Cotter1

OlgaCotter
Ms.Gardner
English10H,period4
30October2015
LetsMakeItGreat
Didyouknowthat,
oneinfourteenagegirlswillexperiencemajordepression,
selfmutilation,bingeeating,aserioussuicideattemptornotableaggressionbeforeage
20?(Anwar
).
Socialexpectationsandimpossiblestandardshavetakenclaimtothisshocking
statistic.
Socialexpectationsareagoodthing.Theykeepourbehaviorincheckandpreventus
fromdoingsomethingpotentiallydetrimentaltoourselvesandothers.However,whenpressed
toofar,socialexpectationscanbecomedomineeringandcontrolentirefacetsofpeopleslives.
Theyinhibitourfreeexpression.Socialexpectationsareagoodthinginmoderatedosesbecause
whenyouorothersslowlystarttoputunnecessaryand,unattainableexpectationsonyourself,
theywilleventuallydriveyoumad.Socialexpectationscomeinmanydifferentforms:from
sportstogrades,fromfamilytofriends,fromconfidantstorivals.Weall,myselfincluded,
changewhoweareforthedifferentgroupsthatwehangoutwith.Itislikewehavea
chameleonicnature,inordertofitinwemustchangeandadapttooursurroundings.For
instance,IcanseethatIamatotallydifferentpersonwhenIamhangingoutwithmyfriends
thanwhenIamhomewithmyfamily,orevenhangingoutwithdifferentcliquesatschool.
Weneedtostopbucklingundertheintensepressureofsocietyandbeourselves.Weneed
tonotactlikerobotsandtobelesspronetopersuasionfromourpeersoradults.Weneedto
followsomesocialexpectations,forexample,theexpectationofhavingmanners,butwedont

Cotter2

needtochangewhoweareforsociety.Theimmenseamountofpressureputonusteenagersis
unbearable,wecantpossiblybeexpectedtodosports,keepourgradesup,volunteer,joinclubs
andmaintainasociallife,butweare.Inordertogainaglimpseoffreedomfromthe
confinementoftheseoutrageousrulesofsocietywemustmakeourownrulesandbeableto
defytheselawsandseetheworldthroughoureyes,notsomeoneelse's.Now,letusstart.
Ifwearegoingtosucceedinlife,wewillneedtobefearless.Weneedtostopbeingso
defenseless.Notonlytowardsthepressuresofourpeersbutalsotowardsourparentsandyes,
evensometeachers.Weneedtostopbeingsosusceptibletochangingwhoweareorwhowe
wanttobecomebecauseofpeoplewhohavehighexpectationsanddreamsforus.Imeanifyou
dontsharethesamewishforyourfutureasyourparentsdo,thenitsnotworthit,andyoumost
likelywontenjoyitonceyougetthere.Wehaveallofthesecrazyexpectationslaidoutforus,
andwemightnotevenwantthemorwemightfoldunderthepressure.
Stopthepressurenow!Ithasbeenarguedthattheoverwhelmingpressurethatisputon
teensinthisdayofageiscausingincreasesinanxietyanddepression(Clark).Whiledoctors
confirmthatdepressioncanbecausedbychemicalimbalancesandunderlyingdisease,many
cases,theyadd,arebroughtonbyaconfluenceofoutsidefactorsimpactingthepsychesof
tomorrowsleaders.(Clark),meaningthatdepressionhasalsobeencausedbyoverloadsof
stress.Wearenottheonlypeoplewhoareaffectedbythesesocialexpectations,infact,inthe
past,aswritteninClarksarticle,ayoung,fifteenyearoldgirl,washospitalizedforplanningher
suicide.Thegirlsays,
Ithinkbeingexposedtosomuchinformationthroughthemediaand
tryingtoprocessitallwhilebalancingasociallifeandextracurricularactivitiesandgradescan
causeselfloathingandstressYouhavetodosomuchbecauseitlooksgoodoncollege

Cotter3

applications...yourejustgettingmoreandmoreinformationshoveddownyourthroat.Thisgirl
waspushedwithsocialexpectationsuntilshecouldnttakeitanymore,sheisaperfectexample
ofsomeonewhocouldnthandlethepressurethatsocietyputonher,andthatsheshouldn'thave
hadtodealwith.Wemustnotfollowtherulesthatsocietymakesforuswemustmaketherules
sosocietywillfollow.

ItistruethatsomepeoplemaydisagreeaboutanyorallofmypointsthatImadeonthis
subject.Theymayopposesolelybecausetheycannotseeitinthemselves,orbecausetheylike
wheretheyareinsocialstandards,butaskyourselves,Aresocialexpectationsalltheyre
crackeduptobe?
Somesocialexpectationsaregoodinmoderation,butifyou'renotcarefulandlistento
academicpressure,peerpressureandsocialpressure,youwillfindyourselflikeAtlas,carrying
theweightoftheworldonyourshoulders.Wearelivinginaseaofsocialexpectationsthatwill
attempttocontrolus,andthatcomesinmanydifferentformssuchaspressuresandstress.We
arenotstupid,norinsignificant,noradollthatpeoplecanplaywith,wearestrongand
independentandwewillmakeitthroughtothefinishlineandstoporatleastlessenthisformof
tyranny.Stoplivingyourlifeassocietyexpectsyouto,liveithowyouwish.Iamnotaskingyou
todefyallyouknowtoberightandcivilized.Iamsimplyaskingyoutofollowmeinfindinga
lifethatyoulove,thatyoucanrelyonandmostofall,onethatmakesyouhappy.Thisisour
life,let'smakeitgreat.

Cotter4

WorksCited

Clark,Emily."NEWSNOW'GivingThanks'atPilgrimHallMuseum...PlymouthSeniorsNews
...FairsandFestivities2015...'GivingThanks'atPilgrimHallMuseum...Plymouth
SeniorsNews...FairsandFestivities2015...OVERWHELMINGEXPECTATIONS:
ExpertsSayPressuresFacingToday'sTeensCanLeadtoDepression."Weblogpost.
Plymouth.wickedlocal.com
.N.p.,8Aug.2014.Web.29Oct.2015.
Anwar,Yasmin."PressuretoBeaSupergirlIsCausingTeenMentalHealthCrisis."
UC
BerkeleyNews
.UCBerkeley,10Feb.2009.Web.30Oct.2015.