Let me introduce you to my friends Matt and John.

A few weeks ago, I accompanied Matt to Rinaldo's Barber Shop. It was a pretty ordinary trip, except for the fact that when he walked out of the front door afterwards, he had a Mohawk.

The reactions he received from the State College public ranged from little girls who giggled to senior citizens who were noticeably appalled and frightened that he would start stomping around, punching and kicking at will, screaming "Punk rock!" and "Anarchy!" a la Johnny Rotten and the Sex Pistols circa 1977.

Just for kicks, he actually did it a few times.

John, my previous roommate of three years is undoubtedly the nicest guy I have ever met. He would give you the shirt off his back any day of the week, which segues nicely into my next point — he had an unbelievably unique wardrobe.

Two of my favorite outfits of his were: 1) a slightly dressy getup topped off with a Mountain Dew tie and a Dick Tracy hat and 2) a pair of black overalls with a bright neon green shirt underneath.

Sure the "fashion police" could have pulled him over every day, and he had his fair share of comments leveled at him from "cool" people, but who cares? His outfits matched his personality and he wasn't afraid to be himself.

Both of these guys exhibit something not prominent enough on this campus — namely the ability to be different without caring about what others think about you.

Ruminate on this for a second.

When all of us were pre-freshman during FTCAP, advisers and speakers went out of their way to tell us to do anything possible to avoid being a number.

But yet, it seems a large segment of the population goes out of its way to become just that— another Joe student on a campus already teaming with them.

Yes, the aforementioned students might be en vogue, but they're about as predictable as an episode of Scooby Doo.

Recipe for a typical PSU male

Start out with one Jeep bumping with either Limp Bizkit, Eminem or DMX, add Abercrombie garb with a visor (which is turned backwards and upside down for maximum effect and is worn fashionably at night when there is no sun).

Top it off with a sleeveless Gap fleece and a cell phone.

Recipe for a typical PSU female

Start out with the most important ingredient in the batch, black pants, along with those black high-heeled loafers. Then add spaghetti-strap tops, backless tops, capri pants and more Abercrombie garb.

For a tastier recipe, don't forget face and body sparkles in multiple colors that make for that extra glowing complexion at parties.

This isn't everyone, but I'm sure anyone reading this knows exactly where I'm coming from, and you're either laughing or pretty pissed off.

But just listen for a minute.

I'm not trying to put myself on a pedestal and act like everything about me is trend-free. I'm just trying to prove a point that this campus worries about public opinion too much.

It's not a big deal if your shirt doesn't have a brand name on it. And who cares if something is so five minutes ago? If you like it and you think it looks good on you, wear it. If people don't like it, that's their problem.

Besides, if a guy or girl won't date you because you're not wearing the right clothes, you really shouldn't be attempting anything with that person anyway.

They're not worth your time and money.

And while we're on the topic of right clothes, I'm sure there is a population of students out there who shop at Abercrombie because they like the clothing. But considering that the articles I see the most are $50 long sleeve T-shirts (read: walking advertisements) that simply have the store's logo emblazoned on the front, that population can't be too big.

Carpe diem. Stand out from the crowd. Try something outrageous. Stop worrying so much about public opinion.

Please yourself first.