Stereotypes In My Life

I have encountered a lot of stereotypical situations in my life, maybe more than an average person, it may be less, but what I do know is that everyone in their life one point or another will encounter a stereotypical situation. This situation can be very difficult to deal with and handle, you can solve the situation with several approaches. Depending on who you are as a person, is how you will solve the situation.
One of the hardest stereotypes I have had to face in life, is when I started to attend the Roanoke Valley Early College. Majority of the students at RVEC are African American, and I am a Caucasian student, there are more Caucasians in the upper classes, but when I started out at RVEC in the 8th grade, I was the only Caucasian and it was adjustment for me, and for the other students as well. The students and I both had preconceived ideas of what our races consist of. With the help of their cooperation and mine, we both educated each other, and also were careful with our words, we discovered that it is not necessarily what we say but it is the way that we say it. This

stereotypical situation is an interpersonal conflict, and I have solved this conflict by collaborating, this conflict resolution is collaborating because I had to work with myself, and the other students as well to overcome this obstacle.
Here is a great example of a stereotype I had to overcome in my life.

I usually do have a smile on my face, but when I’m not talking, laughing, or smiling, I seem to have a “mean look” when my face is just resting. So, for people who do not know me automatically assume that I’m mean, and even come off as that I am rude. When I met and spoke with a student at my school, they told me they never had an actual conversation with me simply because I looked mean, but when I spoke and interacted with the student, I proved that I am very friendly, which is the total opposite of what they had in mind. This example of a stereotypical experience I had was an intrapersonal conflict, I solved this conflict by accommodating. Accommodating is when you fit within someone’s wishes or demands in a helpful way. I was glad to have showed the student the real me, and not the person that she assumed I

was.
Another example of a stereotypical situation that I have dealt with is when I first started playing for the Weldon Middle School basketball team last year. A lot of people assumed that since I was Caucasian, that I would not be able to play as good as the other players on the team that were African American. I proved a lot of people wrong when I excelled on the court last year. This is an example of an intragroup conflict because the conflict was between me, and numerous students, and adults as well. I solved this conflict by forcing. I forced them to see and believe how great of a basketball player I truly am. We deal with stereotypes not just in classrooms, but in restaurants, and other social places. We deal with stereotypes all over the globe, it is a worldly issue that only we can solve as people in society wanting to make a change for the better.
On to our next touchy subject is prejudice, this is an issue that we have dealt with centuries before our time, and now in our current time sadly. I have encountered many prejudice situations, when I arrived at RVEC, we did not adapt to the difference at first, and I did have problems with another student trying to convince me that I did not belong there according to the pigment in skin. I did not the let the words bother me, I just responded in a cool, collected manner. I stated back to the student that I did not appreciate the comment and that it came off a bit raciest. Then, student said that they could not understand as to why I would feel that way towards the comment but finally, I just let the problem go. The conflict between me and this student was an interpersonal conflict, and I solved this conflict by avoiding. I choose this solution because I honestly did not feel like dealing with the student simply because the student was not worth my time. That student was not the only and last one that has and will make me feel that they are prejudice towards me for my race.
A great example of prejudice that I had to overcome was with my brother Denny. My brother has Asperger syndrome, which is a development disorder affecting ability to effectively socialize and communicate. My brother and I have always stood right by each other always to make sure one another is okay, we overall have a really great relationship. When I am out with him at a football game, or even a basketball game, I have to check on him and make sure that he is okay with the crowd and things of that nature. By doing this, I could instead be watching the game, or talking with friends, but I much rather make sure that my brother is okay and in his well-being before picking friends and a game over my other half. Some people have said that it is a bit much to check on him as much as I do, or that why should he even come if he has autism? Why? Because he is a human being, and just because he is a little different does not mean that he should have to miss out on these experiences all because of people who think he should not be there, or because of his disorder. He should be able to have the same amount of fun as I get to have at a game. The example of this prejudice situation is an intragroup conflict because I have dealt with friends, and also adults trying to persuade me into not bringing my brother along. I solved this conflict by compromising, I am compromising by maybe missing a few minutes of a game, or a conversation with my friends to make sure my brother okay, but I am getting a benefit out of the deal knowing that I can manage to put a smile on my brother’s face. My brother has to deal with people staring at him, so he has to give up some of his comfort, but as an award he gets to enjoy a game of the sport he likes.
There is also another prejudice situation that no one seems to want to bring to attention but I will be the one to do so. Why do people feel that they are entitled to saying a racial slur, as long as they are talking about their own race? I feel that if the slang term is negative to their own race then why even say it? In my opinion, if it is prejudice then just do not say the word even if it is towards your own race, because as soon as you speak upon your own race, other races will feel that it is okay to say and that it does not bother you considering that you say it yourself. We can put an end to being prejudice by thinking before talking, and doing. I am positive that I have said, or even did for that matter, something prejudice towards another person and they did not let me know that it offended them. I am sure that everyone in their life has said something and did not mean for it to come out prejudice, or did something and did not mean it in that way, so as people who want to have the world where being prejudice does not exist we need to think before saying and doing and how it may come across to one another.
Further on, I am now talking about an issue that we hear about as children that when we become teenagers, and even further on in our adulthood we will deal with an issue called propaganda. Propaganda is information that can be misleading nature, may be used to promote and publicize an idea, or product. Basically, a propaganda tries to cover the fact that an idea, or product is normal and okay, when in reality it is not. A lot of advertisements use this concept with their product, like alcohol for an example. In some alcohol commercials they brag about how good the beverage may taste and how amazing it will make you feel, but they seem to leave out how amazing you will be feeling in the morning with a horrible hangover that will consist of having horrible headaches, nausea, and other symptoms that a person would not like to experience. Not considering the actions you may participate in while being under the influence of their product. People who drink alcohol either find it as a cool way to socialize, escape s