Who Am I?

Who Am I? I'm still the same person that was writing about this only 16 weeks ago. I'm still the same outgoing, nervous, and sensitive person that I was a couple months ago. Have I changed? Of course I have changed! People change everyday whether we know it our not. Taking Sociology has changed the way I look on life, and the things that truly matter. It has made me think differently on life, and not to be as judgmental. It has made me look at the world differently. Before taking this class, I would judge others that look differently then me. I now ask myself why I even did this. I'm kind of embarrassed of the questions that I have asked myself because they are so judgmental. Going to the city I would always be very timid and nervous about the homeless on the street. I would usually either look away and make sure all my belongings were close to me. Now, going to the city I literally feel like a different person. I like to explore those that are less fortunate than me, and not look down upon them. I think that one of the most significant piece of information that I have learned in Sociology was when Sal told us that americans always look up at the upper class, and never take a step back, realize what we have, and look down on the less fortunate. For some reason that has stuck into my head. After hearing that, I sort of felt a little bit guilty. I have finally realized how lucky I am because i am cherished with a lot of belongings that other people are not. Taking sociology has made me a better person. It has made me broaden my mind with different races, wish has made me know more about ethnic cultures. Whenever i see someone that looks different, I now have different views on them than i would before taking this class. Sociology has taught me how great america is, and how much work america needs get done.

Race

This week in Soc, we talked about Race. I had no idea that race really isn't biological. We have learned at such a young age, we categorize race. But why do we do this? I think that it is a reason why there are big racial problems in the u.s. today. Walking down the halls of SHS, you probably hear people talking and making racial jokes. Without even realizing, we are categorizing blacks from whites, or whites from hispanics, or blacks from hispanics. ect. Their are so many more ethnic groups out there that we don't even talk about. In class, we did an activity where we saw a person and put them into a group based on what they looked like. At first I kind of felt awkward because i felt that i was judging them based on their skin color. In the end, our class was totally wrong about putting people where they belonged! It was funny to see how wrong we were, because we thought that this dark colored girl was considered black, but really she was asian! We shouldn't treat people differently based on their skin color. Everyone should be created equal, but that is obviously easier said then done.

monopoly

This week in class we played monopoly, but in a different aspect. We had to role the dice to see which social class we ended up in. I was put into the lowest social class, and I found it very very difficult for me to succeed in life, and live off my own money. Sal was saying that it is very hard for the lower classes to move up because it is just a cycle. I now understand what he is saying. It was frustrating watching the other team members in my group be in a upper class and watch them buy whatever they wanted. I couldn't buy anything! I had like 220 dollars overall! I could not imagine how this would be like in the real life. When sal was talking about Tammys story it really touched me because i felt so bad for her becacuse i realized that her life will be like that for the rest of her life. Even though she tries so hard and walks so long to work, her life is like a never ending cycle. If she got sick one day and couldn't work 10 miles to work, that would ruin her whole week because her paycheck wouldn't be as high, and she would suffer financially. It is so hard to move up in social classes because nothing is perfect, but there is hope, and it is not impossible!

social classes...

This week we watched a movie on social class. During the movie an expert was saying how different the upper class was than the middle class. I knew income was a big difference that separated the two, but it goes way deeper than that which i never realized. the expert was saying how the upper class eats different things, walks differently, thinks differently, and even stands next to someone talking at a different distance that those who are in the middle class would. They were saying that white bread only sells those to the lower class. I would have never thought that even bread can distinguish your class. It is very weird because without even realizing it, you are separating yourself from others. At school, there are different clicks that don't go outside the box. The movie was also talking about how sports can classify your class. The most common sports that we play today may be expensive to us, but to those who are in a higher class, they ride horses, and even go fox hunting! It annoys me that some people don't even have to work to be rich because they have old money. I agree with s al when he said Americans tend to always look up at the rich people, and tend to ignore those who are below us. We need to stop competing to be the best and start being content with our life style.

30 days in Prison

Watching 30 days in class on thursday really opened up my eyes to see what Jail is all about! I could not believe that the guy actually spent 30 days in jail for not even committing a crime. I could not name one other person that I know who would do that. Watching how people spend their time in jail is very sad. From the second they get there, they basically loose their freedom. They cannot do anything on their own without being watched, and they have absolutely privacy. It is also very shocking that there are more people in jail who are mentally ill than people kept in mental institutions. There was also data that showed that jail really doesn't even help people become a better person. The percent of people getting let out of jail come back within 10 years is ridiculous. Yes prison is still a place where no one wants to go, but then why are the same people coming back within 10 years? Obviously something right is not happening where it is not making them stay out of prison. When i was watching the part where he was put into isolation for 72 i could not even imagine! The phycologist were saying that within the first 15 minutes they already start to see them basically go crazy. For me, I would probably start to loose it within the first 5-10 minutes. What really got to me was the stories of each individual. Obviously they broke the law and shouldn't be out on the streets, but they should be able to get help, rather then being in prison where they have no one to talk to about there problems which is why nothing is working.

being a teen

This week was a very very short week for me, but the day that I was actually in class we went over the article Teen Mystique. I could just not believe that someone would actually kill there baby like that, and could continue on dancing! It just amazes me! The main point was overall on teens behavior, but like Sal was saying that the media only talks about teens doing something crazy like this, and not adults! There can be just as many as adults who are crazy out there that do these kinds of actions that we will never hear about, and i think that it is not fair because they bash teens behaviors being so chaotic, and out of control that they forget about the adults also!

Enough is Never Enough

This week in sociology we mostly talked about violence, and what america describes as the overall "Male Figure" I never realized how impacted we are by such an early age that we automatically are told that males are supposed to be strong or what some boys called "jacked", big, tall, confident, independent, and never show fear. This is why boys are commuting violent acts, because look what they have to look up too! It is ridiculous that if boys show fear, or even show emotion at some part in their life, they are not the normal male figure. We need to start treating everyone equal. Those boys out there that are afraid to show emotion, or even afraid to cry shouldn't be afraid! Girls cry all the time, so why can't boys? Their shouldn't be this fence between boys and girls anymore! Boys have the right to like the color pink just as much as girls are. They shouldn't be worried so much on the fact that they need to be working out everyday to get as big as they can get. We have bigger problems in this world that we should be worrying about rather then worrying about our weight. Both boys and girls are severely impacted because at such a young age we are automatically told what makes up girls and what makes up boys. I know when I have kids some day, I am going to be more cautious of what I say to them, and more cautious of what I am showing them to use as there role models. Maybe Barbie or cinderella may not be so hott anymore!