“Expectations.” by Alledria Hurt emphasizes the fear when recognizing the expectations and how to eliminate that fear and stand up for themselves.  The whole poem is 21 verses in one stanza. The poem has verses with very few words ranging from one to two words such as “I shiver,” and “Shake” which all make the poem more impactful as it is straight to the point but the audience is able to engage in the emotions of the character in the poem.  The poet explains the person to be scared by those who judge them at first as they hold so many expectations for them, but since the person does not want to succumb to the pressures, the find a solution. The solution is to use their words to stand up for themselves, and to silence the expectations of others. The message the poet is trying to convey is that if you have the freedom to voice your opinion, then there is no need to succumb to the pressures that are created when society hold its expectations for you. In the end you will be proud for voicing you opinion to defend your identity.