Crash..

This week we watched Crash. I personally love this movie and the stories that lie in it. I liked how all of the people linked together because it just shows how every race needs each other in order to function. Some people may be racist but in the end they need those that they may be prejudice against to either help do their jobs or to get around and understand those around them. I personally try to have an open mind about different races and i don't see myself becoming afraid when i have black people around me and worry about being mugged. If someone looks shady then they must be shady, if someone is looking around and acting weird then they must be about to do something, in a way maybe that's prejudice? i dont know. but if you have an uncomfortable feeling about someone than maybe youre right about it? i dont use the n word and i actually call people out that say it, i personally think that it is wrong and it pushes people down and disrespects them, but at the same time is a black person wants to call another black person that then i dont care it's what they choose to say and if they dont react and care then clearly they are okay with it.

racist ?...

This week we learned about racism and how people are categorized. We took a test today in class on european and africans and split them by pictures. The day before we categorized people and out of all of them we got two right. The fact that life is like that sucks, we shouldnt be categorizing people and discriminating against them in any way. I didnt know that we could choose our own race either and then to be categorized wrong by others around you would be disappointing. Trying to think of what group people are you cant just base them off of what they look like, we  need to take a step back and see their background and then that is how u know what race they truly are. No matter where you are in the world there is going to be a different stereotype that people will identify you as. We need to be against discrimination and change the way we perceive others.

Monopoly ...

This week in class one day we played monopoly. Whoever rolled the highest number was in the highest class and whoever rolled the lowest was in the lowest class. Luckily i rolled highest and got to make bank. The game was very easy for me, since i owned all four railroads i got paid every time someone landed on them. The lower classes didn't own anything so they never really had any opportunities to be able to make the money that they needed in order to survive. I thought that this really helped me put the classes into perspective. It is very true that people at the bottom have a hard time coming up because they mainly know others that are stuck at the bottom as well and don't have enough money in order to pay for a higher education. Those with money had it easy. They could have money passed down to them by their rich family and had the way to pay for a good education and find jobs that would want them. I noticed that i made a lot more money and the lowest class just went way into debt. Like Sal said, "it costs more to be poor", i completely agree with that. They need to pay for for down payments on a house or apartment or pay earlier and more for electric of other expenses because the companies think that they either wont pay up or will just leave when they get the chance. It sucks to be stuck at this point when there is nothing that you can do about it. Society needs to give everyone an equal chance for a good education, they always say that they want children to have a better education and get farther but where are they doing that? Were stuck in or around the social class that we are born into and there really isnt much we can do about it.

I can't believe I'm stuck in this social class...

This week we watched a movie in class with a part in it about a woman named Tammy who had a family and was stuck in lower class. She has been in a low class all her life and she can't seem to get out. Her oldest son is embarrassed of her and his family and living conditions and thinks he should be part of the middle class and plans on going to college and making something of his life. It is so sad because the mom went off of welfare and got a job so that her son would think more highly of her. They don't have a car that works so she has to walk 10 and a half miles to work at burger king as a janitor. She barely makes any money and they live in a shitty trailer. It's so sad to see that people are stuck like that and have no way out whether you like it or not. When asked what I was thankful for this weekend this story came to mind and I am so glad that I have the life that I have and don't live like that and that my family isn't ashamed of me. I feel awful that life can be like that and sometimes you can't get out of that hole.

30 days...

Watching 30 days was cool. The way that he chooses to relate to other people and to show the rest of the world what they think they know is very interesting. Morgan's roommate George seemed like such a nice person that really knew what he wanted when he got out of prison. It's just so sad to see that within 2 weeks he was right back in and didn't make the choices that he thought he was going to carry out. Travis who was only 25 had been down the wrong path since he was 15 and also seemed so much better and i actually thought he would get a job and stop because he saw what it did to his family and himself, but within 2 months he was back in prison as well. In a way it doesn't really surprise me to see that these two men went back to prison because that is what we are used to hearing about or seeing. There can be some instances where people actually do turn their lives around and learn to be a new and improved citizen. In some ways prison didn't seem that bad, obviously it is, but if your homeless and don't have any family that cares for you and you just do drugs then maybe that's the best way out? You get three meals a day, a bed (even though you might have to sleep on the ground because its over crowded, but it also beats the pavement if you are homeless), warmth and possibly gaining a couple of friends. Of course there are cons to being in prison but in order to keep sane you need to look at both ends and know what is the good things and what is bad.

Do you think that's deviant ?...

This week we learned about deviance and that it isn't always a bad thing. At first we learned about bad deviance examples and then Sal read us a story about a person that was deviant in a good way. Someone pulled a knife out on him and tried to rob him and as the boy was running away the man asked him if he wanted his jacket as well. This completely caught the boy off guard and in the end he took the boy to dinner. This is very rare, no one would ever think to take their thief out to dinner after he tries to steal from you. This story was also very surprising to me because personally I would never do that. More people should be like this because normally when someone steals from us we find a way to get them back and normally this leads to violence or we just don't know how to react because we never thought that something like that would happen to you. We were also supposed to do an act of deviance and what I did was pay for someone behind me, I didn't know the person and I don't know their reaction either but it made me feel great. It doesn't seem like something very big but when you do it it's different. Im always grateful for when my mom buys me things and I don't ask or really expect her to get me something. So maybe for them it was a feeling like that?

You're an adult now.....

I think it's unfair for teens to just be expected to turn into adults in a day. In my house my mom gives me responsibilities such as doing everyones laundry when she can't, the dishes and cleaning. My mom doesn't come home until around 6 or 7 at night and my dad moved to Oklahoma for work so I have to take the responsibility of driving my sister to soccer practice or after school activities, or picking my brother up from school or driving him to friends houses. I also have to go to work on top of that so we have to build our schedules to work together. My brother who is a year younger than me barely has any responsibilities and my mom doesn't expect anything from him except for getting his homework done and my sister who is 4 years younger than me just took the step of really wearing make-up. My mom used to always tell me to get a job and now that I have one she says that I don't have enough time to do it and i need to focus on school work and getting good grades. I work at hollister and no one is older than their late 20's so it's just like working with other kids and I feel equal and there are no adult influences around. People there help  you understand the concept and what needs to be done and how and ever since having this job I think I have become more mature and learned the concept of responsibility even more.

We are supposed to be like that?...

Learning our roles as men and women or boys and girls has been shown to us when we are little kids. Last week we learned about what girls are modeled to be and what girls think they should look like when really the way you are is just fine. This week we learned about masculinity and how guys try to live up to that. Guys think they have to be built and independent and scary to be considered manly. When they don't live up to that people start calling them "fags" or "pussies" or "bitches" because they are considered feminine. This is when school shootings occur. Some guys even say that shooting made them seem like more of a man and made people respect them. Schools are now taking the initiative to stop bullying and having kids be called those names. There are also peer groups and counselors that they have made available for those that need someone to talk to. The shootings have become part of the media more because they are happening in suburban areas with white boys. They make it more dramatic because they shouldn't be like that and they are seen as the better kind of children or better educated. I think that since they may have more money they have better access to guns. Girls and boys both need to sit back and be what they want to be and look like what they want to look like, not what the media shows us. They also need to realize that that person that they are seeing in the magazine is not what they looked like when the original picture was taken.

Model ? I don't think so....

Today in class we watched a couple of Dove commercials on how all the pictures in the media that we see are fake and digitally changed. It was crazy how much they changed these girls into the way that people wanted to see them. It's really sad how younger girls and even teens try to change themselves into being like these girls in the magazines which is completely impossible and they don't even know it. My sister is completely affected by this because she always reads the magazines and watches MTV and only being 13 she falls for it all. The sad thing is she thinks she's fat when she isn't at all. My mom and i have to talk to her about it and convince her that she's not. If this can happen with my little sister and just one person that i know just imagine how many other people in the world have this same type of view. More girls die from eating disorders than you would know and the numbers only grow each year.

wild child... ?

Learning about feral children this week really got to me. I never really understood the extent of what child abuse could become, nor did i know just how many people were "wild". When Genie was found she couldn't speak or move like every other child that was her age. Not having physical contact and being able to have a conversation with someone on a daily basis or even at all made her unable to function normally. Also seeing that one girl that was raised by dogs really freaked me out. In the video that we watched of her she ran around on all fours and even sounded exactly like a dog when she barked, they also said that she preferred being like that than walking on two feet! There are so many people out there that we don't even know about that are like this and we don't fully understand how to react to it because they aren't "like us". Without contact with other humans we don't learn how to act and how to behave and how to socialize and learn the english language. Most of the way we live our lives comes from our parents, whether you notice it or not they make you who you are, besides your peers this this your biggest influence. People are important and we take that for granted.

Tuesdays with morrie

Watchig Tuesdays with Morrie made me think about our culture in so many different ways. I like how he looked at most things with a completely differed view. I learned that not being independent was what is good, you need others to go through life and you cant always do things on your own. This movie was very sad and it just goes to show you that you should live life to the fullest and have no regrets. know what your living for and don't wait to find out until you 40 or 50 years old or even beyond that. Also just make the little effort it takes to keep in shape and don't loss touch. Even though work may get you money and being successful is important it is even more important to have the ones you love in your life.

Why are americans how they are ?....

This week when we had our class discussions we talked a lot about the american culture and the american dream. A topic that came up most was how materialistic we have become. We used to live in small houses that fit what we had and now we need huge houses just to contain all the junk that we have bought. People even go shopping just to walk around and look for something new and exciting to show off to their friends. America also doesn't have its own culture. It is made up of so many places and so many different kinds of people that it has to spread and be super diverse. Even going to a different city or state there are so many different rules or styles and kinds of people that you run into. There are a billion different kinds of foods that we have at our finger tips and even a billion different brands for the billions of different kinds of foods. We don't need that much variety. In america we have our stores open 24 hours a day, compared to the stores in Germany that are only open until 8 during the week, 4 on saturdays and closed on sundays. This shows that americans don't value their time and that we have so much to do we want to go grocery shopping at our leisure. We need to sit back and take things slow and appreciate the time that we have.

The more you buy the more you save ?....

Who really believes the more you buy the more you save? Yes coupons may lead you to think that you are going to save more by saying "If you spend $100 you get $10 back." But, if you really step back and look at the big picture you aren't saving much at all. People these days are super materialistic, everyone wants the huge house, the nice cars, the expensive clothes and for people to think that you have tons of money. Some people just go to the mall and walk around and buy things that they don't even need. They decide just to impulsively spend money when they don't think about their necessities. People spend way more than they have. After all the christmas shopping people are still paying off their debts months later. Did you know that there are more malls than there are high schools? Clearly our views on what is important has changed a lot over the years.

"Yeah, you did a good thing for a bad man" ....

When it comes to being categorized in a group there are billions that you can belong to. Groups are what make people who they are and what they become. In the movie A Bronx Tale that we are watching in class has a boy, Collogero, who is part of many different groups. Some of the groups he is a part of are the italians, family, Sonny's gang and friends. If I were to put him into a master group he would be with Sonny because Sonny has changed him into someone that dresses more of the italian role, smoking, getting into the bar fight and hanging out with the same kind of people, even the way he talks. His master status would be student. I think this because he looks up to Sonny and asks for his advice and opinion and learns from what Sonny has told him. I have him with Sonny instead of his family because if he were to be with his family he wouldn't dress like he does and he wouldn't be hanging out in the bar. I don't think his status changes throughout the movie because he is always with Sonny and learns from him. In a way I think his morals change because he used to be a bit racist but he ends up liking someone that is black and that no one would approve of. People's master status usually changes so don't be surprised if yours changes in a couple years.

Sorry but you've been voted off the ship...

In class the other day we did an activity that tested our ability to pick people that meant most on a ship that could potentially sink during a storm. We had to vote off 7 people. I was part of the people on the ship and I was the young pregnant cheerleader. I wasn't voted off, this could have happened for a couple of reasons. The first being that I didn't say much so that maybe people really wouldn't acknowledge me and second could have been that I was carrying a life and that is what we cherish most or that I was also young had a family. Being on the ship led us to decide who should stay or be kicked off. This made people sociologically mindful because the people studying us had to see how we interacted and what we said and decided were factors to kick people off the ship. We also based it off of who was healthy, who could help in various situations and whether they were old or young. We need to learn how to value a life and help those in need. We need not to worry about the small things in life but what will take you far while helping others along the way. People would be blown away if you voted yourself off the ship. If you were in a situation like this in real life what do you think you would base your decisions off of? Who would go and who would stay?                                      

Here, Drink This Spit ...

In class today Sal asked for a volunteer, when the student was picked he had her come to the front of the room and asked her to spit into a cup. When the class heard what she had to do people looked around and gave Sal confused looks. After she spit he proceeded to ask if someone wanted to drink it. This is what really confused people. Everyone gave him disgusted looks and said their "ewws" and "yucks". People share drinks all the time right? People swap spit all the time right? Saliva is spit right? Not exactly. Saliva is when it's in your mouth and it's all yours. Spit is when it exits the mouth. We wouldn't take it from someone if they just offered it to you in a cup. We turn it down because it's not what society has taught us. Our society may think that it is disgusting but if we were to travel somewhere else they may think something completely different. If you were to be in a situation like the people in the story F-227 but instead of eating people you had to drink their spit to survive would you do it? Probably right. You might not say yes now but I bet if you were to be in the situation you would change your mind. You change it because your new "society" needs different rules in order for survival. Would you do anything out of the norm to survive?

Is your silence awkward ?

Silence . Is it awkward? Not always, there are plenty of different kinds of silences. Some are comfortable, some are funny, some when they are confused, usually when someone is upset, some are disinterested, normally when someone is thinking and sometimes just plain awkward. Most of the time when someone is in a situation that they don't feel comfortable in or don't really know the people around them that well there is an awkward silence. This normally can't be helped. This happens because you don't know their interests, personal life or personality. There's nothing really to talk about and you have no idea what to say except for the basic, "what'd you do today?" or "the weathers pretty nice dontcha think?" and we all know those lead to dead ends. I have experienced many awkward silences in which i try to break by saying .. "well this is awkward." At first you get the occasional more awkward stares but sometimes if you're lucky it kind of breaks the ice and makes everyone feel more comfortable because they giggle. Sometimes it has the opposite effect in which the silence is even more awkward than it was when it started. Sometimes people talk just to fill the silence so that it isn't as awkward. This affects our ability as listeners because we won't always pay attention to what they have to say so we don't know whether people are just talking out of their ass or whether they have something to offer for the conversation. Maybe, in this society we don't know how to handle silence. With always having noise around us, or always being told what to do by teachers we don't know how to react when it's quiet and the teacher just sits there and stares at you instead of telling you to take out your books like your used to. Take this into consideration and think about what your going to do next time there's a silence.

Who am I ?

Who am I? I am a senior in high school. I play lacrosse for school on the varsity team and I play in two clubs, lacrosse america and lake shore. One of my goals is to just get through high school. Another is to go to college at the University of Florida for dentistry so I can become an orthodontist. During college I want to find a job or an internship that has to do with being an orthodontist. My favorite colors are purple and lime green. I have 2 younger siblings, Tyler and Alyse. Tyler is 16 and he's always the person i turn to to talk to and keep all my secrets. Alyse is 13 and she just steals my clothes. The biggest influences in my life are my family and friends. My friends are the people that I turn to talk and hang out with because they're always there for me, my family leads me along the way and attempts to give good advice. Without either of these groups of people in my life I would probably be lost. Hope this helps you learn a little bit about me.