By: Sofia Turek

“You could help with a sign language song! Join Unified Theater!”

How about joining the math or science bowl? Joining a CS club? Joining any other STEM stuff?

That is what I’m really interested in.

 

“I really want YOU to join!”

Unified Business Club?

 

People call this different things, but I call this the “Unified Business Curse”, when someone brings you into a club that fits into one of your stereotypes, and then YOU think about joining, but don’t actually love the club.

 

How Stereotype Threat works:

While thinking about Unified Business, my brain and passion doesn’t just say “Don’t join. You could join whatever club you want” or just disagree with the person or even say “Music? STEM? Take Entrepreneurship.” .

I want to be friendly with everyone in this school, so my brain does not listen to ME, but whatever people want me to do. I think about social relationships, like “If I don’t do X, would Person Y get angry at me?” Of course not.

Sometimes that “Unified Business Club?” is a thought by my subconscious mind or feelings. So, there’s no way my brain could interrupt me. It’s either “brain” or “subconscious mind”; they almost always couldn’t be together at the same time.

Just like you couldn’t be 2 people at once. (I compare them to 2 separate people.)

 

My feelings, however, are not part of a disassociation metaphor I have. Everybody has moments when their feelings make decisions that the brain usually makes. 

 

And that thought of “Club A, that I’m not really interested in?” could carry with you until the beginning of the school year, when you pick your clubs.