Stereotype

      I personally feel that I belong to one the most stereotyped groups of people: teenagers. Many adults would lead you to believe that teenagers are lazy, dramatic, irresponsible delinquents. When a teenager walks into a nice boutique at the mall they often get the shoplifter treatment; every employee's expression says "I'm watching you," while their words say with false politeness "May I help you?" Teenagers apparently have no conversation skills, they refuse to answer their parents questions and never ask have the common courtesy to ask another a question about themselves. Right? Well, thanks to AP English, I believe we are slowly changing the teenager stereotype. Outside of drilling literary devices into our brains and making us write 74 page papers, AP English teaches us how to conduct intelligent and interesting conversations. We read the classics as well as more modern books which give us a wide range of topics to discuss. We can come across as engaging without ever having to talk about anything personal. Books and analysis serve as the perfect universal topic that rarely tires out. I quickly learned to dread the one million and two questions from my relatives about college and the future. However, instead of rudely ignoring their questions, I could transition the discussion to books (or pretend that I heard someone calling my name). Rather than just saying, “I read this or that book. I liked it. It had nice pictures,” we can actually speak in a well-informed manner. You could even throw in a couple of literary devices if so inclined, just not too many or it might seem like you are trying to show off. But seriously, the ability to carry on an intelligent conversation, whether about a book, a movie, or life in general, is an extremely important skill. After two years of graded discussions, I think every AP English student is pretty much an expert when it comes to intelligent conversation. Now go out and use your skills.