As we get older, we begin to think more and more about how everyone else sees us. We begin to feel the pressure of society to look and act a certain way. In this blog, I will be interviewing students of RBHS to see how they feel they are seen by others and what they fear being seen as to see how societal pressure has affected them.[vc_empty_space][vc_separator color=”chino” style=”shadow” el_width=”80″][vc_empty_space][vc_empty_space]Known for his smile which he wears all day, freshman James Glaser sees himself a relatively upbeat person to be around.
When with his friends, Glaser admits that some may perceive him to be quite rowdy. However, depending on the situation, he says he can be seen as a quiet person if he’s in an unfamiliar environment. Regardless of how wild or quiet he may be at times, Glaser still believes that others have a positive impression of him.
One of Glaser’s worries is his reputation. He fears being seen as someone who is greedy and selfish, something that can stick with a person for quite some time.
“That’s one of those things you can’t recover from so easily,” says Glaser, “If you’re seen as not funny, you can crack some jokes and people will think, ‘Oh he is funny,’ but if people think you’re greedy or self-centered, you can’t really change how people think of you anymore.” [vc_empty_space][vc_separator color=”chino” style=”shadow” el_width=”80″][vc_empty_space][vc_empty_space]Seen walking through the school hallways with a great deal of confidence, junior Shay Wagner, shows off her creativity through her fashion.
Wagner sees herself as a shy person in situations in which she is not around her friends. While she may not be shy when surrounded by familiar faces, she still tends to be a more quiet person.
She saids she sometimes feels as though others see her as someone who is, “dumb and not very intelligent.” In her eyes, this is because of the competition that exists with grades and the belief that subjects such as math are the most important factors in determining intelligence.
In this, Wagner feels the pressure of society and school falling upon her.
“I just don’t want to be seen as someone who’s lazy and doesn’t accomplish anything,” Wagner said.[vc_empty_space][vc_separator color=”chino” style=”shadow” el_width=”80″][vc_empty_space][vc_empty_space]With his open-mindedness and his self-awareness, junior Gabriel Mefrakis, finds himself being someone anyone can talk openly with. He comes from a loving family of five brothers with a Libyan Muslim father and an American Christian mother.
He can be found socializing with almost any group at school, who, he believes see him as a hard worker who can, as he puts it, ”push himself to do minimum work but get the best grade possible.”
Although he may appear to never be stressed, he finds himself being pressured by his family to always push harder and achieve. Because of this, he finds himself worrying about being seen as someone who does not push himself.
While he has a variety of friend groups, he always tries to present himself as the same person to all. His biggest fear is being seen as “too radical”.
“In this day and age you can never say something without offending someone,” Mefrakis said.