In light of the Women's Initiative and all the talk of effortless perfection, we would like to declare a Comfort Day on the 20th of each month, beginning with this Thursday. Comfort Day is a day to focus on you. There is no dress code, there are no expectations and there is no correct way to think.
Our goal for Comfort Day is to engage the Duke community in constructively discussing the problems surrounding effortless perfection. We recognize that effortless perfection is a social problem; however, we would like to chip away at the matter by encouraging people to think and speak more deeply about the issue. The problem of effortless perfection occurs when a person focuses on another's expectations instead of his or her own. We have chosen the motto "Me First" to emphasize that students need to shift their focus away from external expectations and toward their own internal motivations. To help us send this message, we invite all students, faculty, staff and administrators to join us in dressing as comfortably as possible. Although image concerns are not the only negative effect of effortless perfection, seeing everyone dressed more comfortably than normal will be a powerful visual statement.
Each month, we will also be highlighting a different issue that pertains to the idea of societal expectations and the decisions that we make. This month, we are hosting a panel on balancing career and family. It will be held Thursday in Soc Sci 139 at 7 p.m., and we urge you all to attend.
Although effortless perfection was highlighted by the Women's Initiative, it is by no means purely a female concern. As such, we invite everyone in the Duke community to take a stand against effortless perfection this Thursday. Take action, dress comfortably; be comfortable in who you are and what you do, and remember to focus on yourself. If we all work together, we might begin to crack the facade of unattainable perfection.
Ishar Carmichael
Trinity '04
and two others
The writers are the founders of Comfort Day
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