Long Hair Don't Care
There are so many weird
rules that were imposed on us when we were in high school. I think one of them is banning the long and
messy hairstyles for boys. We all must
get a decent and proper haircut when in fact, our basic uniform was never
really established.
I remember that that
for our uniforms, there was no official cut, color or make of fabric for the
pants that boys had to wear. And as for our
tops, we were only required to wear a collared shirt with a logo of the school
printed on the left side of our chest.
In fact, the color of our shoes was not even dictated so we can wear any
type of footwear as long as our toes were covered. So I wore this neon blue Sperry Topsiders as
my day to day school shoes which was totally out of place from the baggy jeans that
was covering my chicken legs, which I sometimes referred to as stilts. But it was in fashion at the time. Not that I am consciously trying to be in fad
but what I was wearing was normal and acceptable. Neon and loud prints were in season, so was
Beverly Hills 90210.
The girls’ dress code
was more strict than ours. They had to
wear maroon skirts, white tops and a necktie with the initials of our alma
mater. Some girls looked clean and
pristine in their uniforms, and some looked as if they just came out from a Wrestlemania. The good thing about the color of their
skirt, was that it was the same color as their monthly period, which came in
handy at the time because half of them were just on the verge of becoming
women. I guess that’s why the admin
picked that color, to hide unwanted adolescent accidents.
In high school, I
transferred from a Catholic school to a more liberal and dare I say obnoxious
place where there was a wide variety of students ranging from the smartest to
the meanest. It was my decision to
transfer. Number one, it was closer to
home and number two, I felt I needed to challenge myself in things I did not
know about. This new school had a
reputation for being academically competitive, if you get placed on the top
section. It could toughen you up because
of how challenging the students tended to be both inside and outside the
classrooms.
In any case, we always
showed up at the flag ceremony every Monday, prepared to listen to the school principal’s
lengthy homily at the start of the week, reminding us not to be little devils
but doing something otherwise.
Basically, our horns grew larger and longer the more we add years to our
high school existence. By the time we
were seniors, we were ultimately one degree away from being Satanists. At least, that’s how our adviser thought of
us.
Imagine the horror of
the faculty when suddenly, the emergence of rock bands became a big thing among
high school adolescents. Eraserheads,
Parokya ni Edgar, Guns and Roses were some of the bands that
became influential to the pimple-stricken, hormone-induced and angst-ridden
teenage boys and girls, wherein sporting long hair for men were a statement and
wearing unfitted black t-shirts became the best fashion get up for Sunday
soirees (if there was any). In fact,
there was even a hit song that mocks the admin’s penchant for targeting the
locks of their male students, which goes, “Anong paki mo sa long hair ko?”,
translated to “Why do you even care, of my long hair?” (see what I did there, I
made it rhyme).
You know how kids our
age would react if we were told not do certain things? Of course, we would do the opposite because
we were told not to. It’s the basic
rule of the world outside Paradise. Go
ask Adam and Eve.
There came a time when
they enforced a monetary fine to students who violated the school uniform’s
rule, which was about 2 pesos for every offense. Maybe I can equate it to like paying a dollar
every time you get caught, but I’d say it was not that much. But the pot accumulated as there were too
many offenses.
Of course, the school
paper picked up that story. On the
editorial cartoon, my classmate drew a life size two-peso coin trying to chase
a male student with long hair (I think), or with some violation of the school’s
dress code. The principal, who approved
all content that went into print, did not like the depiction of money chasing
after a boy who was running away from it.
The boy on the drawing was not even scared. He was smiling, from what my memory serves
me. The editorial team was called into
the principal’s office.
I was part of that
team. Of course, as high school kids, we
were scared. It was our first time being
called into the principal’s office, and we had no idea what wrongdoing we had
committed. When we got there, I was so
relieved to learn that she was fussing over a cartoon which had truth in its
original sense. The principal told us that it did not give out a good
impression of the school to outsiders.
To which we rebutted, but “isn’t that the rule?” And isn’t that the point of a caricature? It was just stating a fact.
Surprisingly, we stood
our ground, headed by our editor in chief, who had great influence and power
over the faculty members (don’t ask me how).
I think we did not relent because innocently, we did not see anything
wrong in the cartoon itself. And we did
not know how to argue about it because the argument was plain and straight
forward. Why make a big ruckus out of
it? Maybe, what’s wrong was not the
cartoon itself but why it existed in the first place. Maybe there was something wrong with the
rule? But of course, this simple case
did not dawn on us while we were facing the inquisitor. We just wanted to meet the deadline, publish
a paper and pass our Journalism class. I
couldn’t afford to fail a subject and have this stigma of a failing grade,
that’s a no-no for a nerd.
The paper got
published anyway. When it came out,
there was tons of curiosity on the editorial cartoon than what was usually
expected. I overheard a teacher say, “Is
this what the big commotion is about?
This is so anticlimatic.” Which it was- she made a big deal out of high
schooler’s interpretation of a rule she passed.
Come to think of it: Was
it because long hair looked very messy and unkempt? Was it because it’s not becoming of a
man? I wonder how a hairstyle could
influence life’s decision and one’s way with interacting people.
The truth is, people
will always have an impression of you based on your appearance.
I remember a friend of
mine telling me a study he read that physical beauty can gain you an edge in
being hired especially in corporate positions.
This was about a decade ago. I
wonder if the same case still holds true today.
I am hoping that somehow
I can look past the outside appearance of a person, and not judge someone based
on the length of their hair or the color of their Sperry Topsiders. I think there is more to someone than what
type of music he listens to, or the type of people he mingles with. Look, I was always mistaken as a nerd in high
school but I was not that smart. That is
one stereotype that I just broke for you.
Sometimes, it’s ok to
stand your ground to oppressive and non-sensical rules. The facts will save you. As long as you can carry a look, while being
both decent and presentable, I approve of full expression. In the future, what you are wearing today
will become an embarrassment of your past, again, like my Sperry
Topsiders. You will just look back and
reminisce your awkward years and then realize that it was not really a big
deal.
January 8, 2022
Copyright June 2022
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