Saying Hello with a Compliment to Everyone

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While I was breaking the norm, I felt very nervous, excited, rejected, and happy. I felt nervous because I was always the shy girl and I never really talked to a lot of people unless they started the conversation. I was breaking my own norm. I was very excited because I was doing something for the greater good and it filled my spirit to do so. I felt rejected because of the one girl who ignored me a d just kept on going without a backwards glance. I felt happy because of the man who complimented me back and put a smile on my face.

I believe that norms are created by older generations in a society. A society as one is responsible for creating the norms. Norms are like unwritten laws. Parents often teach their children norms like eating with a knife and fork, saying sorry when you did something wrong, or brushing your teeth. Norms are very important in maintaining social order because they tell people what to do in any given situation. Norm violations produce strong reactions because it is very unusual and unexpected for a norm to be violated. So once a norm is violated, a person doesn’t really know ho to react.

Norms are important for societies and norm violations are also important. Without norm violations, the society will never grow. I learned so much from breaking just one norm. I learned how to let go of my ego, I learned how to deal with rejection, and I learned people are not all scary. This exercise really opened up my eyes to the world as a different place then I once knew it to be.