The Story of A Stereotype

The Story of A Stereotype

This was incredibly hard for me to write.

I’m not too fond of other people's thoughts about me,

because they are usually negative or they only want to talk to me because of personal gain.

I don’t really know what people are thinking about me and how it might look from the outside.

I do realize I do things that might put me in a certain box for teasing.

Like cutting my hair super short or wearing “men's” clothes. I get it.

There’s a stereotype that I’ve obviously thrown myself into.

So when people see me, they think I’m very “emo” and I must be losing my marbles.

However, no, I like how my hair is cut,

(it’s a form of expression!). I do like what I wear (most of the time),

and I do like (trying) to have positive people in my life.

Compared to the negative ones who give me a label

or they think they know everything.

Or compared to the people who like to tease me about certain things,

what I wear or how I act.

After writing this, I talked to someone I considered as a close friend and she said that she already knew me so it was no use on giving me a stereotype or label. 

Which just goes to show you, once you look past the labels we’re all just humans wanting to be accepted in our modern society.

We like the comments on our Instagram.

We like the number of followers on our Twitter pages.

We like the “streaks” we have on Snapchat.

Because it gives us that feeling of being wanted.

Which is one main reason I don’t have too many social media's of my own,

it leads to a very unhealthy obsession over

-- who followed me? Who tagged me?

Who commented on my latest post?

Did anybody read my rant? Did anybody see my like?

I guess I got a bit personal when writing this

but I didn’t know how else to do this assignment.

Society has trained us all to keep our emotions inside

because if we decided to express them, for

example: cry publically or write about them

privately, it can be viewed as weak or shallow.

I guess my single story is really dependent on the single person

who is trying to label me, because everyone has different opinions about me,

how I should live my life, and who I should let into it.

However, I am more than this stereotype and single story. I might seem a bit agitated and not too socially out there when trying to socialize in some of my classes.

However, in my later life, I want to be an animator and/or artist.

I am more than this stereotype others have granted me.

I am very “smart”, quote source, my mother.

I am also very witty (once you get to actually know me),

and I don’t know when to keep my mouth shut.

I am more than this label people have given me.

(sorry this is late, and it's also not set up like a normal paragraph, couldn't figure out how to do it without it going off the page)

Single Story 

By: Kaylee Allen

My single story is that I'm that confident, loud, annoying, peppy person who's always smiling and making sure everyone is okay. That British, dumb girl who's terrible at English and spelling. Who always does something wrong.  Also, one of the first things people know about me is my lisp, and thinks on she can't speak correctly she must be not that smart. 

I am more then my single story, sometimes I am confident but that is only when I'm not stressing about band, school or life. I am confident, actually kind of smart, and I am a total nerd. I love geeking out about new knowledge, band, comics, and more. I love learning new things. I might be bad at spelling but I got a late start to talking which also effected my speech impediment. 

My Single Story 

Jennifer Cortez 

People tend to think that I’m just another shy, normal American girl with a normal American home. They approach me the same way they would approach another American. They stereotypically think that I’m one of those “annoying, rebellious white girls” just because I have light skin. The impression that people get from me defines what others think about me. People are oftentimes surprised when they meet me and find out that I’m not what I appear to be on the outside.

(Left: Mexican tamales; Right: Salvadorian pupusas)

I am more than what people think I am. I'm an American because I was born here, but I don't have U.S. roots. Both my parents are Mexican, and my stepfather is Salvadorian. Being multicultural is what differentiates me from others. I love being fluent in Spanish because it opens up more opportunities for me. I love my family's traditions because it gives me something to look forward to. But, because almost everyone favors United States traditions, I always shut out my Hispanic side. I would never bring Mexican food to school, and I would always be embarrassed when another Latino wanted to speak Spanish because I thought others would hear me. Now, I am ashamed that I was ever ashamed of my roots. I will not let my single story dominate me; I will embrace my differences because they are what define me.

Recently I have been tasked with answering the question of how do people view you and why is it
wrong? However, the way a stranger views me is, they don’t. I blend in about as much as any hormonal
high schooler can. I’m quiet and most people don’t know who I am. I’m the girl who sits near the back
who laughs a little too loudly every now and then with her friends. I’ve been playing on the sports teams
for my school for years so people who’ve shared a team with me know I’m hard working and I’ll always
put in my best effort. In more recent years I’ve been becoming more outgoing and social to the people
I don’t know. I’ve been trying new things, going new places and meeting my people, and people’s
opinions of me have changed drastically from even a year or two ago. If I had to summarize how I think
I am viewed by someone who doesn’t know me, I’d use the word, average.

But I am not quiet. I am not always bubbly and happy. I have strong opinions and I will speak up
for them. I’m loud and outgoing and I always have something to say about everything, I try my best to be kind and build up everyone I meet, and I tend to wear my heart on my sleeve. I laugh

at everything and I try to do something for my friends to show them I love them every now and
then. I’m over sensitive and dramatic, I overreact to every small detail, I get overwhelmed quickly
and I’m easily broken. However, I also work hard and I have so much love for the people around
me. I am passionate about the things I do, but I tend to hold myself back more than anyone else.
I love to draw and it takes my mind off of things more than anything else. Although I’m still unsure
of my future, I’m thinking about following in my grandmother's footsteps and applying to
Georgetown when I get older. There’s so much more of life I haven't experienced yet and I can’t
wait to see who I become and what I end up doing.

My Single Story- Abigail Forrest

Me, a brown haired, brown eyed, average white girl. “That tall girl”, “that girl who plays soccer”, or “the girl who’s dating that hot guy”, labels can affect how others see you. People see me as just another teenage girl who only wants to shop and listen to loud rap music to try to fit in with the crowd. Just another good girl who goes home finishes all her homework, gets a home cooked vegan meal, and kisses her parents goodnight and thanks them for getting her a new car. An entitled, spoiled, white girl. There is so much more to a person than the stereotypes given to people. I’m assumed to have had no pain or sadness in my life. “There’s no way she’s experienced anything bad, she’s just a white girl.”

Me, a strong, happy, and smart individual. I have more than just the story seen by each person who unknowingly passes me in their day to day life. My family is less functional, than the least functional family. Together, separate in the same house, togetherish, divorce, living with grandma, two seperate houses, sadness, together, one house, and happiness (sometimes). That is a story of my parents. Sober, relapse, rehab, sober, happy, sad, relapse, rehab, sober, and grateful. That is a story of my dad. Happy, confused, scared, sad, worried, confused again, happy, and now stronger. That is a story of me. I’ve seen a lot and learned a lot about life in 15 years from my experiences. There are many stories that have made me who I am today. There are simple stories and ones that have changed the way I see life. I don’t drink underage, I don’t smoke, I don’t participate in risky behavior, and I don’t only care about myself. I’m a teenage girl, but I am not the average teenage girl with only one story.

Single Story Carson

I feel like the majority of people see me as a short person that focuses on his grades and has no sense of humor. I understand why others think this of me because I do get good grades, and also focus on my schoolwork although I like to have fun and laugh with some of my close friends. I feel like people see me this way because they don’t really know me, and I don’t act the same around people I’m not close with. If some of these people got to know me I believe they wouldn’t recognize that person that they believed I was, but see a whole different side of me. Most people judge me based on what happens inside of school although after school hours I feel like I am a polar opposite of the characteristics people see me as. I also believe people see me as antisocial but, I have to get to know a person before I engage in a conversion with them.

I believe I am more than my single story because the more I get to know someone and the more comfortable I become around them I tend to show my true character traits. While others judge me based upon my activity in a school setting I like to think of myself as a different person when out of school. I always go to movies and activities with my friends on the weekends, and they know what I’m really like because they are so close with me out of school. If the people who think I’m antisocial, only study and focus on grades get to know me I believe their outlook on my personality would change a whole lot. They would most likely see me as outgoing, energetic, friendly, and athletic. I think the biggest misconception people make about me is that I am antisocial. I show that I’m the opposite of this when I get to know someone. How much I speak to someone depends on how much I hang around them and also how comfortable I am around them. If they got to know me I would probably talk to them a lot more inside and outside of school hours. In short, I believe I am more than my single story because, I am social when I get to know someone, and I like to go out and do things with friends rather than studying for tests or quizzes in my free time.

My Single Story

My Single Story

To others, I may seem like a quiet kid that keeps to himself. I may look like I’m always sick, and in return, am someone that’s very inactive. Someone that sits in their room all day and sleeps. Someone that plays video games all day. Since I miss so much school, you might assume that I don’t get very good grades or that I don’t keep up with my work. While that may be what I seem like, I’m actually much different.

While I may be quiet at first, once I get to know people, I will socialize with them a lot and converse with them a lot. While I am often sick, I am still very active. I am either playing or training for baseball nearly year round. While I do love playing video games, I would rather be outside playing games with my friends or family. I have missed a lot of time in school, but I always make sure I keep up with my work. I always do the best I can in school and as a result I get almost all A’s in class. There is much more behind the surface with me and when you get to know me, you can see how much different I am than how I may have seen before you knew me