It’s not hard to spot her strolling down the halls, decked out in her usual black t-shirts, torn jeans and suspenders. However, her hairstyles offset the dark outfits by varying from red and black spikes to a neon mohawk. Junior Desiree Hamilton doesn’t hide behind her style, but uses it to honestly express who she is.

“I try to keep myself a completely open book to people,” Hamilton said. “I think rumors are evil. If there’s nothing to hide, you can’t start [a rumor].”

Forming her style in her seventh and eighth grade years, Hamilton found a basis for her clothes and hair through her friends and altered it to her own preferences and individual tastes.

“A lot of my friends had a similar style so it morphed into that,” Hamilton said. “I like how I dress now because it helped me become more of a social person.”

Her signature punk style was developed; however, Hamilton prefers not to categorize herself under one signature label.

“People probably say I’m a punk; I agree with them, [but] I don’t really like to use labels,” Hamilton said. “But if you had to use one, I would probably say punk. I don’t think anybody really fits into one label; it’s not really right to use labels.”

As a kid, Hamilton recalls being shy, ignored and bullied. Now, Hamilton strives to express herself not only through her clothes, but also her thoughts and emotions.

“I’m not afraid to stand up to people, I’m not one to back down [and I] say what’s on my mind,” Hamilton said. “I’m more honest than a lot of people. I stuck with it because it helped bring me out of a lot of stuff.”

Hamilton finds inspiration through music, specifically her favorite bands Blink 182 and Green Day. She shows her taste in punk rock music through her everyday outfits and with a customized pair of Converse with “Blink 182” written on the front.

Hamilton also expresses herself through drawing and ceramics, which landed her the title of Free State’s Artist of the Month.

Rather than looking too far into the future, Hamilton prefers to take life as it comes. The outfits Hamilton puts together are unique to the day, while her hairstyles switch up her look every so often.

“I take [life] day by day so I don’t have to worry about stress and planning and over thinking,” she said.

Following her own path, Hamilton tries to distance herself from society when it comes to looking toward her future.

“I feel like society babies people too much already,” Hamilton said. “You have to prepare yourself for the real world or else you’re going to get out there, and you’re going to be a complete idiot.”

Hamilton’s look may be different from the average Free State student’s however, she maintains that it isn’t a ploy for attention. The most extreme thing about Hamilton is her honesty.

“I don’t know if [my style is] as much as [me] wanting to stand out; I personally prefer it,” Hamilton said. “It’s not, ‘Hey everybody look at me, come be my friend.’ It’s more of, ‘This is who I am.’”

It may be easy to notice her strutting down the halls, but it’s not always easy to look past Hamilton’s initial appearance. However, the girl behind the appearance is exactly what it portrays her to be.

“I don’t know if I’m extremely different than everyone so much but more of everybody’s different in their own way,” Hamilton said. “ I don’t have the same filters and limits that other people put on themselves.”