The first time I remember wearing a hat was when I was maybe 3 or 4 years old. I remember that it was a Winnie the pooh themed rabbit hat from Disney world. The hat had long thin bunny hears coming out of the top and big black rabbit eyes on the front of it. I would wear that hat all the time and hop around the house like a bunny, annoying my parents in the process. The next hat I remember wearing was when I moved to Australia in grade 2 and ended up at a private school with uniforms. The uniform came with a blue hat with long piece of fabric on the back which was meant to cover your neck from the sun. I would play outside at recess and imagine the back fabric was a cape and pretend to fly around the school yard. A few years later I’m still in Australia and in grade 8 when I see this hat in a mall laying in a bin under a sign that says clearance. The hat was half pink and half grey with the word’s Billabong on it and for some reason I just had to buy it. After the cashier gave it to me I didn’t even want the bag I just put the hat on immediately and wore it for the rest of the day. Depending on my mood I would wear it high, low, backwards or slightly tilted to the side (like a gangsta). I wore that hat pretty much every day until I moved back to Canada and lost it somewhere during the unpacking process. For the next few years after that I didn’t really wear much hats. I’m not sure if it’s because I really missed my old hat or that I just couldn’t find a hat that I felt represent me. I’m in high school at this point when a friend of mine buys a hat with a BOGO deal and got another hat for free. This hat wasn’t like the usual hat I would go for, it was limp and made of soft fabric. It was a dark blue beanie. Since my friend said he didn’t need another one he decided to give it to me. I ended up wearing this beanie all the time, it didn’t matter if it was summer or winter, I wore it. I began buying more beanies after that and gained a small collection. Time goes by and I end up graduating high school and got a retail job in the mall. This new retail job combined with my new-found hat buying phase became a problem right away. I would go to work to earn money but somehow come home with less money but more hats. If I am being honest though I don’t think I regret it at all. Hats have become a way I identify myself with and a way I can express myself. When I look at a hat I don’t just see fabric, I see memories, freedom, friendship and love. Also, I really think I have a big forehead and I like to cover it up.