[Cottrell-E-Smith]

Jodie, I would echo most of the other respondants when i say that you should just be who you are- meaning enjoy your music, wear your clothes and speak how you choose. Having the courage to be yourself despite what others around you might think is a sign of maturity. However, be mature enough to also recognize that just as you are a product of your environment, with the will and desire to be yourself, your peers too, are a product of thier’s. There are reasons why some speak differently than you. Try not to blame the victim because there are a lot of reasons why people may speak the way that they do (‘improperly’). That is, if your critics are of african descent, because they expect that you will speak as they do, or have other things in common with themselves does not make them any less worldly than you, it simply means that they, like most children (and most adults as well), are trying to make sense of the world by making or adhering to certain generlizations. Often times when people try to criticize others it is due to to a lack of security w/in themselves. Instead of judging, thinking of them as backward (not that you do this), because of how they may behave or even because of how they may judge you, embrace them, show them why you are the person you want to be and help them to do the same. If your critics are not of african descent and they are expecting you to behave the way they think african americans do, resist this preasure, be yourself and show that being of African descent is not defined by how pop culture may portray us, or how some of us may even portray our slves at times. In short help others think out side of the box. That doesn’t make them any less worldly than you are and i haesitate to say this but depending on what you mean by ‘proper’ (accent or gammer) if your critics are of african

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Name : Cottrell-E-Smith, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Christian, Age : 25, City : Berkeley, State : CA, Country : United States, Occupation : student, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

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