Narrative Essay about Tie-Dye Clothing

My mother despises it, but I love it. Whenever I go shopping now, I always come home with a new piece of tie-dye clothing. I even bought a pair of tie-dye sweatpants last week.

My obsession with tie-dye did not start until the end of eighth grade. My school had a tie-dying tradition to commemorate the completion of junior high school.

It was a Friday afternoon, and it was time to work on our last day of school activity. I pulled out the five-dollar white t-shirt from my bag and with my blank canvas in hand, I was instructed to arrange my rubber bands on the shirt in the design I desired. Despite the difficulty, I went for a starburst design with small bursts of color on each end of the shirt. Because this was my first tie-dye project, I felt hesitant about my rubber band placement and color choices. Reluctantly, I committed to a magenta, blue, and yellow design and began the process of making a beautiful mess.

My teacher had instructed us to put our shirts in the washer that night, so I went home and did so. To my horror, I discovered the beautiful sunshiney yellow was barely visible after tumbling around the washing machine. I then sat in front of my dryer for forty-five minutes, hoping to see the yellow appear again. When I removed my shirt from the dryer, I observed that the blue was very faint, and I realized that the starburst design I had envisioned had devolved into a blotch of magenta surrounded by faded blue spots. My tie-dye attempt had failed. From then on, I refused to create any more tie-dye shirts.

Going into high school, I started to realize that not everyone in my grade was taking the same courses or were involved in the same extracurricular activities. It was the first time in all my years of school that my classmates and I were beginning to separate based on our interests and exploring different activities through the plethora of clubs and sports the giant school had to offer. Compared to the activities my friends joined, I began to feel that I was on the wrong path and would not succeed in life if I did not take part in the same extracurriculars. 

The first week, I joined an extracurricular activity that my friend was involved in, and I wore the tie-dye shirt I made in eighth grade to the introductory meeting. The club's sponsor commented on my shirt, claiming he'd seen various tie-dye patterns but never one like this before. When he asked what the design was called, I was embarrassed because it did not appear like a starburst, so I blurted out a made-up name: Spin Dots. Surprisingly, he never doubted it. His reaction made me realize: although the shirt was not the standardized form of tie-dye galore, mine had a different pattern that made it more unique than I ever knew.

Having this experience made it easier for me to get involved in high school. Knowing that I did not have to follow the path of those around me, but could instead embrace who I wanted to be, allowing me to find my own path to navigate high school with. I discovered that to be successful, I did not have to take the same path as my peers, and that at the end of the day, no one will know what path I followed to get where I am.

Now, anytime I'm out with my mother and come across a piece of tie-dye clothing, I usually purchase it because of the artistry involved. As clients, we have no way of knowing whether the apparel designer made a mistake or tried something new. Each piece of tie-dye clothing has a unique narrative, just like each high school student has a unique journey and endpoint.