Waking up at 6 a.m. every morning for school is difficult, but we all have to do it. It is even harder to come to school, keep good grades and be involved when teachers, employers and other peers who are supposed to encourage me don’t believe in me and many times make me feel like they are putting me in a category, which is known as racial profiling.

The pressure placed upon young African American students is much to endure. There is pressure to be involved in multiple school activities, pressure to graduate, pressure to not get pregnant before the age of 17 and pressure to help out around the house, like cleaning, cooking and taking care of my younger sibling. Most of us have that life at home, so when teachers tell me things like you don’t get it or I’m in a generation that is lazy and will not amount to anything, it really upsets me. There is only one way to prove them wrong and that is by simply not falling into the stereotype society has placed us in.

I plan on fighting the system and graduating from high school. I will go to college for journalism, photojournalism and music, and I will follow my dream of becoming a famous photographer. We do not have to fall in that category of racial profiling and be that stereotype that teachers, peers and employers put us in. We are better than that, and I will prove them all wrong by achieving my goals, getting an education and fighting the system.