Simpsonian

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As a senior, I have spent a lot of time this semester trying to locate internships and possible job placements. Generally, I feel like Simpson has prepared me pretty well for this challenge. They have provided multiple career fairs and seminars on how to create and perfect a resume, as well as classes with tips and skills necessary to have a good interview.

Even with all of this education there is one aspect of the working world that even a three-month seminar could never prepare me for: dressing appropriately. Now I am no dummy - I know what it means to dress appropriately. No short skirts, no jeans and especially no sweats. Basically, as long as you are dressed as uncomfortably as possible, you are dressed professionally.

Of course, millions of people wake up before 8 a.m. every morning and groom themselves before heading off to work, but I'm definitely not one of those people. My idea of looking good is brushing my hair before it goes back into the ponytail and taking a tissue to the eyeliner smudges below my eyes.

If I'm feeling really energetic, I may even throw on the dirty pair of jeans in the heap at the bottom of my bed, but that's usually only for special occasions. It soon becomes clear why my current place of employment is the Country Kitchen.

Thinking about how I'd soon be forced to get up, shower and dress appropriately every single day started to make me feel queasy. Once I ate some saltines and got some fresh air, my stomach felt better, but then I got mad.

Who do they think they are trying to tell me what I can wear and what I can't wear? They can't control me - I'm an individual, a free spirit. I do what I want, and then it clicked, that if I ever wanted a job where I didn't have to constantly wait on people, I would have to conform.

So why is it then completely acceptable for me to show up to class in the same sweats I have worn all day, slept in all night and quite possibly worked out in sometime in between for the entire week? It is acceptable because it is the norm, albeit at the edge of normal.

Norms are rules shared by a group of people, about what beliefs and behaviors are appropriate. When you're in college, wearing your pajamas is perfectly legitimate because the population views it as appropriate. Late nights make early classes a bear, and comfortable dress makes it a lot easier to get in multiple naps throughout the day.

Other norms on campus include:

� Wearing a pair of jeans three or four times before washing them

� Sporting flip-flops year-round

� Walking on the right side of the sidewalk

� Sitting in the back of the class

� Waiting in line at the library to use the left door

While some of these actions may seem completely silly to an outsider, they are considered normal to the students at Simpson.

In this way, it is vital to be knowledgeable of specific norms in different contexts and cultures. Whether you agree with the norms a specific group or not, they still play an important role in your individual actions and behaviors.

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