The Color of Water blog post 4

"You have to choose between what the world expects of you and what you want for yourself".
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This is a quote where James's sister jack was getting him to pull himself together.The reason I find this quote eye-catching and relatable is because I believe that this is an important life choice for many people and not just those who are struggling. Yet this can be an especially important request for people or who aren't enjoying their life choices (especially their job). The world expects something different for everyone, but those expectations can be ones that some people don't really lean towards for multiple and personal reasons. One reason could be how tough a certain expectation can be. An example could be what emotions you have as a man, in this case only straightforward emotions. "Stop crying and be a man". <--- This right here is a big example of what can be expected of many guys in their life, even though it's a lot to ask, and isn't a very kind thing to ask of so many people (In my opinion it's totally ok to cry, we aren't robots). Another example is pressure for a certain occupation. Imagine someone with a family of successful doctors-then imagine that someone NOT wanting to be a doctor. I bet you can also imagine the pressure to be a doctor that could come from not only the family, but other people who know the family too. One last example involves issues and choices about clothing, language, actions, and opinions depending on where you live and who you live with, not to mention who you let inspire you or is in charge of your choices. I guess you could call them stereotypes, but it's just expectations from the world put onto you. I also feel like this is something James's mother would say to him, because usually she wants him to just be successful but she also doesn't like seeing him be brought down because she loves him. Also I feel like it was good for Jack to say that you would have to choose between either doing what is expected or doing what you want because doing both is hard and might not turn out as expected. I believe in someone doing what they find interesting and what you enjoy as long as it's for their benefit and doesn't harm others, like what James did. Many people in your life couled try and tell you what you should do based on factors in your life, but if it's something you don't want to do, and your heart is set out for something else, then don't let those people dictate your life. Once you have them make the decisions you truly want to make, your life might not be as enjoyable as it should be. Advice can be a great thing, but advice isn't peer pressure. And I feel like that's what Jack was trying to get at for James, like many siblings could do for each other.