1. Expectations

All For You
By: Alison Lussier

What was I to do?
You wouldn’t talk,
The whole “subject”,
All on my shoulders

I felt a guilt,
A guilt that made me sick!
I betrayed a friend, a close friend
All for you!

So this is my story,
I write because I cant talk.
This pain,
Its all for you!

Great Expectations

By Lydia Gabourel
Hartford High School, Grade 10

Are you expected to do great things?
Expected to get good grades?
Expected to be funny?
Expected to be perfect?

What are great expectations?
And what are the expectations you have of yourself?

You say
I need to be perfect to be what they expect.
I need to be pretty to impress them.

Expectations

By Melissa Werle
Woodstock Union High School, Grade 10

It was the same old, same old at the fair. Carnival rides that looked like they were about to break any second, trash already strewn over the ground though the fair had just barely come to town. Greasy, sweet- smelling fried dough stands at every corner, mixed in with countless other fast food stands piled on top of each other. Con artists promising goodies to the gullible people falling for their rip- off games, and flashing, multi- colored lights that would make a person dizzy in seconds. I sighed. Of course. Every year I imagined a great crowd, shining new and fun rides, and a great deal of entertainment, only to be met by this sorry sight. Now I remembered how it really was. Why could I never commit to memory that the fair was always a disappointment that never met my expectations? I was two steps and five minutes into the fair, and already I was ready to leave.

I Expect
By Rachel Pitcher

I expect that kids can vote. Right now kids don't have a chance to choose the candidate of their state. What if you were us and you wanted to vote. If you care then listen closely and you will find out why kids should be able to vote.

I have a tendency to trust high expectations on every new person I meet. I always expect people to be optimistic, and laugh when they hear something funny. I always think everyone I meet are going to be generous, nice, and normal; and because I throw these expectations on people who may not have these characteristics, I am often let down.

By Kelsey Johnson
Hartford High School, Grade 10

Expectations

I brought my report card home from school today.
The grades aren’t too bad, all A’s and B’s.
As I’m walking home on the newly paved road,
I wonder what my parents will say.

Their expectations are too great for me.
I always work really hard for my grades.
I’m usually up until midnight or later

Expectations

By Nikko Malerba
Woodstock Union High School, Grade 12

There is no such thing as expectations.
We are all that we make ourselves.
Our focus determines our reality.
Our determination defines our lives.
Our lives are what we make them.
The expectation is in your mind.
Let go, live your life.
Die your death.
Expect nothing from others

High or low,
It is always out of reach
Never certain in its promises
Unsure of what to anticipate
leaving either dissappointment or a memorable shock,
Blind turns are taken in its path
Never a warning, or maybe just a false pretesnse
it leaves ambiguity abd hesitation in your thoughts
Looking forward to a blurred bision of the future
An expectation looms ahead.

Expectations

I have many expectations,
of myself and of otheres.
My expectations of myself,
are to succeed and accomplish.
Many others may say different.
Their expectations of me are to fail,
to fail so they can strive for more success.
I have had an experience that didn't meet my expectations.
When I was 8 years old I joined to play the soccer team,

Expectations

I have many expectations,
of myself and of otheres.
My expectations of myself,
are to succeed and accomplish.
Many others may say different.
Their expectations of me are to fail,
to fail so they can strive for more success.
I have had an experience that didn't meet my expectations.
When I was 8 years old I joined to play the soccer team,

What Will You Do?

What do you do when you fail to meet expectations?
Expectations from yourself
From those who put their trust in you
You expected to deliver
You didn’t
You envisioned success
But that success failed to appear
Do you dwell on the failure?
Do you dwell on mistakes?
On anger
Frustration
Do you let every positive feeling be ripped from your body?

Expectations

By Nina McCarthy
Woodstock Union High School, Grade 10

Soccer practice, school and work,
Together make my brain just hurt.
I trip and fall and re-begin,
With scrapes on my knees, I get up again.
Score a goal, get an A, don’t be late or you wont get paid!
My coach yells, my mom nags,
“Take the shot!” “Don’t you lag!”
Everyday I grind my teeth,

I think expectations are a great thing to have in your life. Without them, you wouldn’t have any motivation to keep you going, or anything to challenge you. I have very high expectations for myself. I dream of going to UVM after high school so I expect myself to keep up with the UVM standards, which we all know are rising. I play three sports; soccer, basketball, and tennis.

I have been playing football for a long time. I started my football career in 5th grade and I love the sport. When I began middle school in 7th grade I was starting right offensive tackle and defensive tackle. In 8th grade I was starting right guard and defensive end. Then I started high school.

Expectations

Expectations of us are Expressions of ourselves.
Expectations of me I would like to decree to thy but how to say I must think of a way. Wait and see as I flee, Let me be, and you shall see that my minds eye you shall never deny.
As a child I was very wild.
Making, breaking, mind racing.

An expectation is simply just one person’s guess at what the future should hold. When I think of the word expectation I think of my recent soccer game against Harwood. We ended the 80 minute game with a tied score of 2-2, and we headed into overtime to see who was the better team. My coaches, and my team, expected that we would win.

I expect that I would

By Kelly Davis
Woodstock Union High School, Grade 10

My parents always expect the best
Whether with friends or on a test
I must work hard to achieve what I can
On my own not a helping hand
Sometimes I wish I could fly away
To a land where I could laugh and play
Where school is not a worrisome fright
With just me, myself, and I in sight

New Expectations
Forming Like Dew After Night
Clouding My Calm Mind

Expectations

By Nicole LeBlond
Woodstock Union High School, Grade 10

Expectations are high,
Living up to certain degrees of achievements,
Expanding and contracting to fit into people’s mold and opinions of you,
Stress,
Anxiety,
Fear of failure,
Competing with your competition,
Yourself.
Striving to be better than last time,
It’s exhausting,
Agonizing,
The push,

My mom has always had high expectations of me. As a young boy, my mom used to watch me do my homework and hold me to higher standards than my grade level. In my current grade my mom tries to hold me to college level standards.

Expectations
Expectations are held high
Reaching up towards the sky
Pressure pushes down on me
To be the best that I can be
Expectations fall short
Forcing me to retort
I try my best to reach the sky
To attain my goals and fly high

Caitlyn Foley

With expectations at an all time high
You have to be ready for what may come by.
Teachers and Coaches, Parents and Peers
You gotta be ready ‘cause it’s not always cheers.
When under immense pressure
You may need to take a desperate measure.
Be ready for the let downs
But forget all the frowns.
Do the best you can.
Be your number one fan.
You gotta do
What’s best for you.

In our world we have a system of standards. Our lives seem to be based off of this system and the stressful atmosphere it presents. Expectations are just as much a part of our life as breathing. Most everything we do is meant to make an expectation; that paper you have to write, that job interview you have to make, even remembering to make dinner is living up to an expectation.

There are many ideas and customs which humanity as a whole, as a society, have created over time and live by without even meaning to. Time, for example is a human invention. Another one of these aspects of human life, which is embedded into every society, are the expectations we lay on one another, purposefully or non-purposefully.

Expectations

By Chloe Dickinson
Woodstock Union High School, Grade 10

“Work until you drop
Do you homework and complete my expectations.
Do it because it is right, do it because it will help you
Follow my directions.
Because I expect you to
Its time to learn what’s out there
Nothing in the future will be easier than this
Expect that”

That was the teacher,

Sports are a wonderful way to work your body, and stay healthy, but sometimes a team sport can take its toll on the players because of constant tensions that exist because of expectations each person holds for the other players, the team and themselves.

"He Shoots and Scores!" the announcer for Pablo's basketball game screamed, "that's fifteen points for player 44, Pablo." The game is now tied 28-28 with two minutes to go when the coach of the Tucan's (Pablo's team) called a time out. The players ran to the sideline, breathing heavy and dripping with sweat resulting in the hard work.

Expectations
Building up
Overwhelming
Everybody expects
Something different
But something none-the-less
Wanting perfection
Or something close
Anything less
Unacceptable
Complete defeat
Expectations
Taking over
Nowhere left to run
Doing what is expected
No chance to question it
One bad choice
A misunderstanding
A cloud over your head
You didn’t meet the expectations