Agarap, Elyza Nicole A.

August 8, 2017
BSA- 4A Prof. Joanna Obispo

Violation of a Folkway

Perhaps I am not the only one who experienced this but I do know that there are times
wherein you felt like everyone just simply expects a lot from you. As a person grows up, the
expectations keep on building upan expectation over another, and another, and another. Thats
what I have felt over the past years. I do remember one specific statement from one of my
relatives as I grew up, and that is I have to act mature. As a young adult, everyone expects a lot
from me, the way I dress, or even how my hair should be. But for an afternoon, I tried to break
that simple expectation of them. So basically the folklore that I have violated for an entire
afternoon was not simply fixing my hair accordingly to my age, and that was when I wore a very
high pig tails and my hair ties were not even matched and went to a crowded mall and attempted
to shop. The hair tie on the left was neon yellow, and the other one was neon blue. I believe that
this mini-act of mine was a violation because everyone expected me to act mature and be a role
model to everyone else.
I think that this violation is not serious for it is neither illegal nor immoral. But during my
mini-adventure, I did notice that I caught a lot of attention from others. I witnessed that some
people stared at me when they were passing by or when they were just standing right beside me.
When I was at the grocery store, I noticed that the elderly ladies gave me a dirty look. I thought
that they were actually surprised for what I did with my hair. The sanction that I have received
by wearing very high pigtails in a crowded area is that I felt like nobody took me seriously. I still
remember the surprised look from the cashier when she discovered that I was going to pay for
the groceries that we have bought. I also remember that there was a guy who was having second
doubts if he was going to sell me their product or not.
To be honest, I really enjoyed what I have done. Perhaps doing unique things are do
match my personality as a person. For a short period of time, I felt like a kid again, because
while wearing that kind of hair, I literally jumped, hopped, or skipped while walking or when I
am at some random places. I know, its different, but thats how I showed how happy I was
while doing it. Folkways are important in social life because sometimes those folkways can serve
as a standard when the others can accept you at a first glance, when they cannot think different
thoughts about you. I do believe that just like the other things that exist around us, folkways are
also dynamic. This is because people may have different preferences over time. I think that the
folkway wherein young adults are expected to act mature has changed in importance over time in
such a way that more expectation of such has been expected from them.