[Music]
[Applause]
they told me that I couldn’t that’s why
I did so I’m walking into the middle
school at 11 years old and thews guys
think about learning any and everything
and when I say everything I mean
everything but I mean up until this
point school had been my happy place but
when I got to middle school some things
about my academic experience began to
change see the professionals who are
what sought encouragement and
inspiration from they started to make
comments like you ask so many questions
or that’s more like the other kids and
for me this was difficult I mean I was
eager and excited and passionate and I
tried to express this to my teachers I
even remember at the mirror age of 8
years old pulling what seemed like
all-nighters staying up to two and three
am working on my third grade digestive
system project I mean I was so
interested in intrigued by the body that
I couldn’t even sleep but after a while
having no ones who encouraged to my
growing curiosities joyful learning and
just simply being at school it’s a good
toll on me this lack of support and
perceived this interest by the adults
that I spent most of my time with
resulted in me shying away from
expressing myself and overall
disconnecting from the classroom culture
instead of me asking questions I was
silent and as I matriculated through
middle school and then to high school
these trends continue but when I got to
high school it worsened people began to
tell me that my goals were too high to
reach and that maybe I should try
something else people began to tell me
that my dreams were too big and that
maybe I should try something else
and after hearing this from multiple
people I started to lose faith in myself
I actually believed that my life with
plateau at a certain point soon I was
convinced that the odds were stacked
against me and that I wouldn’t be able
to overcome them that being black female
and coming from a single-parent family
will be my downfall but I was persistent
and because of this them telling me I
couldn’t became the exact reason I did
today I am undeterred by the
expectations set forth to me by society
and the norms of my academic community I
will not be silenced because I’m an
african-american female expected
encouraged to just do what’s asked of me
and not expect more of myself in the
world today we live in a society
regulated by social expectations and
norms social ills like racism and sexism
are both side effects of this
devastating our communities now by
definition societal expectations are
general standards of behavior that
individuals in society are expected to
uphold a quote unique set of normal
behavior but in actuality these
guidelines are restrictive and
perpetuate stereotypes and these
tendencies are often replicated in
school settings whether you attend my
school or another school you experience
the ramifications of social expectations
for example a good student is typically
one that sits in a class quietly and
doesn’t ask too many questions while on
the other hand a bad student is one that
does anything that deviates from the
norm to get a better idea of to get a
better picture of what societal
expectations are and look like I’m now
going to ask you to view this picture
after ask yourself these two questions
what did you expect these peoples
backgrounds to be and what emotions or
feelings were evoked by this photo and
if
asked you what do the two you expected
to most likely have the criminal record
the assumption here will be that the
blackmail does but the truth is the
complete opposite of that however the
issue here is not that we may have
expectations because judgment is a
subconscious human characteristic the
issue lies in the fact that people force
their perceptions onto others subjecting
them to a life that they may otherwise
be reluctant living according to the
American Psychological Association
navigation of our complex social world
is facilitated by our shared social
expectations that influence behavior so
basically we live the life that society
expects this means that unless we break
through the boundaries that restrict us
our life isn’t even our own but these
expectations and norms aren’t what we
think they aren’t rules plastered on a
wall name the Declaration of how to fit
in in society they’re more like
subliminal messages or hints given by
adult figures or even rules of thumb
that everyone is suggested to follow see
I attend in inner city title one school
a generalization of my school may be
that the majority of the student
population is black impoverished and
overall like the ability to achieve
success to a greater degree let’s
discuss the American class system as far
as societal expectations and norms
people are expected to remain into the
class that they were born into however
social mobility is a concept that made
the United States the land of
opportunity social mobility is the idea
that one can from limited resources
elevate themselves to a higher class but
the lower class is perpetually trapped
in a state of poverty due to social
pressures and premature adulthood and
what I mean by social pressures is
partaking in activities that are
normalized and rejecting ones that are
stigmatized
to explain what I mean by premature
adulthood I want to tell you about a
conversation I had with one of my
teachers so she had a friend and this
friend was struggling to me ends see her
her friend’s mother was struggling with
drug abuse and her her father like
many unfortunate cases in the
african-american community was absent
from her life so at the age of 16 she
had to assume the responsibilities of
her parental figures by taking care of
her younger siblings before she even had
a high school diploma she had to accept
the duties of an adult members of the
lower class are often not expected to
overcome their circumstances and people
who do are consider consider exceptions
Kendrick Lamar for example 30 million
dollar net worth seven-time Grammy Award
recipient and one of the most
influential rappers of our time born and
raised in Compton California and gangs
with affiliation affiliations with gangs
he often raps about how he was told that
he would never be that he would never
amount to anything
and that he himself didn’t even believe
that he would make it out of the hood he
overcame his circumstances and would be
what most consider an exception but just
as he did I am accomplishing the things
that I’m not expected to they told me
that I couldn’t balance participating in
several extracurriculars and maintain my
GPA am rate as of now I’m Rex umber 3 in
my class with a 96 GPA they told me that
I would crack under the pressure of
taking 3 advanced placement courses at
one time by the end of this school year
I will have completed 8 advanced
placement courses and 7 dual enrollment
class classes
they told me that I couldn’t be drum
major in 10th grade that an all-girls
drum major squad would never come to be
this is my third year as a drum major
and last year was the first year in Mays
high school history that we had an
all-girls John Major squad the school
system told me that I couldn’t achieve
my goals that my dreams are too big and
that’s why I created my own pathway and
define what success means me I challenge
you not to give in to social pressures
to live the life that makes you the
happiest and whole so know that you are
the architect of your future accomplish
this by asking yourself one simple
question
whose dream am i living and if the
answer is anyone but yourself
change it thank you
[Applause]
[Applause]
they told me that I couldn’t that’s why
I did so I’m walking into the middle
school at 11 years old and thews guys
think about learning any and everything
and when I say everything I mean
everything but I mean up until this
point school had been my happy place but
when I got to middle school some things
about my academic experience began to
change see the professionals who are
what sought encouragement and
inspiration from they started to make
comments like you ask so many questions
or that’s more like the other kids and
for me this was difficult I mean I was
eager and excited and passionate and I
tried to express this to my teachers I
even remember at the mirror age of 8
years old pulling what seemed like
all-nighters staying up to two and three
am working on my third grade digestive
system project I mean I was so
interested in intrigued by the body that
I couldn’t even sleep but after a while
having no ones who encouraged to my
growing curiosities joyful learning and
just simply being at school it’s a good
toll on me this lack of support and
perceived this interest by the adults
that I spent most of my time with
resulted in me shying away from
expressing myself and overall
disconnecting from the classroom culture
instead of me asking questions I was
silent and as I matriculated through
middle school and then to high school
these trends continue but when I got to
high school it worsened people began to
tell me that my goals were too high to
reach and that maybe I should try
something else people began to tell me
that my dreams were too big and that
maybe I should try something else
and after hearing this from multiple
people I started to lose faith in myself
I actually believed that my life with
plateau at a certain point soon I was
convinced that the odds were stacked
against me and that I wouldn’t be able
to overcome them that being black female
and coming from a single-parent family
will be my downfall but I was persistent
and because of this them telling me I
couldn’t became the exact reason I did
today I am undeterred by the
expectations set forth to me by society
and the norms of my academic community I
will not be silenced because I’m an
african-american female expected
encouraged to just do what’s asked of me
and not expect more of myself in the
world today we live in a society
regulated by social expectations and
norms social ills like racism and sexism
are both side effects of this
devastating our communities now by
definition societal expectations are
general standards of behavior that
individuals in society are expected to
uphold a quote unique set of normal
behavior but in actuality these
guidelines are restrictive and
perpetuate stereotypes and these
tendencies are often replicated in
school settings whether you attend my
school or another school you experience
the ramifications of social expectations
for example a good student is typically
one that sits in a class quietly and
doesn’t ask too many questions while on
the other hand a bad student is one that
does anything that deviates from the
norm to get a better idea of to get a
better picture of what societal
expectations are and look like I’m now
going to ask you to view this picture
after ask yourself these two questions
what did you expect these peoples
backgrounds to be and what emotions or
feelings were evoked by this photo and
if
asked you what do the two you expected
to most likely have the criminal record
the assumption here will be that the
blackmail does but the truth is the
complete opposite of that however the
issue here is not that we may have
expectations because judgment is a
subconscious human characteristic the
issue lies in the fact that people force
their perceptions onto others subjecting
them to a life that they may otherwise
be reluctant living according to the
American Psychological Association
navigation of our complex social world
is facilitated by our shared social
expectations that influence behavior so
basically we live the life that society
expects this means that unless we break
through the boundaries that restrict us
our life isn’t even our own but these
expectations and norms aren’t what we
think they aren’t rules plastered on a
wall name the Declaration of how to fit
in in society they’re more like
subliminal messages or hints given by
adult figures or even rules of thumb
that everyone is suggested to follow see
I attend in inner city title one school
a generalization of my school may be
that the majority of the student
population is black impoverished and
overall like the ability to achieve
success to a greater degree let’s
discuss the American class system as far
as societal expectations and norms
people are expected to remain into the
class that they were born into however
social mobility is a concept that made
the United States the land of
opportunity social mobility is the idea
that one can from limited resources
elevate themselves to a higher class but
the lower class is perpetually trapped
in a state of poverty due to social
pressures and premature adulthood and
what I mean by social pressures is
partaking in activities that are
normalized and rejecting ones that are
stigmatized
to explain what I mean by premature
adulthood I want to tell you about a
conversation I had with one of my
teachers so she had a friend and this
friend was struggling to me ends see her
her friend’s mother was struggling with
drug abuse and her her father like
many unfortunate cases in the
african-american community was absent
from her life so at the age of 16 she
had to assume the responsibilities of
her parental figures by taking care of
her younger siblings before she even had
a high school diploma she had to accept
the duties of an adult members of the
lower class are often not expected to
overcome their circumstances and people
who do are consider consider exceptions
Kendrick Lamar for example 30 million
dollar net worth seven-time Grammy Award
recipient and one of the most
influential rappers of our time born and
raised in Compton California and gangs
with affiliation affiliations with gangs
he often raps about how he was told that
he would never be that he would never
amount to anything
and that he himself didn’t even believe
that he would make it out of the hood he
overcame his circumstances and would be
what most consider an exception but just
as he did I am accomplishing the things
that I’m not expected to they told me
that I couldn’t balance participating in
several extracurriculars and maintain my
GPA am rate as of now I’m Rex umber 3 in
my class with a 96 GPA they told me that
I would crack under the pressure of
taking 3 advanced placement courses at
one time by the end of this school year
I will have completed 8 advanced
placement courses and 7 dual enrollment
class classes
they told me that I couldn’t be drum
major in 10th grade that an all-girls
drum major squad would never come to be
this is my third year as a drum major
and last year was the first year in Mays
high school history that we had an
all-girls John Major squad the school
system told me that I couldn’t achieve
my goals that my dreams are too big and
that’s why I created my own pathway and
define what success means me I challenge
you not to give in to social pressures
to live the life that makes you the
happiest and whole so know that you are
the architect of your future accomplish
this by asking yourself one simple
question
whose dream am i living and if the
answer is anyone but yourself
change it thank you
[Applause]
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