Stereotypes, epiphanies, and outsiders!
For this sub-page, I will present my group project and my essay that talk about these 3 things. Stereotypes, Epiphanies, and Outsiders!
First to the basic's, what is a stereotype? Well a stereotype is when you assume something about someone without even knowing them! A Epiphany, is when a certain event happens in the life of someone and their entire life changes FOREVER! While Outsiders, are people who feel like they don't belong somewhere or feel like nobody likes them or wants them near.
Now I present to you my essay discussing these 3 subjects:
An outsider can be defined as someone who doesn't belong in a group or place. They are also most times excluded from social events or school events and activities.Outsiders that are treated like this sometimes feel confusion, frustration, and most of the time worthlessness. Outsiders most of the time feel ignored or excluded in school. Lastly, there are many reasons why someone would feel like an outsider,these include they're weird, shy new, challenged, gay, lesbian, etc.
Also, there are different kinds of outsiders such as people who choose to be an outsider and people who don't choose to be one. There are also insiders and borderliners. I'm an insider. I usually hang out with people who play videogames, I'm a videogame geek. I used to be an outsider when I first got to this school but after a while, I found new friends and learned my place. I'm a videogame geek because all of my life when I felt alone, videogames were there to cheer me up and made sure I had fun. As a kid, I would play Pokemon, Kingdom Hearts, Super Smash, and sometimes Elder Scrolls. Overall, this is the reason why I'm a videogame geek and choose to be one.
Also, stereotypes can cause people to feel like an outsider. A stereotype is when someone assumes something or judges someone else without even knowing them. An example of someone who has been stereotyped is my mom, she is thin and most people think she has an eating disorder but in truth my mom eats very healthy and exercises every single day. Another example is how people assume I'm smart because I have glasses, I'm smart but not because I have glasses. This is what we call stereotypes!
Another example about stereotypes comes from the book, "The Outsiders". Two characters from the book discuss stereotypes. Ponyboy, a greaser, believes that the socs (or socials) have a perfect life because they're rich and that they have no problems. Cherry, a soc, believes that the socs aren't better than the greasers and the greasers are not better than the socs, she also believes that "things are rough all over" which means that everywhere you go, there are problem.
In other news, stereotypes are also explored in C. Addichie's TED Talk called "A danger of a single story". In this presentation she discusses that when she was little, she thought characters in all books were white, played in snow, and drank ginger beer. This is dangerous because people who knew or heard about her might consider her racist against others. She was also stereotyped by her roommate in college, she stereotyped her of knowing tribal music and her coming from Africa (which she stereotyped to be in chaos). Addichie also thought that all Mexicans were immigrants no matter what. She also mentioned that the problem with stereotypes is that it's not that they are true but that they're incomplete. In the end of her speech, she said,"If we reject stereotypes, we regain the path to paradise".
On the other hand, epiphanies challenge individuals to become better people. An epiphany is when someone is at first bad/good but start transforming into someone good/bad in a certain place or event. An example of someone who had an epiphany is my brother (Jack), he also used to go to Mueller.
For example, he used to party all the time. He would go out with his friends and party a lot during the weekend. While he partied, my mom and I would go to the movies, restaurant, or stay home and watch T.V. One day, he got home late (common though) and he looked scared , my mom asked him what was wrong and he said,"nothing". The next day, a man shows up. He explains how my brother and his friend yelled outside his house: stupid gay homosexual! My mom asked my brother if this was true and he said,"yes". My mom grounded him for a week after that. My brother after that didn't go party that much anymore or hung out with that friend. He learned not to hang out with the wrong people and to be more careful.
In addition to epiphanies, there is also an example in, "The Outsiders". Johnny Cade is a character who goes from zero to hero. At first, he was the quiet innocent kid everyone felt bad for. But, when he kills the soc Bob, he gets scared and runs away to Windrixx Ville with Ponyboy with the help of Dally. They both hide in a abandoned church until one day, the church starts burning down with kids inside it. Johnny and Ponyboy rescue the kids but Johnny gets severely hurt and is sent to the hospital. In this part, Johnny starts saying that fighting is stupid and useless, Ponyboy to stay gold, and finally dies. He decided not to hide his emotions and didn't care about fights and Socs vs Greasers fight. He was a good person and always was. This characters epiphany begins in the church.
Overall, you can see now how stereotypes can be very bad. They make you and other people feel like outsiders. You can also see how epiphanies can strongly change someone a lot. I know many people who have had epiphanies but I think that my brothers is the most interesting one and the one that really changed him. Have you ever had an epiphany? Have you ever been stereotyped? Have you ever felt like an outsider? Remember guys, don't make other people feel like outsiders and reject stereotypes!