Uniform

Walking back in to the locker room after our first eighth grade football practice, I was asked by one of my neophyte teammates, "When do we get our costumes?" A simple enough question, complicated only by this kid's lack of vocabulary.
"You mean uniforms?" I returned. The resultant laughter followed us all the way into the showers and most of the way home, but it never occurred to me to ask him if he did, in fact, know the difference. Uniforms: to create an orderly, singular appearance. Costumes: for disguise and to set yourself apart from your true identity. What would the eighth grade football team be issued?
It was about this time in my life that I started noticing what everyone else was wearing. It wasn't until ninth grade that I started insisting that my mother buy me clothes that would make me fit in better: Adidas, corduroy pants, rayon shirts. Costume or uniform?
My son wears a uniform to school. It's a public school, but most of the middle schools in Oakland prefer to have the kids in uniform rather than have any discussion or conflicts over the outward appearance of the student body: uniform. The entertainment comes from watching these burgeoning teens assert their personalities through those khaki pants and white shirts. Or blue shirts. And once a month or so there are "free dress days" where students are allowed to wear their finest, flashiest clothes: costume? It is interesting to me just how often my son chooses to simply wear his uniform, either out of habit, or a lack of interest in showing off his fashion sense.
I wonder what the uniform will be for him when he gets to high school.