Burnt out.

The expectations of people change how other people perceive the social norms. With each new change of the season, people’s ideals change and catching up to the standard becomes harder to attain. In school, students push and push themselves to be the very best, and compete and compare with each other; they unintentionally humiliate those who may have gotten a low score.There are many books, tv shows and movies which show how society has changed people, their behaviour and mindset. Either for the better or for the worse, people inevitably change with the preferences of others.

These shows and movies became generational legends, as every person has watched them, and all relate to the different characters. Like ‘Mean Girls’, or ‘The Peaks of being a Wallflower’ these shows represent how people battle themselves and others to fit in their ‘role’. Their ‘role’ is stereotyped by others, and is seen as a rule book saying you must act in a certain way. In the beginning of the movies the main characters either meet someone or something that forces them to change.

Students, especially those going to, or are in universities and schools feel this, as they want to get the best exam scores and fit in with their peers. Therefore, they push themselves academically to be above the standard, as traditionally these standards were set by parents and schools. By getting these good scores, they are more eligible to get good jobs with the best pay. However all of these ideals increase, which then increases the stress the student would feel. The worst thing for a student is being the gifted amazing student with everyone's expectations, then reaching their 20s, and their high of success has mellowed out, and they don’t know what to do with themselves. They feel emotionally exhausted, and almost feel empty, as others' expectations have become their permanent mindset.

Moreover, there are cultural expectations, the stereotypes that could dictate the future of someone's life. The expectation of parents, to live this sort of life, to have this job, with this salary, you need to live in these cities. Following these ‘set of rules’ keeps us in a safe space, in a way of life that doesn’t cause problems for us, but this just creates a repetitive lifestyle; an unhealthy lifestyle of living your parents dream, the dream that they had, even at the expense of what you enjoy doing.

Expectations are the worst thing for anyone to have; they box you into roles that you were never prepared for, or wanted. They push the idea of someone you could be, instead of being the person that you are.

Demira Govind 11F