Stress in "A Hope in the Unseen"
Stress experienced early in one's life can wield an influence for manyyears to come; and can even reveal itself in new social situations. Thenature of the stress, however, does not seem to determine the type ofimpact it will have on the individual's life. Stress associated withperforming well in school cannot simply be reduced to the difficulty of thecurriculum, but must also be tied to outside social factors that might makeit even more difficult for a student to perform. The way in which thisstudent is affected by the stress is largely determined by social supportsystems-the most important of which, for most individuals, is the motherfigure. Psychological stress associated with performance in school canimpact a number of aspects of life, and have unforeseen consequences later Cedric Jennings, the protagonist in ,A Hope in the Unseen grew up ina poor, inner-city neighborhood. He was one of the less than a handful ofstudents in his high school who earned straight A's on his report cards.Clearly, this is a significant academic achievement, but the setting heaccomplished it in made it that much more meaningful. In many Americanschools over-achieving is looked down upon by the majority o
Was he ashamed of getting all A's'No, he was proud of that. Thesesymptoms, in turn, seeded more anxiety later in his life as he attempted toenter social circles with limited success. " Thedifference is obvious-no one in America wants to be singled-out as a"bookworm" or a "dork. Such tools are intended to increase the feeling of safetybut seem, instead, to instill a sense of distrust and peril. A second source of stress that kids in low-income public schools oftenhave to deal with is the perceived threat of violence and the generalfeeling of insecurity in the presence of criminal activity. " Yet,like most college students, Cedric gradually blended in: "with each passingmonth, he grows closer to feeling inconspicuous at Brown and at once-foreign parts of American life. In fact, oftenthe rules and safety measures themselves contribute to this feeling ofinsecurity, and make the students sense that by coming to school they arecoming to a place that is in some way dangerous. Following his stressful years in high school CedricJennings found new sources of anxiety as he attempted to fit into varioussocial communities within Brown University. So, what kind of an effect can these social stresses have on anindividual's life' Clearly, most students choose to abandon the ideals ofhard work and scholastic achievement. However, it appears that, "afterthe initial reaction to stress, those with adequate resources soon recoverwhile those with weak resources do not. It's embarrassing to not have at leastsome knowledge of such a basic subject. His lack of experience withfriends and girlfriends made his early years in college awkward and lonely. The consequences of being shunned as a "nerd" in high schoolplayed-out through the rest of Cedric's life. Cedric is, of course, just an example. In Cedric's case he "realized that with so little work being doneduring class time, extra-credit projects would be crucial to learninganything.
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Acceptance Essays
