Blak and forth: Cultural pressure

11th December, 2024    |    By  Reach Out Australia    |     39

Doing well in school comes with the usual pressures. But for young mob, it doesn’t always end there. Hear Alex, Anisha and Mia yarn about the pros and cons of cultural pressure at school. Video by ReachOut.


Also check the related topics:  

Cultural Indentity Mob Life

Video provided by Reach Out Australia

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Blak and forth: Cultural pressure

Do you guys find more pressure because of your culture and identity in high school?

Yeah, because I was the token Black kid. I could speak, I could do the Acknowledgement of Country, and I had all this cultural knowledge. There was a lot of pressure. The average kids had a good ATAR, and I was supposed to be the one to overtake their ATAR. I felt like there was so much pressure on me to excel academically.

That’s when the stress really kicked in. It was like, “You’re going to be the next Prime Minister. You’re going to be all this…” And I was like, “You don’t know my life—don’t put that on me.”

I’m very happy that I eventually stood up and said, “I’m not going to be this token Black kid at school.” Someone else took that role, and I felt a lot more at ease.

That’s the one thing about being Black—whether it’s positive pressure or negative pressure, it doesn’t go away. It’s already hard enough; like, I’m already in Year 12. It’s just crazy—just another layer.

Yeah, I kind of struggle with that sense as well.

I was the token Black kid, but I’m also white. I’d do Acknowledgements of Country and anything cultural—it was always me who had to step in and do it. Sometimes I didn’t want to, but I almost felt like I had to.

A lot of the time, it was like, “Oh, Mia’s a drama kid” or “Mia likes that stuff, so we’ll just throw her into the deep end.”

In Year 12, I was definitely struggling with my academics and social life, and on top of that, I had to be the face of the Indigenous kids.

What about you?

There were a lot of Indigenous students at my school—a lot of mob where I came from. I guess I wasn’t the stereotypical Black kid. I was more focused on academics.

Also, I’m a traditional owner of the country where my school is located, so I would always do the Welcome to Country. But I really enjoyed doing that.

Being in a leadership position at my high school and getting to do welcomes helped me separate that part of my identity from my schoolwork. It was kind of like compartmentalizing. I had all my Year 12 studies, but then when there was an assembly and I got to do something cultural, I enjoyed that.

Yeah, everyone’s different.

Oh, to be young and Black—pros and cons.

Literally.

Yeah, true.