Have you ever wanted to fit in? In “Revenge of the Geeks” by Alexandra Robbins, a girl at school suddenly getting called a geek because she wanted to get fit in the group. There are many mistakes that have been when you mess or try to fit in a crowd and they are include how people disdained one another and how she feels about the situation students going through. The students approach graduation day with bittersweet nostalgia: Excitement for the future is tempted by fear of lost status. In the text it states, “Taylor Swift’s classmates left the lunch table as soon as she sat down because they didn’t like her country music.” Although J.K. Rowling, author of the best selling “Harry Potter” series, has described herself as a bullied child
“who lived mostly in books and daydreams.” So what happens to high school’s popular students? Research shows that they are most likely to be both targets and instigators of aggression-whether physical or relational, which includes rumors, gossip, and backstabbing. The teenagers, says LaFontana who studies adolescent peer relationships and social status, “the worst thing in the world is to be different from other people; that’s what makes someone unpopular.” So basically the students are vaguely aware of this reality. It’s hard to know when you’re in high school that “the smart thing” is likely to translate into later success or that “the girl thing” is bound to improve. That’s why it’s up to adults to convey constantly to teenagers that the characteristics that marginalize them can pay off after graduation. In the story, “Revenge of the Geek” Geeks profit from their technological knowhow. The benefit from being empathetic and unafraid to display emotion. In the adult world, being out is in; Adults tend to be mature enough to recognize that there would be no progress-cures for diseases, ways to harness new energy sources- without people who are different. That populantly in high school necessarily leads to mediocrity or worse in adulthood. But neither is there necessarily something wrong with a student merely because classmates exclude them. Everyone in the environment needs to get along and come together as a community. Don’t diss on one another get along and make friends.
The Geeks Shall Inherit The Earth is a book by Alexandra Robbins which summarizes the story of seven different teenagers that have many different problems, which many of todays teenagers also have. I found myself having many similarities to the teenagers in the story, for example, when with her group Whitney, the popular bitch, thinks “You didn't day that when we were alone, but now that you're in front of a group you do” (Robbins 21). I can relate to this because I feel as though many people are pressured to say or do things they normally wouldn't whenever they are with their group or ‘clique’. Robbins has this idea that the freaks and geeks, or “cafeteria fringe” will someday grow up and use what they are criticized for to become more successful than the other peopler people. She calls this the ‘Quirk Theory’ (Robbins page 11). This helped me to learn that right now, in high school, not being ‘popular’ may seem like the end of the world, but the reality of it is that after these four years, it wont even matter, but what will be important is how you learned to grow as a person and the true friendships that were made. This makes me want to focus more on my education and learning to grow as a person instead of focusing on how many friends I have or who I sit with at lunch, because truthfully it wont matter once high school is over.
Katie’s teacher, Mr. Dubey, puts a very high emphasis on the students at Katie’s school about how important school is. Because Katie starts to feel bad for using David to get into Harvard, his attitude toward the topic changes and he tells that she should be self-serving and not really care what people say and to not "ruin the rest of your life just because you feel a little guilty right now"(74). All of these conflicting messages on what Katie should be like, how she should treat others an...
Now I wished that I could pen a letter to my school to be read at the opening assembly that would tell them how wrong we had all been. You should see Zachary Taylor, I’d say.” Lily is realizing now that beauty comes in all colors. She is also again being exposed to the fact that her way of being raised was wrong, that years and years of history was false. “The whole time we worked, I marveled at how mixed up people got when it came to love.
“School can be a tremendously disorienting place… You’ll also be thrown in with all kind of kids from all kind of backgrounds, and that can be unsettling… You’ll see a handful of students far excel you in courses that sound exotic and that are only in the curriculum of the elite: French, physics, trigonometry. And all this is happening while you’re trying to shape an identity; your body is changing, and your emotions are running wild.” (Rose 28)
Though Nomi Nickel from A Complicated Kindness and Holden Caulfield from The Catcher in the Rye both possess negative attitudes towards school, only Nomi evaluates her attitudes and grows as a result. Nomi’s ...
These days, as both characters ironically prove, it is difficult trying to be different when being different is a category in itself. Dave and Julia, the two protagonists of this book, are both the cool, “hipster” type kids that would burn themselves drinking their coffee because they have to do it before it is cool. Both of them think high school is the biggest cliché imaginable, which – when you think about it- it really is. How many of us fantasized over being prom king or queen? Having someone ask you out to a dance in the most romantic, over used fashion possible? Wanted to run for class president or some other office? These are the sort of things that Dave and Julia vow never to do during their four years of high school, until one day everything changes. As the summary explains, Dave and Julia start a pact (which they write down and title the "Nevers List") right before high school, swearing off participating in any of the "cliché" high school experiences that were just bound to arise. The list goes as
From the outset of the story there is an overwhelming sense of hope that has enveloped the entire community and school with the upcoming graduation. The communitie's involvement strengthens the authors excitement in her rite of passage. Everyone is preparing for the ceremony and seeking to see how it will affect the lives of those involved. "Only a small percentage would be continuing on to college" (835) and others were just excited for the "glorious release" (834) from school. She felt like she was on top of the world, after all, "the graduating classes themselves were the nobility" (834). It is obvious how much pride she takes in her community by the way she describes her class as "an extended family." (834). The author's school was not the most impressive school compared to the white schools in the area but that could not damper the spirit that was filling the air. Parents who were buying or making new outfits for their graduates made everyone including the author the center of attention. Her "momma launched out on [hers]," (835) and she was swollen with pride that she was going to be a walking mod...
“Fitting in” is a concept that is seen a lot in adolescence. Teenagers will do pretty much anything at times to have friends or appear to be “cool.” That is exactly what happens to Tracy in this film. As the film begins, Tracy is a good, simple girl, and her pureness all changes when she befriends the most popular girl in school, Evie Zamora. Evie is very rebellious. She does not have a strong authority figure in her life (Levy-Hinte, London, & Hardwicke, 2003). The sweet, innocent young Tracy is soon to be completely transformed. Evie is vividly a bad influence on Tracy from the beginning, as seen when she influences Tracy to steal something the first time they hang out together (Levy-Hinte, et al., 2003). Stealing is illegal and considered a minor crime and turns Tracy into a delinquent (Berk, 2011). Tracy’s identity development is heavily influenced by her new friendship with Evie from that moment on. Evie is so popular, but she makes very poor choices and Tracy follows her lead because she wants ...
Throughout The Geeks Shall Inherit the Earth, Alexandra Robbins makes a variety of assertions. Her main claim is that there are many students who feel as if they must fit into certain groups in school to be accepted. To support this claim, Robbins has gathered evidence by interviewing common high schoolers from several different areas. Throughout her interviews, the students tell her about their experience. She observes a common pattern in all of the students, as a result, she has strong proof to support the claims she makes throughout the book. Within this essay, I will explain the specific claim, the evidence, and the form the evidence
The documentary Rise of the Hackers, focuses on the rising criminal use of hacking and how it is effecting multiple areas of technology. The documentary describes simple and complicated situations concerning hacking, but there still questions that must be answered when it comes to hacking and crime. The main question is in trying to determine why a person would choose to commit computer hacking. There are various theories already present within the criminal justice system that may explain at a micro-level and macro-level. These theories would explain why offenders would commit the crimes, but it may not answer the full scope of the question. The Routine Activities Theory would help to explain why offenders offend, why victims are victimized,
To begin with, when I was younger I would have considered myself an outsider because when I first started school, I didn’t have the characteristics to fit in and felt like I would not blend into the people I was surrounded by. Also, I have met many people who have presented experiences from their past when they had felt like they didn’t fit in because they couldn’t keep up the standards to be popular. In social media, there are many guidelines that people feel the need to meet in order to feel like you belong and some who don’t match up can feel like outsiders, and that happens to many. Furthermore, in today’s society people feel the need to be popular or to fit in, and if they can’t meet the expectations they are considered an outsider and that happens universally. Others may suggest that just because someone doesn’t fit in a group doesn’t mean they are considered an outsider, they are just someone who doesn’t meet certain expectations. However, many others would disagree and would label someone an outsider when they don’t fit in or don’t meet expectations of society because that makes them think they don’t
It’s hard for people to fit in when others can’t accept you. Everyone wants to be accepted and be a part of the ‘in-crowd’, but just because you’re a little different, people may stop liking you. People should embrace their differences, “Instead they’re creating this divided environment where they’re showing all these children that a child is different and we’re going to treat them po...
My eagerness to embrace life in high school squashed when I came face to face with extreme mean behavior at the hands of kids my own age. My grades started falling, from an honors student I had turned into someone who just hated school. From sulking, to rebelling to being remorseful, had become my permanent demeanor.
Brooks starts by acknowledging the stigma there is against college students, calling them more accomplished, but saying at the same time, they lack the emotional resolve that generations before them possess. He criticizes students for giving affirmations to one another freely. He also talks about “helicopter parents” and mentions the “desire for trigger warnings and safe spaces” in a way that gives the reader the idea that the current generation, is oversensitive.
In public schools, students are faced with the different groups among their peers. The popular group is most favored, which probably means that you go to school in the latest fashion, you are the team captain or captain of the cheerleading squad. If you are a “geek”, you are probably made fun of because you are smart and get good grades instead of spending the morning caring about how you look. If you a...