KENNESAW - Jonathan Escobar, 16, moved to Kennesaw from Miami and enrolled last week at North Cobb High School. In only two days there, he created quite a stir.

That's because Escobar often dresses in women's clothing - and even used the girls' bathroom at the school. School officials asked him to tone it down, and Escobar dropped out Friday as a result.

"I'm not going to dress like a man. I'm not going to wear depressing boring clothes. I'm going to express myself," he said in an interview with the Journal on Wednesday.

Superintendent Fred Sanderson said he supports the school's efforts to maintain "a safe and orderly learning environment at North Cobb."

"From what I understand, the school was very accommodating with this student and reached out to him more than once to let him know they were there to support him. When his style of dress began causing a disruption, the school took the proper steps to enforce the dress code," Sanderson said.

Escobar attended North Cobb on Sept. 29 and Sept. 30 before withdrawing Oct. 2, said district spokesman Jay Dillon.

Dillon said the school pulled him out of class on the first day to let him know staff was available if he needed any help.

"The student had already used the girls' bathroom once, and school staff recognized that this would be a problem. They also knew it could be a problem for his safety to use the boys' bathroom. So they allowed him to use the administrators' restroom and the guidance restroom. He was the only one of 2,600 students who had that privilege," Dillon said.

Problems apparently began on the second day.

"When he came to school the next day in high heels and a bright pink wig, it immediately began to cause a disruption," Dillon said.

Dillon said a fight erupted in one classroom between one student who called Escobar a name and another who defended him. Another fight broke out in the lunchroom.

"The student's dress was disrupting the entire school," Dillon said.

An administrator met with Escobar, telling him to adhere to the dress code, Dillon said.

"You can't wear clothing that causes a disruption," he said.

The dress code is set by the Cobb school board and enforced by the school.

Escobar refused. He also refused to help the school contact his parents or a guardian, Dillon said.

"The next day he did not show up at school, and the next day he withdrew himself from school and called the TV stations," Dillon said.

The son of Colombian natives Diana and Octavio Escobar, who are now settled in Miami, Escobar recently moved to Kennesaw to live with his sister, Veronica Escobar, because "Miami education isn't so good."

Escobar said his first memories of experimenting with clothing come from trying on his mother's high-heels as a child. It was love at first sight.

"It's art. It's who I am. I'm an artist. This is how I express my art," he said.

He enjoys wearing makeup, complete with fake eyelashes and mascara. His style depends on what kind of mood he's in. One day it may be "shoulder pads on crack," and another day it may be tight fitting jeans, a skirt, or "little vintage stuff."

"It makes me feel so, I don't know, so beautiful. I love it. ...When I put it on, I feel so luxurious, so Hollywood glamour," he said of the vintage clothing.

At first, his parents weren't too pleased.

"My parents are, you know, Hispanic. They are very traditional. It was hard at first, but they learned to accept me. You have to be patient. We butted heads a lot. They cared a lot what people thought about them. And to this day, I'm telling my mom never care what people think of you. ... Stop being so afraid, and that's my message to everyone," he said.

Escobar agrees the second day at North Cobb is when he encountered problems.

"I think it was on the second day that the football team started to really notice me. They were just staring. I think they're all secretly in love with me," he said.

He said Jackie Turner, an assistant administrator at North Cobb, told him last Wednesday to change his attire.

"She told me that in order to further my education at North Cobb I was to, you know, dress more manlier," Escobar said.

"She told me 'you have to dress in your sex, not the opposite sex, dress more manlier, no makeup, no wigs, no female clothing. And she said, 'or we could do home school, now there's other options.' I didn't have time to hear other options so I told her I can't. This is me. I can't change it," he said.

Dillon said no one told Escobar he had to dress "manlier."

"That's wrong. No one at North Cobb said that to him," Dillon said. "The student was never disciplined and was not forced out of North Cobb. He was told to tone down his dress so that it adhered to the dress code and did not cause a disruption."

Dillon said what he means by "toning down" Escobar's dress, is "removing the wig and any other types of clothing that would cause a disruption."

"He even admitted to the (administrator) that the wig was inappropriate and was causing problems, but he refused to take it off. Those are the facts. The school is not to blame here," Dillon said.

Yet Escobar is perplexed.

"I didn't a wear mini skirt," he said.

Escobar does seem willing to make some compromises.

"If they say don't wear a wig, I won't wear I wig. I have hair. I don't have to wear a wig," he said.

"I'm not in school. I'm not learning. I'm at home taking care of my nieces and watching TV wishing I could be getting my education."

Escobar says he's considering speaking to the Cobb school board at its meeting next Wednesday.

"Maybe they had a problem with me being gay and that's why they did this. Who knows?" Escobar said. "I just want to help people - I want to motivate people that it's OK to be different. It's OK if you have different dreams than most of your friends and family members, it's OK if people laugh at you."

North Cobb students have created a "Support Jonathan" page on Facebook that has already attracted some 1,500 members.

"I was born and raised here. My parents came here for a reason, and as an American, I have freedom of expression. Do I stand out that much? I don't understand why they're making such a big deal out of it," he said.