Imagine waking up every morning and having to put on the same set of clothes every day. However, you would not only be in the same clothes every day; everyone at school would also be wearing the same clothes.

Freedom and individuality are essential to children in school. It’s hard to stand out when you look like everyone else. Our parents have taught us to be leaders, not followers, but restricting the freedom to wear what we want to school makes everyone under that rule a follower.

One would think that America, “the land of the free,” would not support such a restriction, especially on the future of the nation. What happened to diversity? America has essentially found a way to turn our schools into prisons, a place where everyone looks the same, has the same schedule, and has a limited and controlled amount of time to be outside. This description is too much like the one that America uses to describe the place we put criminals.

As a student living under a dress code, I already feel restricted, so a uniform would never work. Why shouldn’t I be able to wear a tank-top shirt and girls be allowed to wear short shorts or spaghetti-strap shirts? Students should learn not to focus so much on what a person wears or how revealing one’s clothes may be. Restrictions on how students dress leave students unaware of the real world. When students see people underdressed in public, they begin to believe they are dressed inappropriately, and these assumptions can lead to judgment against that person.

The future leaders of America should not be taught to judge others based upon their clothing choice but rather on their character and demeanor. A country full of people who judge others because of their upbringing or lack of experience with others leads to problems such as suicide and bullying. Judging leads people to have low confidence and low self-esteem. A country full of people with low self-esteem and confidence leaves a nation without a leader; someone to bring us out of sticky situations, someone the children of America can look up to.

Freedom of choice is a small freedom that should be provided to students. The school system forces students to choose classes and what they eat for lunch but does not allow them to choose what they wear to school on a day-to-day basis. We are stripped of simple freedoms but other simple choices are also forced upon us. Self-expression allows students to wear their favorite color in the form of a shirt or represent their favorite band in school.