Dullivers Ttravels Essay, Research Paper

Pressures of Expectations

Expectations are something we all encounter. Some of us rise up to them and reach beyond those that are set, some of us ignore the expectations that are constantly brought up in society, and some people cringe at the thought of even trying to meet them.

From the day that I was born my parents told me that average?meeting societies criteria for everything– was not good enough. I grew up in an environment that was full of expectations. My parents set a high standard of performance for everything that I became involved in, and demanded they be met. My parents pushed me to the brimming edge of my potential in order to get near perfection out of me?and that is what they got.

Once they started me on the path for achievement, it was the only thing they accepted from then on. They chose to measure my life on the success that I obtained rather than a plethora of other factors. This began to put tremendous pressure on me.

Both my brother and I love our parents very much, and so we hesitate to ever disappoint them. I personally take their high expectations as a challenge. We began speeding down the path they created, meeting all expectations, with no signs of stopping. They cheered and then raised the bar to another level. As we continued to succeed they continued to demand more.

I was still young when the pressures of their expectations got to my brother; he broke down during his senior year in high school. He gave up trying and lost that drive for achievement that had been installed in him. My brother went from being a near perfect student and great athlete to a ?C? student; he barely got off to college. He fell to just average. His sudden change was a surprise to all of us. We could not believe it happened. I stood by while my parents turned their full attention to keep me from making the same wrong turn.

The pressures were piled onto me. They told me anything less than perfect was unacceptable. Then, they hovered over me like a hawk?waiting to dive at any wrong move. They unintentionally put a strain on me that I was not yet adapted to handle. I turned inward: and tried to cut off the pressure they put on me. I became rebellious against their rules and expectations. The relationship with my parents grew further and further apart.

Because of the constantly building tension I have become a full-blown rebel. I do things to intentionally hurt my parents. I make mean comments and intentionally disobey. I have begun to succumb to the pressure: running away from it, and looking for the easy way out rather than overcoming. I am no longer a model young ?mommy?s boy? like I used to be. I regret that, and would like–more than anything–to have my relationship with them back the way it was.

I am a senior in high school?sitting in the exact same chair as my brother. Now I am feeling the immense build-up of pressure that has been growing for my entire life. I am afraid letting my parents down, and becoming someone that I am not. I am afraid of braking down like my brother. I don?t want to let the pressures of expectation get to me; I want to be one of those people that rises up and goes beyond what is expected.

Many people are swallowed up by mediocrity because they fail to meet expectations. I don?t think of myself as average, and don?t want to become one of those people because my expectations are set out of reach. I don?t want to crumble under the pressures of expectation.