Rules, no matter where you are, will always exist. Whether it’s formal government laws or guidelines given at work, there will always be rules to follow. Growing up, the main ones that I had were related to school. If you went to a conservative all-girl Catholic school, then you know what I’m talking about. I remember there being a lot of them too. Aside from wearing a uniform, rules included not wearing more than one pair of earrings, not dyeing your hair, not wearing nail polish, and no cellphones.
When you’re a kid and in school, sometimes it is hard to understand why these rules are set in place. A lot of us even go through a rebellion phase. I know I went through one in high school, but it wasn’t that intense. It first started with the ear piercings. I got a third one on my left ear and then eventually two more on my right.
Once high school was over, I wanted to experiment so much with clothes and beauty trends. I felt like I couldn’t express myself to the fullest extent so I went all out in college. First it was with my clothes when I started putting more effort into my outfits. Next was my hair, I tried different haircuts and even dyed it a few times. I even got addicted to nail polish and probably had my nails done twice a month for three years straight. Yeah, I know it’s a lot but I wanted to delve into the things I couldn’t test out when I was younger.
However, I did start to see the upside of some of these rules. With simple handbook guidelines, we are somehow trained and exposed to restrictions we’ll be faced with in the real world. Also, without these distractions, we’re able to focus on school as well as ourselves. Yes, I couldn’t experiment with fashion in school but not having that outlet made me realize that it is something I actually enjoy doing. After a few years of experimenting with all of these, I’m starting to tone down a bit and sticking to changing up certain things like my hair and clothes.
One rule I’m really starting to appreciate from high school is not being allowed to bring your cellphone. Thinking back, I would be in school for seven to nine hours, actually interacting with people and not looking at a screen. Now that I carry my phone with me everyday and everywhere, I’m starting to make my own rules on how long I should be on it. With phones taking over our lives, maybe we should consider taking a page from our old handbooks, I’m sure it will benefit everyone.
Overall, there are pros and cons to school rules but we just have to remember not to get stuck. We can’t let them control the way we want to express ourselves. However, there are definitely some that we should revisit to address today’s social media-obsessed world.
Art by Marian Hukom
For the latest in culture, fashion, beauty, and celebrities, subscribe to our weekly newsletter here
Follow Preen on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, and Viber
Related stories:
Bow blouses are so grade school—here’s the grown-up version
Wearing plaid doesn’t always make you look like a schoolgirl
A preschooler-approved booklist with strong female leads
Inequality in catholic school and what it taught me about feminism