Hoodies

I take time to think about what I wear much more than I used to. Different clothes appeal to different situations. For instance, I now wear a vest and bowties in certain situations, or a casual sweater in another. Style has become more fascinating to me in my 30s for some reason.

But one peculiar habit I have is wearing hoodies. I wear them all the time, no matter the time of year. And the ones that I end up with are either bought off the rack because they looked cool and interesting, other ones were inherited or “borrowed” from my wife.

I’m currently wearing a hoodie from Crisis Text Line (a number to text when you feel depressed or suicidal). I’ve never volunteered there, but my wife has. I also have a beautiful Burgundy hoodie that says “wild cats” on it. Apparently, this is a reference to High School Musical, but I didn’t know that when I bought it – I just knew it was he heaviest sweatshirt on the rack. Or another shirt to promote the sports team the Raiders. It’s baby blue, and I bought it at Giant on a cold day (I had forgotten to wear a jacket). 

Most of my hoodies don’t represent me. I like this. It’s much better than wearing an identity, like those who put political bumper stickers on their car, or tongue-in-cheek shirts or whatever it is.

It’s also a constant reminder that the way we present ourselves to the world doesn’t always align to who we really are underneath.