Do you ever want to redo a day? Well I do. I have multiple days like that. School can be draining, and with so much pressure to perform well, you can get tired and not do so well on assignments or tests. This is extremely frustrating for students when they have to perform well on a certain day no matter how well they are feeling.

But what if there’s a way to change that though? Personal appearance and self confidence might be the answer.

A 2010 study from the Journal of Applied Sciences shows a strong statistical correlation between self confidence and improved test scores. As the author, Mohammad Aryana reported on the matter.

“The results demonstrated that there was a significant positive relationship between self-esteem and academic achievement,” Aryana wrote. “However, no significant difference was found in self-esteem between males and females.”

Researchers found that most students need to feel good about themselves if they want to perform their best at school. However, cultures and preferences can greatly affect people’s choices and self confidence.

Walking into a room where your appearance isn’t up to your personal standards might make you feel more tired and poorly motivated. This may affect your attention and ability to learn at your normal level. Likewise, walking into a room when you’re up to your standards can make you feel amazing and confident, which in turn makes you more happy and motivated to be successful.

“Sometimes just a few drops of foundation and lip gloss already makes my day,” senior Kim Nguyen said. “Wearing makeup to school doesn’t affect my learning experience, but helps set a positive mood in the morning with myself looking good and confidence in the mirror.”

Different people have varying opinions on what constitutes a good appearance. Some may say they feel most confident in formal attire, while others feel more confident in comfy attire like sweats. Ultimately, for some people, personal appearance can drastically affect personal confidence.

“I think that sometimes I just wanna be comfortable while learning, and most of the time ‘comfortable’ for me is comfy shoes and sweatpants,” freshman Victoria Farley said. “So it doesn’t largely negatively affect my learning experience, but I’ve noticed I tend to have better days whenever I am dressed in comfortable clothes that I chose myself.”

Wearing uniforms affects everybody’s performance to some degree. While some people like it because they don’t stand out or have to worry about what others think and feel, it causes them to be less creative and unique.

Whether you use a motivational quote or persuade yourself by changing your appearance, doing something for yourself can help you to maintain a positive mindset and be more confident in your choices overall.