THE OTHER WES MOORE - ASSIGNMENT #1 - Expecations vs. Enviroment

ENVIRONMENT VS. EXPECTATIONS

    When thinking on the question of what I am a product of, I take into account all of the experiences I’ve had living in the same area for my whole life. The neighborhood I’m from, The Heights, is a rich and vibrant part of Jersey City where most of my family lives. Not only have I had influence in my life from my parents, but also people like my grandmother and grandfather, who live a mere three blocks away from me. I have had constant growth and opportunity in the environment I’m from because of the encouragement from the members of my family that I get to see frequently, a fact I am incredibly grateful about. My environment is consistently loving and caring, which is one part of the equation, as there is also the expectation factor.

(A walk through the Heights in this link!)

    My parents have incredibly high expectations for me, and sometimes put me on a pedestal for the whole family to see. As good as it feels to be complimented, at the back of my mind I know that the expectations to do well in school or in projects for my major, can be overwhelming. I feel the need to push myself beyond what I need to do from time to time, and while the outcome may be a project I’m proud of, the tiredness and stress that comes after is not pleasant. I shirk my duties and miss out on other responsibilities, and before I know it I’m at work, unable to work on things I should’ve been doing.

    So, while I adore the love and affection I receive from my family, the expectations may be something that creates who people are as they grow, at least for me. It hasn’t negatively affected my mental state at all, but it is something I must acknowledge and live with. The balancing act of living up to expectations and creating downtime for myself is a bit strenuous, but in time I will be able to pull it off. It all depends on self-evaluation and laying out all of my options so I can continue to do good work while managing to sneak in some leeway for myself.

    Especially in college, a lot of my peers or other students may have this problem, because in my case not many members of my family graduated or even attended a university. This becomes a big deal when I’m in my third year, about to finish up in a year. The excitement of finishing college is great and exhilarating, but the cycle of work outside of school, working in school, and working at home truly can be a process that doesn’t like to work with me. Sometimes the family may not realize that, and when I fall behind even just a little, it can be disheartening. 

    This is why, as stated before, I must make an effort to do good work and balance my time well. The leeway and flexibility of my life isn’t all that bad, but I have to learn to use it to my advantage so I can work around certain things and place more time into others. With great expectation, comes a great responsibility to fight harder to accomplish certain goals. This is what has created me as a person rather than my environment, despite how important that may be to me. Hopefully all of us as college students are able to work past expectations to forge a decent path for ourselves.