A young male wearing camo pants, military boots, night vision goggles, a camo backpack, and an IFAK medical kit around his waist treads through the halls of our school with a reserved dignity. How do you react? Will a first-impression analysis assuage your judgement and curiosity, or will you not be at ease until you understand his reasoning for such apparel? These are common questions in the minds of those who come across Kade Matekovic, a freshman who dares to be different in our school of nearly 1550 students.

Kade takes pride in his daily military-clad clothing. “I like military stuff because it’s very practical, it has a lot of uses. This backpack is designed to carry some 200 pounds of bullets, but I use it to carry my homework. Which weighs about the same,” he said. Despite the undeniable truth in his statement, the meaning behind what he is saying stands above all; he wears what he wants. The simplicity of his motives are taken for granted in a high school atmosphere.

Do we dictate our clothing or does the clothing dictate us? In Kade’s situation, the military clothing not only describes his attraction to practicality, but it additionally portrays his interests. Imagine the diversity in outfits if everyone chose to wear what their interests told them to wear. This is what makes Kade standout.

“It’s Kade being Kade. It’s good for him because he’s not being an ordinary person, and ordinary people are boring,” Kade’s friend, freshman Lizzy Lehmann said. She describes him as a one of the people who has his own voice in the world. The military clothing is a tool of identification for Kade because he is able to differentiate himself from others. Without question, he is in the minority of people in the school who are not afraid to present themselves as “different” in a teenage social culture that commonly practices brutal judgment.

When asked what students say or do when he passes by, Kade said, “[It’s] mostly silence and people staring at me.” One would think that, because of his different appearance and ensuing social isolation, Kade would lack self-confidence, but he said something that proved otherwise: “I don’t mind it. I just wear these [sunglasses] and stare at them back because I can look anywhere I want and it’s like I’m looking at you.”

Kade’s humor and courage to be different are seemingly lost practices in our society, and this is even more evident in the high school setting. His optimistic attitude and practical clothing prepare him for any obstacles life might bring. Although he is just a freshman, many people could learn a lesson about happiness from Kade.

Like the indistinguishable Minions in Despicable Me, many students wander the halls in their white Converse while muttering trendy lingo that fills the air with malarkey, rather than meaningful topics of friendship and thought. Kade’s friends obviously care about him for who he is, not because he fulfills a stereotype that society encourages him to emulate.