Growing up, I was taught of the stereotypes against black people, a lot of things were seen as “ghetto” and if I acted a certain way or presented myself a certain way, then I could be seen as the “angry/aggressive black man”, the “scary black man”, the “loud black person” etc. It hurt then me to hear that that is how I can be perceived, because I knew in my heart that was not who I was. And so, I began overcompensating by never wearing certain things, such as durags, never getting cornrows/twists/other protective styles, and even policing how I spoke/walked/acted in general. I would say that at least some of these things have begun to change once I started college. One example is how my relationship with a durag has changed entirely. My mom, to this day, does not like when I wear them outside of the house because she sees them as “ghetto”, and that used to affect my perception of them. But, currently, I do find them nice to wear, for practical and stylistic reasons. Another example is my speech patterns. I am a naturally loud person with a resonant voice that carries to some degree without trying. But when I didn’t want to be seen as the stereotypical “loud black person”, I would either remain relatively quiet, or speak in a small voice that is not only softer, but higher in pitch, so I was also less likely to be seen as aggressive. Nowadays, that type of behavior only happens when I’m meeting new people, or simply surrounded by strangers (hence why I don’t talk much in class, but I’m working on it). But I am glad to say that once I get comfortable around people, I can come out of the mask I made for impression management and just be myself.