Fashion for Hope

 

Just before reading week was over, I went to see Pamela walk in my old high school’s fashion show. Each year the school hosts a fashion show where students dress in clothing donated from different stores, and money raised from admission goes towards an important cause. 

 

Since Pamela is in student council, she got to help plan the event and also walk in it. It was definitely an interesting experience to say the least. I never went to one of these fashion shows when I was in high school, but I feel as though my perspective of it now is probably different than it would have been 5 years ago. Most of the girls came out onto the catwalk very seriously – stomping their stuff, striking a fierce pose and whipping their hair as they turned to exit. The guys on the other hand were hilarious; they’d come out and strike a goofy body builder pose and give their bicep a kiss. It was clearly not a big deal to the guys, and that made it so much more entertaining.

 

One other thing I wasn’t expecting from this event was all the rapping. Apparently these days my old high school is filled with aspiring rappers, and they would often take the stage between clothing lines to entertain the crowd. I couldn’t help but snicker when one boy rapped about popping a bottle of rosé for his lady… oh seventeen year olds. But in all seriousness, it was quite a change from when I was in high school. We used to have a couple of aspiring singers take the stage at each assembly or event, but never any rappers. Definitely an interesting change of pace!

 

Here are some more pictures of Pamela from the show:

 

 

 Pamela sporting a wicked Marilyn Monroe shirt. Behind her is one of the rappers I mentioned earlier, who also happens to be the designer of the shirt.

 

 

 

 

The money raised for this event was going to The Mariatu Foundation, which offers support to the women and children of Sierra Leone that were affected by a decade of civil war. The foundation was created by Mariatu Kamara, a young woman who had survived in Sierra Leone during the war, and now works as a UNICEF representative. Mariatu was there during the fashion show to speak with us briefly about her organization, and she was also selling her memoir The Bite of the Mango. 

 

I found this a very interesting coincidence, because a class I’m taking this semester is covering the topic of child soldiers. We are currently reading the book They Fight Like Soldiers, They Die Like Children and within this book there is a direct expert to Mariatu’s memoir. 

 

Safe to say, I convinced my father to buy Mariatu’s book for the family. I have since commandeered the book and plan to read it within the next few days so I can use it for my reflection assignment. I’ll have to give it back to my family sometime soon so my poor father can finally read it.

 

 

Isn’t it interesting though how the same topic will suddenly start appearing in different ways all at the same time in your life?