I hated my school uniform. (Cosmo chief Zo Aguila and associate fashion ed Happy Lopez wore the same uniform, too, FYI!) It was a universally unflattering shade of orange gingham, it was a universally unflattering boxy shape, and (in my time) we all wore our skirts at a universally unflattering length: to our ankles, because the handbook-prescribed mid-calf length was even more—yes—universally unflattering. Nobody looked good in our high school uniform.

And the worst part was that we weren’t allowed to do anything that might make it look even remotely cute. Accessories that weren’t simple earrings (meaning simple loops, simple studs, or simple pearls) and simple crosses or religious medallions were forbidden. Isusuka ko na ang simple. Makeup was forbidden. (I wonder nowadays, though, if my teachers would have noticed under-eye concealer. And I really wish that eyebrow threading had been uso then. Oh, to be a high school student with all the little beauty tricks I know now! Sigh.) Heels higher than an inch and a half were forbidden. And long nails and polish—even clear polish—were forbidden.

So basically self-expression through fashion was a no-no. Personal style was a no-no! Frustrating, right? (I managed to find a loophole in the rules, though—I wore a plastic crown to school for a whole month. Haha!)

I always envied the college girls who were allowed to grow their nails and paint them in pretty colors. I saw it as a sign of womanhood. Having painted nails meant being old enough to make choices for yourself; it meant having the freedom to express your own identity, even if only through the colors on your fingertips. After 14 years of looking like everyone else and being forced to conform to a certain standard, being able to wear nail polish meant that I would be able to do my own thing. It meant that my teachers would stop telling me what to do or who to be, and finally let me figure that out for myself.

Naturally, the second I hit college, I went to town with eyeliner and lipstick. I made up for lost time; I painted my nails in new colors every week, each color wilder than the last. Canary yellow, lifejacket orange, acid green—been there, done that, burned people’s eyes out with my neon lacquer. (Hey, it was a surefire way of making sure that my professors would spot my hand waving in the air. Friends joked that I would never drown because no lifeguard could possibly miss my frantic flailing.) I suppose that in a superficial way, it was symbolic of my coming out of my shell.

My colors toned down as I grew up. I put the hot pink aside in favor of a more classic red, and I gave up my neon brights for subtle, subdued greige (gray + beige) and more “adult” dark shades. (Lady na kasi ang lola mo!) But in the summer months, I like to crack out my colors. I don’t know what it is about summer, but I feel like everything has to be brighter. Maybe it’s that residual “school’s out!” feeling (even though we don’t get summer vacations anymore), but something about the sun makes me feel a little more free, a little more fun, and just a little more wild.

My gray nails are taking a backseat to coral, tangerine, and red orange this summer—hot colors for an equally hot season. (Check out our picks in this month’s beauty ed, Lacquer Up, where we show you some fab nail polish trends to cop. Orange is the color du jour!) Whatever colors you decide to rock this April, I hope they make you feel fun and fearless!

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