I am who I am...
Throughout a persons life they will run into many stereotypes. In high school, we saw kids stereotype themselves as well as each other. Even though it might have a negative connotation, I don't see stereotyping as such a bad thing. You can take you're "label" and change it, if it bothers you. But this "classification" also might give someone a sense of belonging. An outcast labeled a skater might search the halls of his high school for other skaters. A gear head might keep an eye out for someone who enjoys working on cars as much as he/she does. Stereotyping has a way of bringing people together who have the same interests.
My stereotype in high school was the Nice Guy/Band Nerd/Jesus Freak. People knew they could come to me for advise or guidance with a problem. If they needed help or someone to lend a hand, I was there. The negative connotation would come into play when friends would take advantage of the situation and walk all over you. When someone would take advantage of the "nice guy" because they knew they could get away with it. Band nerd was the more prevalent of the two. The first time hearing if made me madder then hell. Why would someone go out of their way to try and put others down. "Oh he doesn't have a life or friends because he's a band nerd." Wow, how much farther from the truth could he be. My freshmen year of high school I made more friends because of Marching Band. The almost god like seniors (remember, I'm a scrawny little white guy) came up to me my first day of practice, put their arms around my shoulder, and told me if anyone ever gave me trouble in school, to tell them who it was, and they would take care of it. That might not seem like much but with a school of almost 4,000, it seemed to make the transition a little bit easier. I belonged to a group. I sweet my ass off for four years and have more medals, plaques, and rings to show for it then my high school football team. As a senior, I returned the favor to MY incoming freshmen, because I was so grateful for the seniors before me. Did we adopt the name and use it to describe each other...No, but we learned to accept what other could not understand.
A "stereotype" is nothing more then a word. To believe and use them on a day to day basis to describe other's is is to claim ignorance. To think that you can group every individual in this world is stupid. I am the stereotype Brian Robert Flohr. That is who I am. There is no one else in this world like me.
My stereotype in high school was the Nice Guy/Band Nerd/Jesus Freak. People knew they could come to me for advise or guidance with a problem. If they needed help or someone to lend a hand, I was there. The negative connotation would come into play when friends would take advantage of the situation and walk all over you. When someone would take advantage of the "nice guy" because they knew they could get away with it. Band nerd was the more prevalent of the two. The first time hearing if made me madder then hell. Why would someone go out of their way to try and put others down. "Oh he doesn't have a life or friends because he's a band nerd." Wow, how much farther from the truth could he be. My freshmen year of high school I made more friends because of Marching Band. The almost god like seniors (remember, I'm a scrawny little white guy) came up to me my first day of practice, put their arms around my shoulder, and told me if anyone ever gave me trouble in school, to tell them who it was, and they would take care of it. That might not seem like much but with a school of almost 4,000, it seemed to make the transition a little bit easier. I belonged to a group. I sweet my ass off for four years and have more medals, plaques, and rings to show for it then my high school football team. As a senior, I returned the favor to MY incoming freshmen, because I was so grateful for the seniors before me. Did we adopt the name and use it to describe each other...No, but we learned to accept what other could not understand.
A "stereotype" is nothing more then a word. To believe and use them on a day to day basis to describe other's is is to claim ignorance. To think that you can group every individual in this world is stupid. I am the stereotype Brian Robert Flohr. That is who I am. There is no one else in this world like me.
posted by Anonymous at 4:22 PM
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