By Keola Spencer
I suppose you think your social status jumped to exceeding heights with your new wooden toy. I remember back in the day, everyone tied a yo-yo around their finger and walked around school like they owned the hallways, but today things have changed drastically. It’s interesting to see endless streams of students flipping and tossing a ball into a stick and finding it entertaining. It’s a much better habit than drinking alcohol or doing drugs, but this craze is going a bit too far.
This summer everywhere I turned, there were people playing with these peculiar hammer-like things that had a ball attached to it by a string. Suddenly, I remembered a video posted by famous Youtuber Ryan Higa (also known as nigahiga) called “The Kendama Toy!” where he recreates a fast-paced commercial depicting the sale of the Japanese toy. Personally, I didn’t even think the toy was even a real thing until I saw crowds of students playing with them every single day. I already predicted that it would spread straight to Leilehua, and sure enough, this fandom exploded here and it’s driving me insane.
I wouldn’t be surprised if the D.O.E. revises their list of contraband items and added the kendama toy to their list. My teacher confiscated her student’s kendama toy because he was showing it off to the class in the middle of her lecture. Of course, she gave it back to him after class, but what would happen when the D.O.E. steps in? They could easily alert teachers to ban the student use of these toys because they are distracting and possible health hazards. Then again, although cellphone use is restricted in our school, you still see students glued onto them during and after class. If this rule does actually follow through, I wonder if teachers will be as lenient with them as cellphones, or abide by their confiscation policy with things such as basketballs or hats in the classroom.
Kendamas were practically unheard of until some genius decided to actually order one after watching Ryan Higa’s video. Are we original people, or should we just follow suit with what society wants us to do? For me, these toys are a nuisance, but I’m glad people are putting down their e-cigs in place of a ball tied to a stick of wood.
Photo Courtesy of :fanpop.com