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“Social Expectations” by Alisaire is a motivational poem points out that one should not pretend to be somewhere who they are now and succumb to the pressures of society. There are five stanzas in the poem each with a differing number of verses. In total there are 13 verses which progress from identifying the problem which are pressures of society to how to deal with it. The voice of the poem is a person who would not hold back or restrain from any goal he wants to accomplish and does not associate with those that do restrain him. If others have different expectations of him then deep down he knows that it’s not what he wants from himself.  “We are not actors. And life is not a play” are the two lines that have the most impact in this whole poem and clearly identify the message the poem is trying to convey which is to not pretend to be someone you are not. Our life should be lived as real as possible, meaning that we live life the way we want to, not the way others want us to or expect us to. Also, another message that can be interpreted from the poem is that when standing up for yourself and doing what you want in the world prevents regrets and leads to satisfaction that your are the only ones in control of your lives. This is important when reflecting back on your life and even when living it, you are happy that it is your actions that have brought you where you are and you have no one but yourself to praise or blame.