FINAL BLOG

At the beginning of the year, we were asked to write our first blog about who we are and what makes up the person we are. Now that I've finished a semester in this class though, I am able to look back and re-examine who I really am through a sociological mind. I've learned so much through this class about how society shapes the person you become, and when I step back, I can see how much the society I was brought up in and the one I'm living in have affected who I've become today. I can't help but think how differnet my life would be had I grown up in lets say the city or a different state or even a different country. Every place has their own way of doing things, and once you've stayed there for some time, you tend to pick up the habits formed by the people there. I don't think I've personally changed as a person too much by just learning the ways society works, but it helps to understand how and why people do certain things.

I really liked learning about culture this year. American culture is so differnet from so many other cultures, and the values we cerish here are completly different from other places. I loved the card game we played to go along with the section because I felt like it really helped to see how being thrown into a different place might screw up the way you do things. Everyone had different sets of rules, but because we weren't aloud to talk, we had no way of knowing that! I thought all the games played in class this semester were extremly helpful in understanding the lessons more, along with the movies.

Although I don't feel that I've changed a great deal personally, I have been able to look at life in a differnet way because of this class. I don't think I'll ever get to the point where I analyze every sitation like Sal, but I'll definatly consider what I've learned before I judge a book by it's cover. All-in-all, I truely loved the class, and appreciate all the work you've put into Sal :) If you ever need little girl advice, I've got plenty :)

Race #2

This week in class, we watched 'Crash', a movie that confronts and shows how racist people can be. The whole movie, there are multiple racist actions inflicted on the charatcers. What's ironic is that even when one of the characters had a racist comment shot at them, they would still be racist to other people too. No one wants to be included a racist person, but ultimatly, everyone is a little racist, and this movie helped show that. Of course there were some people who were more racist than others, like the white cop and the white woman whos car was stolen. I try not to be a racist person, but because of the way I've been brought up and the society I've been living in my whole life, I can't help but have some racist thoughts. It goes to show how the society you grow up in can mold your mind into thinking certain things without you even realizing it. The one white cop in the movie, for example, who asked to switched partners tried not to be a racist person, and that was also the reason why he switched partners. But in the end, because of his preconcieved judgements about black people, he ended up killing the one black man because he thought he was going to pull a gun on him. So although he didn't want to be racist, he still was in a way. And that's how most people are in this world.

Race

Race, in our society, seems to be a very improtant factor in identifying someone. Whether you're white, black, asian, indian, latino, or whatever, it's the first thing most people would recognize when they meet asomeone. But what about those people who are half black and half white? Or half asian and half black? What race do they fit into? Race is just a social construct that we base a lot of our judgements off of. There's no biological difference between these people, but becuase of the way they look like on the outside, we pin point them as different. I found the cartoon about the Irish man very interesting. I'm Irish myself and I've always considered myself white. The fact that Irish people used to be considered a different race is fasinating to me. I didn't even consider that maybe Irish people used to be discriminated against because they might have looked a little different, especially because I don't think Irish people look much different than any other "white" person. The way we define different races has also changed over time. Now Russians, Irish, Italians, and others are all considered white, which was definatly not the case back in the day. What one person might consider white, another could consider asian. It all depends on the person.

Monopoly

This week in class we played monopoly but changed the rules up so it was like the American social class system. It was a very interesting way of looking at the game. I ended up being one of the upper middle class people. I was able to buy some property, but at one point I was left with zero dollars because I didn't realize how fast money can go. I went from having lots of money and being able to buy lots of property, then I landed on a couple railroads and it all went downhill. That's a lot like how American society is though. If you're not smart with your money, it can be gone in the blink of an eye. Fortunatly, I was able to gain all my lost money back in the end, and I was always part of that upper middle class. The game really helped show how hard it is for those who are of the lower class to move up in class. They constanly have to be on the look out for their money because every penny counts. If they ended up landing on the railroads, that was a huge dent in their money, where as if an upper class person landed on one, they could spare the couple hundred dollars. Those who are born in the high class, don't have to worry about their money constantly, which makes life a lot easier for them.

Social Class

Although I wasn't in class much last week and wasn't there for the social class discussion, I still find the concept of social classes very interesting. Growing up in this area and going to a school like Stevenson have alwasy seemed normal for me. I never thought of myself as upper class or weathly; in fact, I always compared what I had to the people I went to school with and it was all the same. I always knew I was blessed to be living in such a nice, safe area, but I never really realized how blessed I am. Compared to a lot of people in the world, I probably seem extremly weathly, when I just consider myself middle class. It's crazy the different perspectives people have on social class. What might seem lower class to one person, could be included middle class to another. Or middle class to one but upper to another. And our possessions have a large part in defininting what social class we are placed in. If someone were to be walking around in Coach shoes and Tiffany jewlery, you wouldn't typically place them in the lower class section of society. Or if two people were driving, one in a Mustang and the other in a station wagon, you automatically think the person in the mustang is of a higher social class. Now-a-days people are definded by their possessions.

Deviance

Learning about the concept of deviance was something completly new to me. Before this class, I hadn't heard of it before. But it's really interesting. Going aganist the norm in society is rare for most people whether it's good or bad deviance. The story about Julio was especailly interesting. How he acted so clam when someone was mugging him, and actually invited the man to come to dinner with him was shocking. I would never have been able to handle a situation like that even though it ended up working out in Julio's favor. His positive act of deviance saved him from getting hurt and got him his money back. Most people would never think to treat a mugger the way Julio had, and I found that very inspiring. Of course not all deviance is good. The Saint and Roughnecks being a good example. They were both wild young boys looking for fun, but sought it out in the wrong way. They went against the way the should be acting, but the results weren't as positive as Julio's. I am excited to try out doing a little act of good deviance. It'll be interesting to see someones reaction if I were to help them out with something.

Adulthood

This week in class we talked about what it means to become an adult in our society. But in our culture, it has become very hard to tell when exactly you are included an adult. Teens feel that once they are eighteen, they are adults because they have so many more rights and privilages, such as being able to go to the army and being able to vote. It's being able to make decsions like these that make them feel in power of their lives, when the reality is that they still need their parents and family members for just about everything. They technically don't have all the freedom they thought they had when they still need their parents for so much. I think that in our society, we truely become adults when we are able to take care of ourselves and live on our own. It's a big step for most people to move out and be on their own, but I think it really shows when someone has become an adult. Most people still have a lot of learning to do about the world at age 18, and they're still dependent on other people. So I don't think that we are ready to be called adults at such a young age. I can't even imagine living on my own yet without the help from my parents, and I'm only a year away from being eighteen. So if I'm still not ready, I doubt many other poeple are too.