(“Tomorrow’s Voices Today“ is a new series curated by poet and educator Mike Sonksen.)
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Things that people assume to be automatic. Based on previous occurrences, expectations are formed. You can be expected to be a bad kid because you talked in the middle of a class or a good kid if you never break the rules.
Everyone has expectations for one another. I expect that Selenesol will always have my back. I expect Elysa to call me out on my stupidity. I expect Kyana to always be a sunspot in a dark space.
But what are their expectations of me? What does the rest of the world assume about me based on previous occurrences? I am expected by my parents to get straight A’s. I am expected by my sister to always stay a kid. I am expected by my classmates to always be there when they need help on homework. but what if I can’t meet those expectations?
What if I fall off the horse one day? Will I still be that expected good kid, or will i fall to the deep depths of being a bad kid? What if i just don’t want to always be expected to know the right answer but, don’t want to be judged when I’m wrong. Sometimes i wonder if any of the people around me would still be my friends if i wasn’t the “good kid” I am now.
Expectations. They tend to shape who a person is. If you assume things about a person, after a while it’s going to start to seem true. The bible even tells us we have the power to speak things into existence.
We just have to make sure we use that power for good. So don’t expect, observe. Let people show you who they are everyday. I’m not always going to be my over the top, cheerful, borderline annoying self everyday.
But on those days when i’m not, it doesn’t mean that there is something wrong with me. Even though things and people change sometimes, it’s not always a bad thing.
Let us have the freedom to be different whenever we want. We don’t always need, and hardly ever want, to be bombarded with your disappointment in our inability to meet your expectations.
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