So, I was digging through some old boxes the other day, you know, the kind you shove in the attic and forget about for years. Found one marked ‘2004 stuff’. And inside, oh boy. Tucked under some old CDs and magazines was this shirt. A real relic from 2004.
Seeing that shirt just brought it all back. 2004 was a weird year for me. I’d just finished some studies, trying to get my foot in the door, like, a proper job. Not just summer gigs. And I thought I needed the look. Back then, fashion was… something else. Low rise everything, maybe a trucker hat if you were feeling bold. I wasn’t that bold, but I definitely thought the clothes made the man.
I remember spending what felt like a fortune (which probably wasn’t much, but felt like it then) on this specific shirt for an interview. It was this shiny, patterned thing. Thought it screamed ‘professional but also cool’. Yeah, right. Looking back, it just screamed ‘trying too hard’.
Walked into that interview feeling like a million bucks, or at least, trying to project that. But the shirt felt stiff, wasn’t really ‘me’. And I think the interviewer could tell I was uncomfortable, not really settled. I was so focused on the outside, the shirt, the image I wanted to project, that I probably bombed the actual talking part. Didn’t get the job, obviously.
It wasn’t just the shirt, of course. I was young, nervous, probably underqualified. But the memory of that shirt, and how much importance I placed on it, kinda stuck with me. It’s funny how we think some external thing, like a piece of clothing, is gonna be the magic key.
What I learned
Finding that shirt again just reminded me. It’s not really about the clothes, is it? It’s about feeling okay in your own skin. Took me a while to figure that out. Back in 2004, I was trying to wear a costume. Now, I just wear what feels right. Still might not always get it perfect, but at least it’s me. And usually, that works out a whole lot better. That shiny shirt is going back in the box though, maybe for another laugh in 10 years.
