There is a new and controversial accessory/amendment thief/ prison uniform or straight up piece of fabric that has all students here at the always lovely Allen High School, tweeting, arguing and inevitably wearing their ID cards in plain sight. Say hello to your painfully awkward and uncomfortably awful 2013-2014 yearbook photo, because, there it is, on your chest, for everyone to marvel at with disgust and laughter. Say hello to lanyards.

Here’s three steps to distract fellow class members from staring at the ugly picture hanging around your neck and instead, submerge them in the beauty of the string holding it there.

How to make your lanyard look A1:

• Buy pins to let the people know you’re musically inclined and have a sick taste in ’80s slow jams (yes I am talking about The Smiths “meat is murder” album pin I have on mine).
• Get a key ring and attach cool stuff to your lanyard. If we wear 50 pound mums on homecoming without feeling absolutely ridiculous why not hang random goods from your neck every day.
• Buy a cool lanyard, or better yet hit up your local Hobby Lobby store and get yourself a glue-gun, some beads and bedazzle that baby.

The rules aren’t changing anytime soon so we might as well suck it up and make them FABULOUS.