assumptions people make about you

This essay was written more as a "train of thought". It's definitely still in the rough draft form. Keep that in mind while you're reading.

Nobody expected the black boy in a class full of gifted children to win the spelling bee. Nor did they expect that same kid to stand up in front of his whole church and proudly say that he wanted to be a scientist when he grows up. Yet still, I crushed both of these expectations before entering the 4th grade. The main challenge that comes with being black in school is fighting against assumptions and expectations based on race. Knowing about all of the expectations, more commonly known as stereotypes, helps and hurts me. First off, it pushes me to do better in school and prove people wrong. I use the stereotypes that are placed upon me as motivation through hard times. As a black male especially, I’ve constantly been told my peers that I’m “not supposed to be here”. Phrases like these serve as constant reminders that I’m an “underdog”.

Not only do stereotypes motivate me through tough times, but they also remind me that my actions impact black students that come after me. Many of my peers with negative opinions of African Americans have only seen them portrayed negatively in the media or have only been exposed to a small sample size of African Americans. My performance in school is not viewed as a “students’ performance”. Rather, a “black student’s performance “

            There are plenty of untrue assumptions/stereotypes that I face daily like, “since you’re black you must be poor” or “since you’re black you’re probably not smart”. These are typically easier to get by. What makes life even harder is the fact there are some stereotypes that I do fit into. I play varsity basketball. I like sneakers. I wear a gold chain. I listen to rap music. I like to dance. Dammit, I even like chicken. I don’t fit into all stereotypes of a “typical” black male. However, fitting only a few of the criteria is enough to produce more expectations

As a sophomore in high school, I studied three different types of racism. The type that most directly affects me is internalized racism, the idea that after being subject to people’s racist attitudes and ideals, the victim starts to believe in their so-called “inferiority”. To me, internalized racism is even more of a challenge than dealing with the other types of racism, institutionalized and mediated.