Many times an adult or girl forgets what it means to have no social pressure. But you and I know that there is always an opportunity to lead the life you want to live, despite obstacles or other people's ideas of who you should be. Society has placed binding expectations on women in the past and present, which leads to misconceptions about their roles. “We live in a world today where people don't keep an open mind,” admits Mrs. Mary (Mary), 75 years old. Born in the small town of Bellefonte, Pennsylvania, after World War II, Mrs. Mary grew up in a time and place where life was simpler and optimism sparked the dreams of many. Girls, imagine graduating high school in the 1950s. Women were expected to be caring mothers, dutiful housewives, and obedient wives (Cey). But all women were mothers and social conformity is a thing of the past, right? Wrong. Before the interview, we believed the “single story” (Adichie) that women living in the 1950s remained domesticated and rarely took on roles outside of the family. Independent and highly educated, Mrs. Mary challenges the stable conformism of housewives of the past. Currently, as an elementary school tutor, pro-democracy activist, active church member, and leader on numerous nursing home committees, Ms. Mary works to take the lead in helping others, just as she has done all her life . . She never gave up her roles to conform to the ideas of others, or to act as the ideal woman of the society of the time. A leader in many aspects of her lifestyle, Ms. Mary still continues to challenge the social norms she grew up in, just as she did as a young girl. With such a busy schedule, Ms. Mary remains an active and thoughtful participant in society, as well as a contributing factor to her local community. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Now retired, Ms. Mary still doesn't let age or health get to her. Having permanently quit smoking at age 35 and remaining active as a runner/walker, she serves as a role model for people her age in her community. It is very intriguing that a woman with such a different cultural background could be open to such beliefs today. Today we know that exercise is vital to a healthy lifestyle and that smoking is one of the most physically harmful things you can do to yourself, but society back then didn't have the same ideas. In fact, smoking was seen as a GOOD thing for you, and running was seen as bad for you! Mrs. Mary, having views like us women today, shows her versatility to change and openness to new ideals. As a child in the 1940s, Ms. Mary remembers feeling the safety of being outside "when the street lights came on." When did kids get to do it these days? Immediately after the war, he attended school knowing that the world hoped for a new era. Our perception of war today is very different; while Mrs. Mary attended school knowing that better things were to come for the country, we, as today's youth, have the perception that greater things are not ahead for a country embroiled in war. These different views of the country give us young women and Mrs. Mary a completely different look at life. She developed a love of school, with "a lot less pressure than kids today", and found that helping others came naturally to her. In the 1950s, he argues, “the dollar had never gone any further” and the economy was booming. High economic stability and overall morale havecontributed to Ms. Mary's motivation to pursue a college education and teaching career (Mary). Today, where there may be less economic stability in the United States, and many of you may feel the need to attend college, there may be fewer economic opportunities to do so. Very interested in school and a lover of children, Ms. Mary attended Pennsylvania State University as an Elementary Education major and went on to earn her Master's degree, following her dream of becoming a teacher. It is timeless for women to have a love for children, but it was an important step in taking the path to education. It is widely believed that women of the 1950s were only concerned with receiving their "lady". degree- meaning husband. Women felt social pressure to focus on marriage and becoming a happy housewife (Daniels). Although women had other aspirations in life, family was at the center and the culture and media promoted that a husband was much more important to young women than a college degree (Daniels). This may no longer be the case for us. When asked about marriage, Ms. Mary stated that she had been married once, only for a short time, and then divorced: Husbands and families were not the only goal of ALL women in the 1950s . Mrs. Mary was not defined by being the perfect wife and mother; he didn't comply! In her middle age, Ms. Mary moved several times during her teaching career. Teachers played an important role in the integration of schools in the late 1950s and 1960s. Living and teaching in Greenwich, Connecticut, Ms. Mary was never fully aware of the minority communities in her town (Mary). Most of the students were white and “affluent.” It wasn't until she moved to Alexandria, Virginia that she became involved in the political activism that was taking place. He recalls, “The integration of black and white schools was a difficult transition.” She herself noticed the valuable lessons coming from the change (Maria). He says: “It was difficult to learn from new types of breeds; everyone learns and matures very differently” (Maria). Change scares us and it is difficult to assimilate to new circumstances and people. We are often quick to judge or create stereotypes, but often the diversity we encounter enriches our interactions with others. While Mrs. Mary played an important role from which the students of our history learned, she also took many lessons. Mary lived in Alexandria until 1999. She remembers not having a large influx of other races into the schools until the 1980s, with large growth in the Hispanic population. In this regard, he says, "it's nice to have a great mix of people, so much racial integration, there's a lot to learn from that." The integration of schools contributed to Ms. Mary's global citizenship style and was consistent with her life choices. . She was open to new experiences and was not a compliant member of society! If he had been less open-minded, he would have struggled to respond to this cultural adversity, that of racial integration. Can you imagine being a teacher during this monumental cultural transition? It's almost 2015 and today there is STILL racial tension! Prejudice and racism were also present in past presidential elections. Ms. Mary, an active campaigner for Democratic headquarters and heavily involved in the Obama campaign, commented that “the news has become biased and technology has polarized perspectives.” We have come a long way since the 50's and 60's, however, with the media surrounding us, our generation does not.