Dressing Modestly in Public High School

The bell rings at the end of the day everyone runs out of their classes to the front porch of the school.

I walk outside to go home. I see some boys and girls hanging out. As a girl dressed in a miniskirt and a revealing top passes by, a few guys whistle at her and she walks over to them and starts laughing. When I walk by some people stare at me in my beautiful long skirt and modest long sleeved T-shirt. People can tell that I am different. People can tell that I am a Torah observant Jewish girl and I am proud of that.

People can tell that I am differentI am one of the only few Orthodox Jewish girls in my public school and I am the only one that dresses modestly as required by Jewish law. That sets me apart from all of the other people in my school. There is a beautiful saying in Jewish tradition: "The glory of the king's daughter is on the inside". I, as a Jewish woman, am the daughter of G‑d, the King of the world.

As the daughter of G‑d, I am to make sure that what I wear on my body reflects my soul and guards my dignity. By dressing modestly, I am telling people to look deeper and to see my true inner beauty. When I started becoming more religiously observant, I also started dressing more modest and I worried about what people would think of me. My family also had a hard time with it because they wanted me to be like everyone else. But actually I started getting treated with more respect by both boys and girls.

I always get compliments about the way I dress. By dressing beautifully yet with dignity, people can see who I truly am. Even though I am only in high school, I already know what I want for my future. I want to marry a man who will truly love me. The real me. The kind of love that is based on the superficial will not last because as you grow old beauty fades away. But true inner beauty will always stay and if someone loves you for that then he will love you forever. I want my husband to marry me for my true inner beauty.

I want to have a big happy family and raise my children together with my husband with Torah values. Honestly it is hard sometimes when I am the only one at home and at school who dresses modest because that shows that I am different then everyone else. When I started learning Torah and becoming more observant I never even thought that one day I would want to start dressing modestly. But the more I learned, the more I saw the wisdom of our precious Torah and my connection to my Creator became deeper.

I am proud to be identified as a Jewish womanToday, even though it is hard sometimes, I am not ashamed anymore of being seen dressed modestly in public. I am proud. I am proud to be identified as a Jewish woman. I am proud to be the daughter of the King. Dressing modestly also makes me act better in public because I want to be a good role model. Every day I try to become a better person and instill in myself the Torah values that I learn because that is the part of me I want people to see. That is what Jewish modesty is all about. This is what it means to be the daughter of the King.