Fellow graduates, faculty, administration, family and friends, there past weeks we have had time to reflect and cherish moments that make the memories of our time as a young adult. Many of you are overjoyed and excited for future plans. Some of you are even thrilled just to leave high school and get far away as possible. I don’t know how much advice I can give you guys because let's face it, none of us know anything about the real world and becoming successful. I can give you a mindful recommendation to “step out of your shell”, “dream big,” “we are the leaders of tomorrow,” or “this isn’t the end, it’s the beginning,” but what does any of that jargon really mean? Does any of it really matter? On thing you will come across in your future are labels. Society loves putting labels on …show more content…
Republican vs. Democrat, Illegal immigrant, addict, homosexual, poor, rich, and even white or black are all common labels that separate the population. I will tell you a comical story about my time at Canterbury. My freshman year was one of the hardest years for me because I couldn’t get used to the high school landscape and all that follows. My grades suffered tremendously and I labeled myself stupid or deficient. I compared myself to the masses which made me believe that I couldn’t handle Canterbury. The next year I saw improvement but it still wasn’t enough. I decided to take some harder classes junior year so my grades didn’t improve outstandingly. Senior year was the turning point. Finally I could manage school and understand what was happening in the classroom. I couldn’t tell you what was different about senior year, but something clicked in my brain. I improved one full GPA average. I had never experienced such a contrast in my academics but I kept moving forward no matter what label had already been established about me. The labels that society forces on you do not define you, only you can prove the labels
People say high school is supposed to be the golden years of your life. I don’t know what else in life is to come; however, my philosophy is to live in the moment and make the life you’re living in the present worthwhile into the future, not only for you but for those who surround you. I live my life participating in our community and getting involved in our school. The activities, and the people I’ve formed relationships with, are what have formed me into the person I am today. The person I am today is not perfect, but I have learned from the mistakes I’ve made.
In Anderson and Collins’, chapter on “Why race, class, and gender still maters” encourage readers to think about the world in their framework of race, class, and gender. They argued that even though society has change and there is a wide range of diversity; race, class and gender still matters. Anderson and Collins stated, “Race, class, and gender matter because they remain the foundation for system of power and inequality that, despite our nation’s diversity, continue to be among the most significant social facts of peoples lives.” (Anderson and Collins, 2010) When I was a little girl, I never knew that people were classified in to groups such as race, class, gender. I knew there were people that had a different color of skin than my color of skin. I knew that there were rich people and poor people, and that there were girls and boys. I saw everyone as being human beings, as being the same and not classified as something. As I was growing up, I started to see the differences in classifications in groups. It was not because I just woke up knowing that there were different classifications, but because I was taught about them in school and society. Anderson and Collins stated, “Race, class and gender shape the experiences of all people in the United States. (2010) This means that experiences that we have gone through in life are formed from a race, class, and gender view.
According to these definitions, class is a sub-set of identity; identity being the container for all different kinds of sameness, class being the sameness relating specifically to economic or social status. An argument that they are the same might state that since one's economic/social status so completely limits or enables people in this society, that the overall identity of people is dictated by their class. It might further define the objective reality as the manifestation of a thing in light of its realistic limits and abilities. Take Robert for example. Who is Robert? What questions do we ask first? What is most important to us in forming our impression of him? In a multi-racial country like the United States, race might be one of the first. Physical appearances: hair color, weight, etc. We need a mental image. Once we know these things, certain assumptions are made. Many of these assumptions are silent, almost subconscious judgments based on superficial information. Robert is black. Oh. Where's he from? Detroit. Oh. Lots of assumptions here. His class is practically defined for us through popular stereotypes without mention of his economic position. Guess what, he's poor, lives in the projects with his single mother. Oh. So now, what do we know of Robert's identity? Well, nothing really. But in reality, we can guess a whole lot of real life things that directly affect his identity, define it, limit it. He probably doesn't do well in school. Not because he's stupid, but because he has a bad attitude, and who could blame him: the school he attends performs random searches of students. There are metal detectors and armed guards at every entrance and exit. To him, school is literally like a prison. And what prison really encourages thought in its inmates? No, just get them through. There's no money for thought. Perhaps Robert is in a gang. Sure, gang is a handy label, but he might have a group of friends, and many of them carry weapons. They have a local area in common and believe correctly that Detroit is a dangerous city.
In learning about different ways that we as a society categorize and divide people, it is essential to understand what about people it is that we feel the need to label and differentiate between. When a person is born into this world, there are certain statuses that they automatically obtain, called ascribed statuses (Henslin 98). These statuses determine each person’s social location in society. This includes gender, race, ethnicity, class, sexual orientation, and ability. Each person has their own unique social location, and is affected in a different way than the next person may be. As a white, queer, cisgender, middle class, female, in relatively good health, I have always been relatively privileged.
Right now, most of you reading this are twenty somethings with extremely bright futures ahead of you. Many of you were the stars of your high school, if not area, if not state, if not country. Then you got here and things changed. All of a sudden, everything was challenging. From the first moment you got here you were in competition with all the other freshmen for spots in a fraternity, sorority, independent living group, or dorm. You compared SAT scores, compared achievements, and found that they, like you, were amazingly accomplished. Many were National Merit Scholars, AP Scholars, Governor’s School participants, Math Olympiad winners, Science Fair winners, and Scholarship recipients.
Bobbie Harro states in “The cycle of socialization” (2000), “No one brings us a survey, in the womb, inquiring which gender, class, religion, sexual orientation, cultural group, ability status, or age we might want to be born. These identities are ascribed to us at birth through no effort or decision or choice of our own” (p.16). I was born into a system, just like everyone else, where I was judged and labeled due to the social categories that I identify with. What I have experienced throughout my schooling has shaped and molded my sense of self and the way that I view myself in terms of my gender and race/ethnicity. I live in a world where I have been both praised and ridiculed for these differing characteristics that seem to define me, but
The end of my first graduate school semester leaves me with a bittersweet feeling. Although I'm glad that the stress and pressure of continuously feeling unprepared to take on graduate school is now over, the feeling that I can successfully accomplish my goal and become a School Counselor seems more attainable. Working towards something I feel passionate about, and coming to the end of the beginning of a long journey has never felt so satisfying. What feels even better is all of the knowledge that I have acquired about the profession which society needs in order to function in times of despair. During our very first class we were asked about, “Our life’s motto?” From this day onward and after listening to the different perspectives, backgrounds,
Racism is a problem with which even have to deal with a large part of the countries of the world. After having read the interview that he realize Sheriff to Joia she said,"she had hope to marry a man lighter than herself so that her children"would not be very dark".Her housband Daniel was, in fact lighter than Joia, and they began counting when she was fifteen. "His mother was against it ."… "She said to him, "What do you want with that black, that dark woman."(p118) ____ where the express_____ . Can I reach the conclusion that as in my country Cuba, racism is a prejudice that remains latent in great part of the population despite the years.But the most alarming that racism is felt most among the blacks themselves that of white with black.
Good evening parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, siblings, and friends. I would like to thank you all for coming to this very special day. I know how proud you must be. As we have grown over the years, there are many stages we all have gone through. From learning our shapes and colors, to getting our first kiss in middle school, or how about explaining to our parents why we skipped school because the principal called home. As we remember these days, things that we've done will be with us forever. But this is only the start of our journey. The day has come where we say goodbye to the big yellow buses, assemblies, assigned seating, and attendance policies. Are you really gonna miss it? For some of us maybe not right away. But eventually we will so for us to be here it is not necessarily an achievement, but a privilege. All of us have been in school over half our lives. To graduate is one more step we've taken in our lives.
Today completes the chapter of our lives that we have been comfortable with for the past 13 years. High school may be over, but we still have a long exciting way to go in life. From our four-year experience we will take with us the memories, good and bad, and relationships we have made with each other and the County High School staff. From these experiences we have learned and grown and will continue to do so. Growing up and moving on will be a huge part of our lives in the next few months. The decisions we will make come in-part from the choices we have already made.
Graduation is an exciting time in a person’s life, especially a high school graduation. When I think of family and friends gathering together to celebrate a joyous occasion, I feel I accomplished my strongest goal. It never occurred to me that graduation would be the end of my youth and the start of adulthood. Graduating from high school was an influential event that gave me an altered outlook on my existence. Life before graduation, preparing for graduation day, and commencement day overwhelmed me for reality.
You know, it is really strange how quickly time passes, after spending my whole childhood wishing I was an adult, now here we are and it's a little hard to grasp. It feels like just yesterday I was standing here in the same position at eighth grade graduation. Ahh, middle school, such a joyous time for all of us, free of maturity and not a care in the world. The biggest decisions I ever had to make then was deciding which group to stand with at passing time and choosing which shirt from my extensive collection of Stussy and No Feat apparel to wear. We were all naive to the danger that lurked just around the corner. We were unaware that the carefree world we lived in was about to come crashing to the ground in a blazing inferno of real school work and responsibility ... otherwise known as high school.
My senior year is here, and passing quite quickly. Each day “I walk with a purpose, but no destination” (Ehrlich 232). I’ve had this same purpose etched in my mind since I can remember, it occasionally changes, ever so slightly, but remains consistent—to surpass people’s expectations and achieve something out of the norm. College is around the corner, but where will that be, what will it be? Close to home? A Thousand miles away? Why am I so concerned with this aspect of life—is it because that’s what everyone else seems consumed with? Everyone is pushing me for tomorrow, but what happened to today? I’m losing sight of what is so close. I’ve forgotten about treasuring the moment, absorbing the experiences right here in front of me. We all want to grow up, move on, and encounter something better, but “when [we] run so fast to get somewhere, [we] miss half the fun of getting there. When [we] worry and hurry through [our] day, it’s like an unopened gift, thrown away” (unknown). I think it’s time to take a step back and look at all today has to offer, see the people around who love me, relish every moment with friends who won’t be here next year, and take a good look at myself. Why I am the way I am and am I headed in the right direction?
Graduation is two weeks away, which for most of us does not seem possible. As we look back at these past four long but fulfilling years, there are some things that we shall never forget. It’s hard to believe that at one point we were little freshmen entering into these doors, with no idea what was in store for us. Four years have passed since that first day, and we have made decisions that will frame our futures. After years of studying, filling out applications, scholarships, and taking tests, we are now thrown into the real world, where there are seldom retakes, second chances are only a memory of yesteryear, and honor codes are the way of life.
Graduation: the last day that I would unwillingly set foot on the fields of Horizon High School. I could feel my heart beating out of my chest, and tried so hard to keep my feet moving one after the other in order to maintain my perfect stature. After the two hour wait of opening speeches, class songs, and the calling off of the five hundred plus names that were in front of me, it was finally my turn. As my row stood up and we walked towards the stage it had set in at last, this is it, I am done. My high school career ended on that night, but it didn’t close the book that is my life, it only started a new chapter, and with it came a whole slue of uncertainties.