Change Clothes and Go.

Clothes today make up who a person is in this day and age. I for one have had a taste of what different culture value and only Americans put so much emphasis on a person's clothing.

In Haiti clothes are worn because it is a necessity in society. Only babies are allowed to run around without clothes on. Haiti being an impoverished nation, has limited options when it comes to fashion. When I visited Haiti this past summer, I was instantly pointed out as the "diaspora" or American who has come to visit the country because of what I wore. In the U.S. women are more susceptible to the scrutiny of society because there are so many clothing lines dedicated to finding the newest and most acceptable fashions of the modern times. Being superficial is now acceptable because it is seen as having good fashion sense. Clothing is no longer worn seen as a means of protection from the elements, but it is a part of who we are and where we've come from.
Growing up, my parents wanted what was best for me. What was best for me was to have clothes on my back, a roof over my head, food in my stomach, and a good education. These things were in their reach, but they never really paid attention to the latest fashions because of how they grew up. The nicest clothes we worn to attend school and to church on Sunday. I still hold some of the values they instilled in me but growing up in American society has crippled me in regards to clothes. I do not have the passion for fashion as some call it. I wear the clothes that I think are appropriate and that are comfortable for me. Even though I am dictated in some part by what society and the media thinks about clothes, I am not totally in bondage when it comes to clothes.