Final Blog!

This semester has been a wonderful experience and I enjoyed the class so much. I can't believe that it's the end of the semester, but I've learned so much. Before I didn't really think much about how I was influenced by todays society. I knew that I was influenced somewhat, but this class has taught me that I've been influenced the day I was conceived in my mom. My name is really long and it's because of my parents culture that they chose this name for me. I've also realized how our American cultures have influenced other racial groups. The way our American society works is so different than in most other foreign places. My mom was brought up more differently than me. My grandmother had 6 children so the care and attention my mom received is different than how she raised my sister and me. Sociological Imagination has taught me that my family, friends, neighbors, school, and teachers all influenced me in more than one way. Sociological Mindfulness taught me that I should open to new perspectives of others. I've always thought that just because my friends and I grew up in the same society, doesn't make us the same. Because my family was from Asia, I was able to be raised by two parents. My Asian parents and my American parents.

Now that I've learned new things about our society and how it affects, it's gotten me interested in living in a totally different society. I really want to go see how people communicate and treat each other in a less known world than the one I live in. Our society looks at race and class a lot. Do other minority societies do as well? This class may have ended, but I'm going to keep in mind what I've learned and apply it to my everyday life. I want to volunteer and make a difference in someone's life. Maybe not everyone's, but if one person is able to be happy because of what I did, then I'm fine with just one.

Race (Crash)

This week we watched Crash. In my opinion, this movie did a great job depicting racism. Even though we have civil rights so that everyone is equal, there is still racism today. In one of the scenes where one character is buying a gun with her dad, the owner of the store accuses them of being a terrorist race.

 We have made it so that those who look Middle-Eastern are terrorists and bad people. There were references to the twin towers and planes. These people were not Arabs, but Persians but that didn't matter to the clerk because he thinks they're are all the same. There are people who were born in America and maybe their parents were born in America as well, but if they have the physical features of a certain type of group, then they are that group. Everything is down to physical features. I liked how this movie did a great job showing the kinds of racism there is today. It's surprising how people are so quick to judge people and foreigners, but don't like to be judged themselves. I have made judgements before about people, but I also hate being judged when they don't even know me. It's like a taste of your own medicine. If you know how it feels to be judged by others, then judging other people isn't exactly going to make you feel so great. You have to stop yourself from judging although it's really hard. Racism isn't going to really end because there'll always be that one person who hates another race. This is part of us, but we should keep it ourself because once you insult someone, they'll feel they have protect themselves from you. And that could lead to chaos. We talk all nasty stereotypes, but that'll offend someone in the end. 

Race

This week we talked about race!!!!!!!! Now Sal told us that if you go to Brazil, then you're a different race than you may be in America. This is really interesting because you would think that races would be the same in all countries around the world. Black, White, Asian, Hispanic, etc. But if you really think about it, race is just a word that our society created to categorize people. We gave race a meaning when it's just really a label. If we are considered a different race in another country, this just shows that race is just according to what people think.

Now this made me think of people who are colorblind. If there were two different worlds where on one side lived people who were colorblind and another where they had normal vision. If they grew up not influenced by each other and then were put together, would they categorize people and just things in general differently than we do?

We learned that after we're born our environment influences us. What if we grew up in a completely different social environment?

30 Days

This week we continued talking about social class but we also talked about how people live in that class live. The poor were not even making enough to support their family let alone themselves. We watched a show and it was about how this couple who was living the high end of life but decided to live on minimum wage. Even on minimum wage, they were barely getting by. They were only trying to support each other but even that was hard. Those that have kids and more to take care of on minimum wage is just really brave. We know there's the lower poor class but we don't really do much. Sure there's a few here and there things that are done, but it's really not doing much if you step back and look at the whole poor class. The couple in the show only had to live on minimum wage for a month, but there's people who try to make it on minimum wage their whole lives.

We also played Monopoly but with different rules. Whoever rolled the highest dice would be the old money and then second highest was new money, but everyone later than that would be either middle-class or working class.We don't really get to pick our social status, especially if you're born into it. You can move up a bit, but that's really hard to do when everything almost requires money to attain. I only work at local cafes to make money so I can spend it on the movies are shopping, but there's people who  work in cafes to support their family at home.

Social Class

This week we learned about social class. Nobody really likes to talk about their social status, but we sure have a way of showing it. Those who are wealthier may not exactly straight out say they're rich so they can afford everything, but they show it by the things they own and wear. Those that are not as wealthy, the poor, definitely don't want to go off telling the world that they can't afford anything, but just by what they wear and what they own shows how much they have. From the following picture below, you can see  these young boys being put into different class just by what they're wearing. The left looks more sophisticated so it's safe to assume that they're wealthier and more prestigious and are able to buy the things they want. The right looks more mischievous and not well off. Even by their postures you can see the difference. The suited boys stand more manlier while the casual boys have their hands in their pockets and are slouching. 

Where you move also states your social status. Whom you associate yourselves with. We know that even if we don't speak about it, we're categorized into a certain social class. It seems to be better that even if you know you're part of a certain social class, as long as no one states it verbally then it's a little ok.

Deviance

This week we talked about deviance. Deviance means someone going against social norms. We read an article deviance. In the article the Saints were looked as good well behaved kids, but they committed crimes and were able to get away because they were able to have the resources to get out of trouble. I don't mean directly to the people, but the property of others and public places. You wouldn't think that those who got good grades would do those things. They committed more crimes than the Roughnecks. The Roughnecks were the real stereotypical bad kids. They didn't do good in school and committed crimes. Although they did commit crimes, they did far less crimes than the Saints. The Saints were richer than the Roughnecks so they were able to afford the nice clothes and nice home. The Roughnecks were the opposite. They couldn't afford nice clothes and because of that they fit the stereotypical gang look.

We were also asked to do a random act of kindness. I helped a mother and her son get their car from the rain. It was pouring I had a family umbrella with me in my mom's car. I went to the market to buy something and when I returned to return the cart, I saw a mom and her son standing under the roof of the store trying to escape the rain. I told her she can get under my umbrella to get to her car and she first  said it's fine but I insisted. I helped them get to their car and her mom thanked me. It felt really good to know that small action was able to help someone.

Bocce Ball

This past weekend I spent my Sunday volunteering for the Special Olympics Bocce Ball from 7:30AM-5:30PM. It was really fun except for the fact that I got sunburned on my face. It was really weird because it was really cold and windy, but the sun was out and apparently burning my face. Anyways, overall, I really enjoyed it and met so many new people.

I was in group N and my teammates and I switched the roles of duties. It was kind of confusing at first on how the game worked, but after two to three games we got the hang of it. I was worried that the whole day was going to be dark, cloudy, and raining, but thank goodness it didn't. The ground was really muddy and the bocce balls were muddy and wet. 

After two to three hours of playing, I observed the players and couldn't help but feel a nice warm feeling. It made me think that the athletes weren't afraid to act the way they wanted and express their thoughts. They didn't feel limited and restricted, but just wanted to have fun. I compared them to people I meet at school or at work and it was completely different. We don't express our thoughts even if they are good thoughts. Some people feel sorry for those with disabilities, but I kind of felt a bit jealous. I care more about how people will think of me instead of freely expressing myself.

Masculinity

This week in sociology, we talked about masculinity and what it means to a guy. When you think of masculinity you think of a muscular guy. Masculinity by definition is maleness: the properties characteristic of the male sex. Characteristics of the male sex could involve many different things, but society (men) think it's about the physical appearance of a male. 

If you only look at this guy's face, you'd think "I better not mess with him because he looks really tough." Now if you look at the whole picture you'd think "Hey he looks like an affectionate guy." Well maybe not affectionate, but you wouldn't think the same way you did the first time. This picture shows both a tough and soft side of the guy, but that one softness has made him a failure of masculinity. Masculinity has become a either you have it or you don't. Even if you have a little bit of soft side to yourself, then you're not masculine. 

Boys and men try to prove that their masculine to each other. That is suppose to make you a man. Why do you need to know if someone is masculine or not? How does that affect you? 

Just a question to the viewers. Would you consider this man masculine? Don't mind the winder on his back, but just look at him. Do you think he's masculine? He's got the strong physical appearance, but he's doing a "ladies" work.

Media Portray Humans(Objects, Things)

This week we talked about how the media has shaped us from as young as a few months. People think all girls must like pink and all boys like blue so they make girls play or wear things associated with pink. For the picture below I just typed in "girls bedroom" and this popped up. All of the picture of little girls bedroom were all pink. There were only girly things and nothing that would make you think it wasn't a child's bedroom.

When I typed in "boys bedroom" this popped up. While the girls room looks more feminine, the boys room looks more masculine.

Media has shaped us to think that girls should be girly and guys more masculine. What does that even mean? Why is it so bad for humans to be imperfect? Women might've got the right to vote but that didn't help our self-esteem. Men are just as much victims as women are too. Men can't be weak and small. They have to be strong and charismatic. What would happen if our men were weak and small? The world will end? No! 

                                                                                                                                                                               

Little kids who watch their favorite Disney movies will not walk away without thinking that the guy saves the day, and not the girl. Why? Because that's just the way that it has to be.

Disney prince's are characterized so that only they will save the day and get the girl. They have to strong and brave. What's so bad about the girl saving herself?

People say that the children are our future. Do they think that we're going to change things in the future and live a better life? They're the ones raising us and teaching us the ways of life so I don't think that much will be different in the world if we do the same things over and over again. 

Nature and Nurture

This week we talked about Nature and Nurture and we also watched a movie on child neglect. I was mind boggled when I saw the sizes of a neglected child's brain and one that wasn't neglected. I usually thought that the brain would just grow no matter what impacted us but I was proven wrong. The children that were neglected had a significantly smaller and less filled brain than those who weren't neglected.

It was really interesting to me how chewing food and the different kinds of food was learned. You'd think that we'd already know how to chew and understand that it's ok to swallow larger sizes of food. I use to think that when parents make the weird funny face when feeding their kids were just weird, it made me think that the baby's would actually be imitating what the parents are doing. It looks silly to an outsider but it's actually helpful. Also this way the baby is interacting with their parents in a loving way.

We're born with genes and certain traits, but the rest is all influenced from our environment. The minute we are taken out of our mothers womb we are being influenced by our surroundings. This made me think about crying. We would cry if we were hurt, but then we would have to know what feelings we feel would be right for crying. We wouldn't know if we have to cry or respond to a certain feeling if we weren't taught or if we never observed it.

This led to me think if were to touch something hot or cold, would we react involuntarily? Or do we act voluntarily because we've done it so much from early age?
Danielle didn't know how to respond exactly when she fell down and scraped her knee. Would we be like that as well if we weren't taught to cry in that situation?

I really liked this lesson because it really got me thinking about what kind of person we would turn out if we received little love or lots of love. There are a lot of what ifs. For those that were raised by animals, did they understand how to communicate with them? So curious.

Tuesdays With Morrie

This week we watched the movie "Tuesdays With Morrie". Mitch is the main character, along with Morrie, and he's just letting his life pass him by. He's just doing whatever everyone else is trying to do. Juggle work and personal work. Morrie on the other hand was busy living. Living life like how he wants to live, happily. Mitch goes to visit his professor, but ends up going every Tuesday. Morrie can see that he's living his life too fast and not taking time to enjoy himself. 

Being part of the American culture makes us fear death and fear love. Why? Because we value our time and money too much. We think that if we don't earn enough money, then we won't be able to live happily. We're afraid to really love someone because we're afraid to receive that love. We think that love has expectations. We're just so afraid of messing up that love. We fear death but we can't control when we'll die. We also say we're not scared of death but are we really not scared? We're just overlooking it. We just give the thought of death a brief second before moving on to something else. We haven't been in that situation ourselves so we can't really empathize as much. We use defense mechanisms.

Morrie said that he's not dying but living. I think in a situation like his, you really start to value what your life's meaning was about. You start to reflect how you lived your life. I think that we really do start living when we grow older because there's not much to lose. We've already experienced enough and seen enough. We start observing others lives and how they're living. 

I always try to distract myself from facing something because I'm too afraid to face it. It could be the smallest thing, but I still ignore it. I sometimes try to avoid people in the hallway just to avoid the awkward "Hey!" or "Hi!". This seems silly but we do that all the time. Sometimes the past teachers we've had. I say that I'll keep in touch with someone but I don't because I want to avoid the awkward catching up. We always use something to ignore others. Excuses. 

Our Values

This week we talked about our values. We read an article that described the 13 main values Americans live by. It was kind of weird to read the values that I lived by and how different others values were. Values make us ethnocentric. We might think, "Doesn't our values make sense? Why doesn't anyone else live this way?", but others might think the same way about their cultural values. It made me realize that some of the values that we, Americans, live by aren't so good. But however, I still feel that because I lived this way my whole life so far, I wouldn't really change it unless I'm in a different country. I've adjusted to this value that it'd be weird to change it. It's not like those small changes we adjust to, but it's going to affect major events in my life. Time, for example, is something that I can not change. In Brazil, they don't really care that much for time. In America, time is everything. Having a schedule and knowing what you're going to be doing is helpful not only to you but those around you. Of course you would influenced by certain value by your environment, but I doubt that time would be something that we would not consider a value. It would be really hard to change values unless your environment is that way as well. It would be easier to have different values if your really young because then you're also learning everything else as well. 

God Grew Tired of Us

This week and last Friday, we started watching the documentary film "God Grew Tired of Us". The title was very interesting and appealing. How can God grow tired of you? It was hard to hear how they had to walk 1000 miles to get to Kenya and the things they had to face to get their. I once took a road trip with my family to North Dakota. While we were driving, I was so bored and hated how we couldn't just take the plane. I complained about how long it took. It was a 15 hour drive.

For "The Lost Boys of Sudan", it took them 5 years to walk 1000 miles. After learning about that, I felt stupid about myself and kind of how our society is today. We always complain about dumb things and those dumb things aren't so dumb to "The Lost Boys". I really liked the documentary because it really teaches us what our lives have become.

Supposedly when the lost boys came, we were teaching them what our culture is like and how we function but they also taught us that we really need to spend time with those around us. Some teenagers complain about wanting their own rooms, but they had to sleep on the ground together. We really should show how grateful we are once in a while. We should really take time to enjoy the things we have and not think about the things we don't have. We are all fortunate in some way. We, as Americans, may have had the food and the opportunity, but the Lost Boys had that close relationship with each other and that warm brotherly feel.

Culture

This week in Sociology we learned about ethnocentrism, culture shock, and culture relativity. Ethnocentrism is when you think your culture is better than others and should dominate other cultures. This is like America. We expect foreigners to know our language when they come here. We think the way they do things shouldn't be like that and they should do it like Americans just because they're in America. I remember when my mom's friend came to America with her daughter. Her daughter didn't speak any English and I was so frustrated with her because she kept talking in her language with her mom and my mom. I kept thinking that since her family came to America, they should at least know the language. (I was pretty mean.)
               

Culture shock is when you experience a new culture and your just so shocked by it. (Pretty self explanatory.) I'm Asian but my family doesn't really use chopsticks or eat rice all the time except every once in a while. Once I went to my friends home and she was eating soup with chopsticks. I was astonished at how her family was just eating their food with chopsticks. They told me that they use the spoons and forks when guests come over so since I was a guest, I used a spoon. I felt left out in a way but I couldn't help but still be shocked that they were using chopsticks for soup!

Culture relativity is when you accept or understand someone else's culture.

A Bronx Tale

This week we watched "A Bronx Tale". I watched this movie before on my own and didn't think it was really interesting but when I watched it my class, it was much more different. Some scenes were actually enjoyable. The movie took place where a lot of Italians lived and since it was back in the days, blacks were still looked down upon. The people in the movie were put into large groups and within the large group was also other groups. Everyone in the movie had some sort of nickname that matched their attitude or personality in some way. It's funny how we also have nicknames for each other now but it's usually if we just want to shorten someone's actual name. For example Calogero's name was too long and weird to say so people started calling him C. 

We seem to come into groups with the things we bring. It could be some sort of a talent even. In C's case, Sonny brought him in because C didn't rat on Sonny. If C didn't do anything then Sonny probably would've never recognized him. 

It's funny how C ends up falling in love with a black girl when he knows that everyone in his neighborhood and even his friends hate black people. He goes against what his friends believed. Their neighborhood was so accustomed to knowing to hate black people from young but C wasn't like that. He looked at the girl for the first time and literally couldn't keep his eyes off her. Whites were first to hate black people and as people from foreign countries came, they kind of hated them to. They were all taught that black people are bad. Sure some didn't discriminate but majority did.

In the neighborhood, everybody respected Sonny not only because they loved him but because they also feared him. Sonny's crew was all gangster style and they had to have things their way. The way they got their respect was that they feared nobody. They were very confident about themselves. But Sonny knows what he's doing. He's been like that since young and can't change but C can. Sonny does have a father figure toward C. C's dad even categorize Sonny. Sonny and C never really met each other and got to know each other so C's dad  is judgmental of Sonny just because of the kind of people he associates himself with.  

We just grow accustomed to whatever happened before us. Sure there aren't extreme cliques and groups like how it was back then but that doesn't mean there still isn't particular groups we hang out with. Plus now we are more aware of things and can expect something from our actions. I, for one, know that if I witnessed a murder, I'm running to the police and demanding that I am protected by the witness protection program. Until I know that I'm completely safe. C didn't rat because he still looked at Sonny in a Godly way. And you don't mess with Sonny. 

When I first watched the movie, I also categorized Sonny as a really bad guy but then later on he wasn't so bad. I was too judgmental on first appearance. Sonny isn't good but he isn't that bad either. He's in between. He has to do what he has to do but he's also protecting C so he doesn't end up like him. 

We seem to categorize people from what we see on the surface. The exterior part of the group and not within. 

My Influences

This week in Sociology we talked about the groups that surround us and how they influence us. I'm part of so many different groups but the one's that really have an impact on me is my family and friends.  My family is always with me no matter what and they always know what to do in certain situations when I'm in trouble. I'm always hanging out with my friends whenever I can and I always notice how they respond to some things. The things that influenced them in a way influences me. I decide if their strategy is good and use it or it's not that good and drop it. One of my very good friends is an only child and she's so close with her mom. Every time I go over to her house, I notice their mother-daughter relationship. Their relationship made me value my relationship with my mother but also my younger sister. Although she was fine with being an only child, I couldn't imagine my life if I had no sister.

Last week, we did a survival activity. It wasn't really surprising for everyone to agree to throw the elderly overboard. I asked my mom what she would've done if her parents, me, and her were in a similar situation. Her answer surprised me because she actually chose to keep her parents and throw me overboard. (INSANE WOMAN!!!! How could she chose her parents over her daughter?!) Moving on. She explained to me that although we might never be in a situation like that, she would chose to save the elderly. I told her that my class chose to kill the elderly and save the young. She wasn't so surprised at that because she understood that we value different things.

Volunteering at Kildeer Elementary

On Friday I volunteered at Kildeer Elementary. It was from 5-9PM. This was my first time volunteering so I didn't really know what I was to do. Kildeer was having a Bingo and auctioning night. I helped set the tables and was later stationed at the prize table. I helped set the tables and after that I helped in the cafeteria. I served people pizza, chopped salad, water, and ice cream. It was a bit nerve-wracking for me because I was afraid if I might give the wrong kind of pizza. I also had to collect their tickets so I was so always moving back and forth serving. Although it was tiring I thought it was a good exercise. After the cafeteria duty, I went to my stationed prize table. It was in the large gym of the school. Anyone who got Bingo was to come up to the prize table and receive a prize. There were pencils, notepads, airplanes, erasers, wristbands, necklaces, coloring books, etc. It was very fun and interesting. A lot of the families came and played and enjoyed their night. I was surprised that even the little elementary kids were helping out. Majority of the high school students that volunteered were from my school. I even found out that one of the girls lived in my neighborhood. One of the supervisor's appreciated us volunteering that she asked for our contact numbers so next time she can personally ask for us. I enjoyed my Friday night helping out. It was better than going home and doing nothing. 

Freaks and Geeks? NOT!

This week in sociology, we watched the pilot of "Freaks and Geeks". It was funny and entertaining but at the same time showed how high school was back then. "Freaks and Geeks" showed the social norm in high school. High schools in the 80s had little groups that people fit in with. It was a struggle to fit in at school while handling home life. In the show there were 3 main groups that were shown: the "burn outs"; the "geeks"; and the "bullies". The burn outs don't really care about school but they're there because their friends are there so it's some place to go. The geeks were kids who did what they were told to do but also they were physically small and weak. The bullies always picked on the geeks just because they know they can. They're meaning in school is just known as the bully. The school environment is sort of similar to todays environment but not as extreme. Back then, you really only hung out with the people who resembled you and today, you can hang out with multiple different groups. This sort of an environment allows us to be more open about different things and be more social and involved. It was very common for students to be like that but if school was still exactly like that today, it'd be weird and not fun. The culture back then and the culture now has changed. This goes with Durkheim's functional analysis theory. In current events, schools aren't like how it was back then. We may have groups and all but we still interact with everyone else. We don't just stay in one group forever but we take advantage of other opportunities. That's not how we function today. When I was younger and even still now, I watched TV shows portraying high school. When I watched "Grease", I thought high school was going to be exactly how Grease portrayed it but it wasn't. After I actually entered high school, I learned that those TV shows and movies just portrayed the stereotypical high school that people think of.

Sociological Imagination and Mindfulness

This week in class we learned about sociological imagination and sociological mindfulness. These two topics seemed to be very similar but they really backed one another.
Sociological imagination is how we understand that the environment we grew up it can shape the kind of people we become. The place and time that we grew up in is different than those in another circumstance. I certainly wouldn't be studying at my current school if my mom didn't want a better future for me. My mom would always look for the best school programs that would help build my future going into medicine. She was aware that some of the schools down South would not be as good as the suburban schools. 
Sociological mindfulness is understanding the individual talents and personalities that others and ourselves bring forth to the table. Sociological mindfulness shows us that because not everyone grew up the same way, it lets us have different opinions and viewpoints toward something. Having this allows us to see, in a way, how we were raised. 

Knowing about others and how they are different than us allows us to be open towards new viewpoints. I would not be able to make the friends I have today if my mom chose not to move to the suburbs. She wanted me to grow up in a more quiet environment where my studies would be better for my future. In her time it was more different. Education was important but not like it is today. Being mindful of the people we're surrounded by allows us to be open in the future for even newer things. 

Who Am I?

Hello readers. My name is Arica and it's pronounced like Erika. My real name is too long to spell(12 letters) and too hard to pronounce. I'd rather not share my real name. I am 16 years old and am a junior and not excited to start senior year. If I could, I would be happy to go back to freshmen year. If I could, I would LOVE to go back to first grade. I like to go sightseeing but don't really have that much time. When I'm an official adult, I want to take whatever opportunity is thrown at me. 

I also like to watch murder, crime, action movies. I mostly like to watch action movies because growing up my dad had me watch "Tom and Jerry" to "Popeye". I love Jackie Chan movies because I would see my dad watching them and I became a fan. My dad and I watched Jackie Chan movies for so long that at the age of 8 I was convinced my dad and Jackie Chan were best friends.

Random story! I had two turtles. Notice I HAD and not HAVE. I got my first turtle when I was 12 and never got the chance to name it. I remember I was so excited but after a few days (2 days to be exact) I got tired of it and my dad was the one taking care of it. 3 years later I got another turtle. Unfortunately, my dad put the two turtles together and left them together the whole day. I came home from school and saw that the smaller turtles shell was bitten off. Again I never named the turtles. Anyway the smaller turtle died and my dad put it out in the front lawn where the lawn mowers were going to be cleaning the next morning.  And as you can guess, the turtle was shredded to bits by the machine. Then near the future, I took the larger turtle out of its tank and totally forgot about it. We lost it somewhere and I'm pretty sure it left the house when we had the balcony door open by accident. So there's my random story. Just a little information on what sort of pet I kept. I am a horrible pet owner but you can't blame me. The turtle was so boring and what was I to do?

I am excited to start sociology this semester because I've heard good things and that the class was fun. I hope that I learn a lot and will use that for the rest of my life. I am open to new ideas and enjoy learning new interesting things. I have a feeling that this semester might be a blast!