I Want To Break Stereotypes

During my childhood my mother and father expected me, my brother and two sisters to be respectful, obedient and polite. They set a conservative tone for our house that was not as strict as a boarding school, but there were similarities. Now that is not to say they beat us, or were mean, in fact they loved us very much but the love was shown from a specific distance. We talked, we laughed, but we never talked loudly, and we never laughed too much. I can remember hugging my dad, but it was when I was pretty little. I guess he felt that I was a boy, and as such I had to stand on my own. My only problem was he worked so much I never really learned how to stand on my own as a man. He never taught me how to defend myself. My mom always told me to walk away from a fight, problem is kids don’t view the world as adults, and the kid looking to avoid a fight probably didn’t know how to fight, and that was just too tempting a target to pass up. After we mover to Cerritos it was different, my relationship with my dad changed. He was getting home after work on time, he was around in the evenings and on weekends. I could see he was more relaxed, under less stress than he had been before and it was great! We started doing things together more regularly. We went deep sea fishing 4 or 5 times a year, we went to science fairs, hobby shops and down to the local harbors and checked out sail boats. I was getting to know him, where he came from,

He lives in Massachusetts and I see him only two times a year. If anyone knows a thing about family, it’s my dad. He grew up with fifteen brothers and sisters who all still live in the same town as they were born in. He is the most selfless person I’ve ever known. He’s the type of person to give gifts on his own birthday and everyone who knows him, loves him for his unbelievable generosity. However, some of us take it for granted. He is thirteen hundred miles away from me and he is still so involved in my life and sometimes I forget how thankful I should be. He calls me at least three times a day and most of the time I ignore it because I definitely take his care for granted. But he would never show if he was hurt by it. He just calls until I answer.

In that corner there, we have the nerds reading their books with their greasy hair and in that corner we have the preps with shoes more expensive than cars, but with brains the size of peanuts. The preps are cool. The nerds? Not so much. And let’s not forget about the cheerleaders, the Goth’s, the teacher’s pets and all the other losers. I’ve heard about them all my life and called them that too. I also see kids call other people that all the time, so it’s normal… right? Honourable judges, teacher, and fellow students this is why I think that we shouldn’t let stereotypes influence our lives.

In today’s mainstream society, the media creates various of negative thoughts and stereotypes in different forms. These forms include class, gender, and sexuality. Day by day images or videos go viral creating these negative issues spreading like wildfire throughout the web. For instance, if an image or meme is created and posted online of someone who is identifies themselves as something other than straight, or someone from a low-class people go and share these images just for their entertainment. Instead of society, trying to eliminate this type of media they are promoting it. It is quite rare when someone stands up for someone who is being negatively affected by this. A website named AAUW with their motto being “Empowering women since 1881”. There motto there is quite strong it gives a short description what they are about. An article composed by AAUW named “Why Stereotypes Are Bad and What You Can Do about Them” is a strong article that explains what are stereotypes, why should we care about stereotypes and biases, and what we can do to combat stereotypes and bias. Articles and website like this should be shared more thought out society in order to put an end to gender stereotypes.

Moustapha Al Akkad was one a renowned Hollywood movie producers and a Syrian American. He died at the age of 75 on November 11, 2005, with his daughter Rima age 34 in Amman, Jordan, as a result of a criminal terrorist act. He produced many movies such as “Halloween” that affected American culture on a bigger scale, “Lion of The Desert” which exposed the reality of a real Muslim heroes such as Omar Al Mukhtar fighting for his country, Libya’s independent, against Italian colonial power, and “The Message” which introduced the early history of Islam to a Western audiences.

My father pays for all of my expenses as I've never worked, no money, and no assistance from anything. He and I argue a lot. He constantly tells me I will be homeless when something happens to him and asks me what I will do. I told him, well, I probably won't live more than a year after as I will just end everything. I know I will end it if that happens. I don't want to live anymore. My mother even has hinted at it.

One’s posture is a factor in how they feel and are perceived by society. In Amy Cuddy’s editorial “Your iPhone is Ruining Your Posture - and Your Mood,” and her TED Talk “Your Body Language Shapes Who You Are,” the topic of posture affecting social standing and emotion is explored with research and personal experience. Cuddy seems to firmly believe that posture is a key factor in one’s life. Jane E. Brody also delves into the conversation with her editorial, “Posture Affects Standing, and Not Just the Physical Kind,” in it she also agrees with Cuddy’s side while appealing more to emotion and using some research. Both editorials cover the same topic, but Cuddy’s appears to be stronger as it appeals to more areas of the rhetorical triangle.

My background goes from the island of Puerto Rico, to the country of El Salvador. As I get more in detail of my family you will discover we are not your average “Brady Bunch”. Were quite the opposite, even though I am beyond blessed with the family I have been given, we are as screwed up as they come. It was my first day of kindergarten when I came home to find out my parents were separating and getting a divorce. My life went into a tailspin. Growing up my father was always part of the picture financially. He was always a pay check at the beginning of the month. He was never there for what I felt were important life moments. As the years were to come my mom took care of my brothers and I. My brothers who were angry with my father lashed out by getting involved with the wrong crowds, and drugs. The weight of the family of fell on Victor. There were several factors that majorly effected my life. One of them being I was molested at the age of eight. So I went to very dark place. My parents were divorced, my brothers were giving my mother more than she imagined, and then I was molested. My childhood was robbed from me, it

When I am in class or talking with friends, something I think goes unnoticed is my ethnicity and realities in my life outside of school. I am from Eritrea, a country in East Africa, however people do not seem to notice. When classmates I have known for years realize that I am Eritrean, let alone African, they are surprised. They say I don’t sound African because I don’t have an accent (affiliated with certain parts of Africa), nor do I look African because my skin tone is not as dark and my hair is long. It is interesting to me how they categorized all Africans to these few characteristics when it is simply not the case. The ignorance that causes people to stereotype is the reason why I wear my ethnicity proudly on my sleeve so certain people

Know once you have adopted these three roles, there is another all I would like you to assume, this I think just paints the whole picture, this is sort of the background canvas of which you paint the rest of this portrait. You need to understand something the parents these days have long since forgot, and are going to have to relearn again your grandparents knew this, but today’s generation appearance doesn’t seem to, and that is you do not get to design your children, nature would never have permitted that to, evolution would not have allowed a generation of a species to be so influenced by the previous generation, it hasn’t happened and it doesn’t happen, and it especially doesn’t happen in children, you do not design your children, and

One of the times my dad’s anger got the best of him was at the lake (cottage). He accused me of something ridiculous. He said he tried to call the friend I was with and couldn’t get through. I tried to explain to him he had the wrong name. There was no talking to him when he was like that. It was useless. He never listened to anything I had to say. My mother tried to stick up for me this time and he abused her also. I couldn’t win. There was no rational thinking. Especially when it came to me for some reason. He became hostile and angry. Everything I did always had to be a problem.

Living among the comforts of high-tech amenities with its one-touch solutions, it is easy to forget that everyday life was quite different back then. People wore different clothes. They read encyclopedias for information and knowledge gathering. They used rotary phones.

me down with his harsh words. At this point, I was too young to understand

When I was 32 weeks pregnant with my son, I called my dad and asked him if I could come home. I had nowhere else to turn for help. They allowed me to live with them through me delivering, then pushed me to get into low income housing. They helped me get on my feet and supported me for quite sometime. I started a residential cleaning company that took off like a bullet. Within months I was able to free myself from their financial wing. We continued our weekly Sunday dinners, and they occasionally spend time with my son, when it is convenient for them. I have been here for almost 5 years now and recently came to clarity. Whenever I see a daughter and father interacting, appropriately touching one another during a conversation, hugging one another, or hear someone boast about their dad, I can't help but find myself dream of having that kind of relationship with my dad. For the past 5 years, I have gotten lost in trying to make a relationship work, that was never there to begin with. I am dreaming and hoping that one day my dad will apologize or tell me he is sorry. I have asked him to go to therapy but he refused to go. I confronted him on the abuse I endured from him and he looked me in the eyes and said, “I never touched you like that.” I don't believe my dad is emotionally capable of having an honest, fulfilling relationship with me. My clarity came while I was at Great Wolf Lodge with my son. I saw a grandfather playing with his grandchild near the wave pool. I caught myself dreaming again. But this time, I was dreaming about my dad being that kind of grandfather to my

“28 days until my escape,” I think as I look in the mirror of my cramped, European style bathroom. A short blond haired, blue eyed girl stares back at me, reminding me how much I want to grow another couple inches. “Maybe then I’ll look like an 17 year old”. Back in my room I look the plans I have spent so long working on, and throw them under a loose floorboard. I’m in the kitchen rushing to grab breakfast when my mom walks in.