorado
2 articles 1 photo 21 comments

Favorite Quote:
All we ever wanted you to be, is to be yourself! If everyone leaves the show that night feeling better about themselves, then we did our job. Its a social experiment, slash art project. We&#039;re trying to change the world and help alot of people. MCR

View profile
I've kinda had the same thing happen.  I try something on, thinking it will be cool, and its just not me.  But, you're you, and thats good.
CandyGirl said...
on Feb. 11 2012 at 9:40 pm
This was so poetic, towards the end
Michelle.D SILVER said...
on Feb. 1 2012 at 7:31 pm
Michelle.D SILVER, Hemet, California
6 articles 0 photos 8 comments

Favorite Quote:
&ldquo;You can never solve a problem with the same kind of thinking that created the problem in the first place.&rdquo;<br /> -Albert Einstein

View profile
This was really honest. great job! :)
Sarbear1995 BRONZE said...
on Jan. 17 2012 at 11:11 am
Sarbear1995 BRONZE, St. David, Maine
2 articles 0 photos 3 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;Its easier to be wise for others them for our selves&quot;

View profile
Great job on being yourself, you aren't here to please other people :)
crystalita said...
on Jan. 10 2012 at 3:02 pm
true this people now on days just do wat their friends do you can see ll the girls wear the same thing
lolzdude said...
on Jan. 3 2012 at 1:14 pm
I think you mean truthfully, or truly...
lolzdude said...
on Jan. 3 2012 at 1:11 pm
I can't relate at all b/c I'm cool and good looking... but you write very well. I liked the story.
beautifulspirit PLATINUM said...
on Dec. 29 2011 at 8:55 am
beautifulspirit PLATINUM, Alpharetta, Georgia
35 articles 0 photos 1398 comments

Favorite Quote:
The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.<br /> --Eleanor Roosevelt

View profile
So open and honest~ This is something that a lot of people think of in the dressing room, but they ignore the thought.
ForeverSweetheart GOLD said...
on Dec. 19 2011 at 7:12 pm
ForeverSweetheart GOLD, Safford, Arizona
17 articles 1 photo 36 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;Babe, do what you have to do.&quot; -- Ryan M.<br /> &quot;I like nonsense; it wakes up the brain cells.&quot; -- Dr. Seuss<br /> &quot;Put him in the taffy puller!&quot;<br /> &quot;Taffy puller?!&quot;<br /> &quot;Hey! That was my idea!&quot; -- Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

View profile

Amen to that!

 

maizyiscrazy GOLD said...
on Dec. 19 2011 at 7:05 pm
maizyiscrazy GOLD, Washington, District Of Columbia
10 articles 53 photos 261 comments

Favorite Quote:
I believe in pink. I believe that laughing is the best calorie burner. I believe in kissing, kissing a lot. I believe in being strong when everything seems to be going wrong. I believe in miracles. ~Audrey Hepburn

View profile
Whenever I look in the mirror and see something that somebody else might not aprove of, this happens to me. This is very good.
Chans247 GOLD said...
on Dec. 16 2011 at 6:35 pm
Chans247 GOLD, Rosthern, Other
12 articles 6 photos 26 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;You could say this advice is priceless. Now...if you trust in yourself...believe in your dreams...and follow your star...you&#039;ll still get beaten by people who spend their time working hard and learning things and weren&#039;t so lazy.&quot; ~Discworld

View profile
This was very well written. What happened to you remind me of what happened to me. I always wish that I could look cool, but I just don't like that sort of clothing.
readlovewrite SILVER said...
on Nov. 27 2011 at 10:16 am
readlovewrite SILVER, Greensboro, North Carolina
7 articles 1 photo 58 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;Be quick to listen, and slow to speak, and even slower to judge.&quot;

View profile
This is very good.  You were right to do what you did.  I have felt that way to because it is the same at my school.  I sometimes wish I could look like my friends and be like them too, but instead whenever I see something that seems like it might look good to the people around me, I feel like it just isn't me.  You wrote truely, and I am sure that you have represented many other people as well
Rhinos SILVER said...
on Nov. 27 2011 at 7:38 am
Rhinos SILVER, Saigon, Other
5 articles 0 photos 8 comments
View profile
True true true, be yourself, at least you know you're on your own path. Everybody has a talent, if you deviate from it, you're only getting farther. It's true where I am too! Very thoughtful!
BloodyMary PLATINUM said...
on Nov. 20 2011 at 8:02 am
BloodyMary PLATINUM, N/A, Other
22 articles 8 photos 70 comments

Favorite Quote:
Life is like a box of chocolates; You never know what you are gonna get.

View profile
Awww! I love this one! I'm glad because you value MODESTY SO MUCH! You inspire everyone:)
SuchALittleLady BRONZE said...
on Nov. 19 2011 at 2:49 pm
SuchALittleLady BRONZE, Barberton, Ohio
3 articles 0 photos 4 comments
View profile
I appecriate the way you carry yourself, everyone seems to want to fit in by showing off body parts. But beauty truly does come from within and if someone can't appreciate you for the way you carry yourself  then they can't truly apreciate you for you.