Taneyah Foy
By Taneyah Foy
Sometimes I wear my Safari Dunks. Sometimes I wear my Rick Owens. Sometimes I wear Ugg boots. Sometimes I wear chunky Vans. My “shoe game” is important to me because it helps me express my individuality. When I was in middle school I started to tap into my fashion sense and wanted to style and wear clothes that looked different from others. Looking back now I realize that this timing was not in my favor. Most middle school kids want to wear exactly what everyone else is wearing. The goal is to fit in. Most middle schoolers wear the black leggings, a Nike crew neck, Uggs, and a Lulu belt pack. It is almost a uniform. While everyone else strived to look the same, I started experimenting with my fashion and never looked back. While some students made fun of me, it didn’t stop me. I had some experience with being an odd person out. I was born in a predominantly black community in Norfolk, Virginia. Most of the people I encountered looked just like me. Nurses, teachers, waitresses, the ice cream truck vendor, clerks at all of the stores- they were all black. And then I moved here.
When I moved to Sidney, Ohio most of the people I encountered did not look like me. I learned really quickly how to get used to looking different. My mom styled my hair in twists, barrettes, and knockers when I was little. I remember sitting in my first grade class wondering why other kids didn’t have a hairstyle like mine. As I got older I started to embed in my own braids. When I took my braids out I would always get questions like “Girl, did you cut your hair?” At first questions like this bothered me, but then I realized that the questions weren’t rude, they were innocent. What was normal to me wasn’t normal to other people- and that was ok because what was normal to them wasn’t normal for me. I didn’t know it at the time, but this was the beginning of me gaining confidence.
As a senior in high school you might find me walking the halls in a long denim skirt, a baby tee, and Adidas Sambas or you might find me sporting camo cargo pants, a graphic tee over a black long sleeve undershirt, and my Rick Owens shoes. No matter how you find me, I will likely look different from others. As my confidence increases, my sense of style has elevated even more than I could have imagined. I have even noticed that when I really love my outfit, my outlook on the day is much more positive. Fashion designer Diane von Furstenberg says “Style is something each of us already has, all we need to do is find it.” I am grateful that I was brave enough to find mine. I am also smart enough to realize now that if I would have just gone along and conformed to everyone else’s vision of normal, I would have never found a style that is all my own. Being different isn’t always easy- but it is always worth it!
Taneyah Foy is the daughter of Tiffani Foy and Cosmo Lindsey. She is planning on attending The Kentucky State University in Frankfort, Kentucky. She plans to pursue her goal of becoming an RN, with a long term dream of becoming a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner. Taneyah hopes to relax as much as she can this summer before the big shift of living on her own at college.
