THE ECHO

by Drew Paradise

The first time I saw freshman Axel Johnson in the hallway, he was wearing a coonskin cap, rhinestone sunglasses, a band t-shirt, and basketball shorts. I thought to myself, “there is the most fashionable 14-year-old I have ever seen.” And while that might not be everyone’s first thought at the sight of a high schooler dressed like MC Davy Crocket, that’s okay; different strokes for different folks. But that’s the kind of confidence that you’ve gotta admire.

I wanted to know what advice a character like Axel Johnson could give on that subject.

Insecurity and social anxiety is a feeling many of us high schoolers experience, especially in our freshman year. When I finally got the chance to interview him, I found that his thoughts on the topic were just as colorful as his neon-green hair.

“People think you have to be perfect for other people, but you really just- don’t,” said Johnson, looking at me over his sunglasses. “They think you have to be perfect for
judgmental people. I think that’s the stupidest thing ever.”

“So judgement is the big problem,” I said.

“Yes! Like, you know how many people in here are probably wearing the same top today? It’s such a trend to be the same person as the other person. It’s just because of the way we’ve formatted our society.”

Johnson pulls a lot of fashion inspiration from the 90’s, and we spoke about how much more variety in self expression there was back then.

“I wanna go back to that because, like, it’s just so nice to be free,” said Johnson. “It’s so fun. I love skedaddling around after lunch and two-stepping in the halls. I do that all the time.”

“So I can tell you’re not afraid of judgement- what do you think makes people afraid of it?”

“It’s just because people want to be liked more. Which, yeah, I wanna be liked more too. But when you dress like this, or when you’re heavily opinionated, you’ll get judgement either way. Judgement is just a fact of life.”

The fact that Johnson has the confidence to dance through the hallway during passing period astounds me. When I was a freshman, I was afraid of making the wrong way. But if people like Axel Johnson can express themselves freely, we can all do it. To end the interview, I asked him what his message to other young people was.

“Straight up, just be yourself,” said Johnson. “Whether it’s dancing in the hallways or dressing like Lady Gaga every day, like, just do that.”

Johnson gestured to his outfit. “I wouldn’t care, and I love it too. We need more Lady Gaga people.”