2-3 months ago I changed my usual jeans + sports shoes + t-shirt attire to a weird combo of shorts + boots + aloha shirt. It worked. My friends appreciated my “fashion,” though there was some mumbling about showing too much skin. After that, 1 month ago I started using a 3M 6200 Respirator. If you don’t know what that is, try imagining a “nuclear mask” which only filters the usual pollutants in the air. I expected a lot of questions from my friends, but weirdly only 4-5 people asked me anything about the mask in that initial month. Even then those questions were pretty reserved.

Today however I had to go back to my usual black jeans since the shorts were in washing. I had to pair it with a shabby grey shirt, which resulted in the most normal outfit one can see in a college.

I didn’t expected its effects though. I was stopped in cafeteria, on the steps, in the corridor, and in the bathrooms, to inquire about my mask. At the end of the day, I had a nice talk with more than 8 new people. I was surprised by this sudden surge in interest. On some reflections, I found that it is probably due to my “uncool” clothes. Either my previous clothes were grabbing attention away from my mask, or they were displaying me as a cool person and hence unapproachable (which I am not).

In short, being cool in college is bad.