good luck! i have plans to change my appearance in the future.. i want to get invisaline & lasik eye surgery...

Two of the boys dumped you for boys?!? Man, that is rotten luck. Like myself, the gay guys seem to flock to you. This is not a bad thing, in my opinion, b/c one of my two best friends is a gay guy. I wouldn't trade him for the world.

At any rate, I do believe appearances count, if simply for the sake of showing that you have pride in yourself. As far as clothes go, I find some GREAT finds at Salvation Army or Goodwill. You just have to be willing to dig through stuff and think outside of the box. I have found that a pair of dangly earrings and a small pair of high heels will jazz up the jean and t-shirt combo. It needs to be a form fitting t-shirt, but, yeah, the small high heels can help that. Think "kitten heel." If you are going to be exposing your toes to the world in those high heels, make sure to keep your toes painted. Nail polish can be very cheap. Also, at places like Dollar General, you can find CHEAP generic makeup. Just be extra sure to wash your face at night, b/c it can wreak havoc on your skin.

The biggest thing of all, make your style your own and WEAR it. I mean, be proud of the way you look. The most stylish thing anyone can ever wear is confidence. Seriously. When you feel good about the way you look, the rest of the world will notice that, and they will automatically look at you in a different light. You are ten times prettier by default when you feel good about yourself.

Good luck!! And look forward to getting that job in college!!

i read somewhere that 'investing' in a haircut is one of the best 'purchases' to make, because you wear it EVERY DAY on your head... you can't really get rid of it (; i would just recommend going to a hair cuttery and having the stylist really understand what you want. if you can't cut your hair as often as you'd like, make sure it's a cut that is easy to care for and maintain (also, you're supposed to cut short hair every 3 months opposed to 5-6 months for long hair).

Looks matter..but only in how they make YOU feel.  I've seen plenty of people who aren't that gifted in the looks department, but their happiness, satisfaction, and love for themselves totally makes up for it.  If the only way for you to be comfortable in your own skin is to change yourself, go for it.  But know that the real problem is not your looks...it's how you feel about yourself.

Looks do count. They count for you - it doesn't matter about anyone else. I agree with the above commenters - looks are important for YOU. If you don't feel good with the way you look, that's a legitimate reason to change, but don't bother changing for other people. Your own confidence is all you need.

If I were you, I would skip the dye for the reasons others already said. You don't have to throw out the style you have now. If this is something you're comfortable in, jeans and hoodies are for you, just as they are for many other girls. You can honestly buy some pretty good products in the dollar range - why use Pantene when Suave is $1 a bottle that works just as well? You can aim for anti-frizz shampoos and conditioners at low prices too, and iron your hair so it looks more controlled.

When it comes to clothes, department stores are pretty good places to get inexpensive clothes that still look good. Or if you have a specific store in mind, watch it for sales. Heels do great in both providing height and adding a slimming look, even a 1" kitten heel. I love boots for extending the leg. I have a couple pairs of calf high boots with heels and having that extension makes it look like I have more leg and height (I'm 5'2", 19, and kind of stumpy if that makes you feel better :))! Doesn't have to be a slim stiletto kind of heel either; platforms still look great.

I wouldn't bother getting an eyebrow wax. It's so much easier to do at home with tweezers (like $2 at a drug or department store). You can use a cheap little eyeliner pencil to outline how you want to shape your brows, and chances are as long as you follow your natural browbone, you'll be able to do a good job yourself.

Don't be afraid to look for bargains. Liquidations, inventory clearouts (when the time rolls around again, the end of December is a great time to shop for inventory deals and old Christmas deals), sales, department stores, even thrift stores. They're all gold mines for finding great things to make you feel good about yourself on a fraction of the cost of going to ritzy salons or shopping at super girly places or really overrated A&F or Hollister stores. I won't shop anywhere unless things are on sale.

Do you really want to attract the kind of boys who only care about looks?

Looks do count unfortunately. But a lot of it is also about how you carry yourself. Be confidant and that will go a long way. I understand about people mistaking your for being a lot younger than you are; I'm 26 and people still think I'm in high school - no matter how I dress/wear my make up. People tell me I'll be thankful later in life, but right now it's definately frustrating. I would reccomend a good hair cut and a hair straightner. I got mine at walmart for fairly cheap and it is the biggeste life saver ever! Good luck!!

Looks matter, but more for yourself than what other people see. I'm 20 and I still don't wear makeup, so I wouldn't say it's very necessary. Then again, I'm not really sure how old people think I am. I was once thought by a custodian at my university to be a middle school student...but he's probably not the brightest guy and has bad perception of age.

I have a friend who is a year older than me, but is still thought by some people to be 12 years old. She's about 5'1", and the way she dresses, it's no wonder why people think she's in middle school or even elementary school. Wearing jeans isn't the problem, it's just that she also wears these childish-looking tennis shoes (I think they're Skechers, she has these baby blue and white-checkered shoelaces on them too), and coming from a big family that aren't so well-to-do financially, she doesn't have money to get a perm (she's Black, though looks pretty mixed) and just pulls her hair back in a bun. So I can understand we're you're coming from.

I don't know if this goes for all college campuses in the U.S., but at my school, dressing up doesn't matter as much as it may have in high school. A lot of students that live on campus are very relaxed about what they wear, so with hoodies and jeans I'd imagine you'd fit in. Wish I could say the same about college in Japan...it's like a big catwalk on campus, I kinda despise it.

So yeah...I'd say start with clothes. And they don't have to be revealing or anything to look more your age. Being on a budget myself, I only look for clothes in the clearance section of most stores. Whatever you do, the most important thing is just to stay true to your style :)

I know looks don't matter, but i've discovered I feel better about myself on the inside when I look good on the outside. Why? Who knows. But I know exactly how you feel, limited budget and all.

Find whatever makes you feel sexiest... invest in some lip gloss, or eyeliner. Foundation or cover up.

Try shopping at stores that are a little cheaper, and a lot of holiday sales at the moment.

When I'm broke and lazy I just put on a little eyeliner and red lipstick and I feel better already. Try something like that. But really, without a little confidence you've got nothing.

appearance = first impression.
majority of us judge others by their covers.

I wish I had freckles!  And boys love short girls.  And confidence is key.

My current boyfriend asked me when he first met me like 10 times how old I was (I'm 23, he's 24) because I sounded so young on the phone and look so young in person.  I was like, do you need to see my license so I can prove it?  So I understand where you're coming from.

Also, I hear you on the money issues.  But it is totally possible to look gorgeous on a budget.  You just have to look a little harder, is all.

looks count...to a certain degree. if those guys dumped you because of your looks, they weren't worth keeping. a guy can cheat on you no matter what you look like. look at halle berry and all of her man troubles throughout the years...i could go on and on.

i like hoodies and jeans too, but i also like dresses and the steretypical girly stuff. you don't have to dress prissy to look good--make sure that your jeans are flattering to your shape and that they're clean, ect. watch out for sales at the end of each season, you can get stuff for pretty cheap. you don't have to go all out with your makeup...lipgloss and mascara are pretty cheap and go a long way.

i'm african american, so i'm sure my hair advice won't help you much...but generally, a flat iron should help you tame your frizzies. try to invest in one when you get your job; CHI's are the best in my opinion (for all hair types) but wal-mart has cheaper ones that work pretty great too. good luck!

Well, you do sound way to young to be worrying about that stuff, but aside from that....

Looks DO matter. Sorry, but this is the real world. First impressions ARE important, and they are usually based on appearance. Don't judge a book by a cover? Yeah, nice ideal, but one that's hardly lived up. People judge the way you look every day, not just for dating, but for anything.

I'm not suggesting you sex yourself up, by too many posters on here think it's acceptable to just walk around like you just rolled out of bed. Not good.