Kira+T’s+Final+AmEx+2015+Speech


 * Stereotyping Teens **

So let me tell you a little bit about myself. My typical night of having fun includes buying food with my friends, taking naps on Casey’s amazing couch, and driving around with Haley and Lexi with the music blasting. (Obviously getting home before 11:00pm) I don’t do drugs, drink alcohol, or go to parties unless they are birthday parties and BioScience socials.

I am going to tell you a story, and keep in mind I have done nothing to lose my parents’ trust. This was during the time we had the first cram session at foothill. My dad’s friend was over and well, drinking beer. My parents had just finished listening to my dad’s friend’s story about his daughter and the crazy thing her and her friends got into. He started telling me that people my age have the tendency to do scandalous things and I am just thinking to myself you are full of… poop, because he obviously doesn’t know me. My dad’s friend had just given my mom a stereotype; a stereotype about all teenagers being irresponsible and “always looking for trouble”.

After this took place, I asked my mom about going to the cram session. My mom said it was fine if I went to the cram session, but was extremely skeptical. She asked me a lot of questions, what time it starts, when I would be home, where is it going to be, who would I be with, how many people were going to be there, etc. So I answered all of her questions. I guess she did not believe me, because after Emma picked me up to go to the cram session, my mother followed me to the school. I did not even know that this happened, until a couple weeks later when my sister told me. Oh and this has happened multiple times, but that’s a whole different story. You may be thinking that there is a reason why my mother has been following me around, and let me remind you that no, I have not done anything to lose her trust. It was my dad’s friend who had convinced her to stalk me, because apparently his daughter would lie about going somewhere and go to a party instead. Seriously he needed to BACK OFF! I had built so much trust with my parents, and then he comes in and knocks it all down. It is completely unfair that my dad’s friend compared me to his daughter, because we are very different.

Not every single one of us has a mindset to do all of these shenanigans. Stereotyping teenagers by peers, parents, and even teachers can cause a huge problem with how a teenager makes a decision; it can sometimes make them want to fulfill the negative expectations. For example if the teenager has been given the information that all teenagers misbehave, then they will think it is okay if they do the same. Which is what we do not want. With parents it can cause a huge problem with parent to teenage relationships because the parent starts to make accusations and unreasonable questioning and causes the teenager to think that his/her parent does not trust him. This can all occur with one stereotype.

When I grow old in America I want adults to not stereotype teenagers as being irresponsible and to not view them as an emotional wreck that likes to find trouble. I want to see my grandchildren to be able to go to a friend’s house without any adults thinking otherwise. I want to be able to see a trust bond with teenagers and parents and if they do hear these stereotypes that it will not affect them. The point is there will always be the handful of people who do these things, but not the entire teenage population.

Sources: http://www.livestrong.com/article/1006225-stereotyping-teens/#page=2