Week 8

I cannot pretend to know what it is like to be a minority living in our society. The prejudice they receive, the racism that they know is hidden in some people, etc. I can't imagine the kinds of things they hear while simply trying to go about their day. Being a white female, I am unadjusted to what they experience. What I can relate to, however, is the assumptions I had about being a minority, and the privilege I never knew whites have. These things extend beyond Stevenson and the small town I live in, they go beyond Illinois even, these significant occurrences stretch throughout the United States.

I had many assumptions about race when I started this class. The most significant one was that it was biological. I always thought that if my mother was black and my dad was black, then I would be too. Through this class, I have learned that race depends on who's perspective it is from. I may think I am black, but if I am in another country they may see me as being light. This translates into the world of college applications. Affirmative action makes it so minorities have a better chance of receiving admission simply because of their race. Because I may think I am black, I can check that off while applying. I can be as white as snow, but as long as I view myself as black, that's all that matters. We learned about this through "Racial Formation" by Omi and Winant.

The privileges whites receive are something I never thought of. As soon as I started thinking about colleges I thought it was a disservice to be in the majority because affirmative action would not apply to me. As it turns out, whites have so many privileges, we can take a disservice this one time. Examples of privileges include: not being followed around in stores in fear of shoplifting, not being seen as low class or homeless based on what one is wearing, and being seen as superior in basically any setting. To be a minority and experience this must not only be humiliating, but also anger inducing. To know that people are judging you on the basis of your skin must be the worst feeling in the world. Although it may not be explicit racism that people are intending on acting upon, many people still act on implicit racism today.

Overall, to be a minority in our society would be frustrating and would induce a feeling of hopelessness. While some say that racism is at its lowest point, I believe that it is at its high because it is not on people's radar anymore.

Week 7

I always knew that social class had something to do with how we see people, but I never knew it had as big of an impact until we learned about deviance. Through this class, I learned that we view people as deviant based on their social standing, and how this may not always be fair.

In class, we watched the video, "The Line". Watching this video was eye opening for me because I did not realize how impoverished our country was until we watched it. Living in Lincolnshire, I always knew that I was in an Upper-Middle class home but I was not always acquainted with how everyone else lived. Hearing the statistics that only very few owned a home and a car in our country was shocking compared to the 3 cars my family owns. I always saw what my family had as normal, not even realizing how some people were living. This lesson, also learned through "Saints and Roughnecks" shaped my understanding of deviance and how it relates to social standing. Through this reading, I learned that if one is lower in society, they are more likely to be seen as doing something deviant than if they were higher in society. While I am lucky enough to live in a Upper-Middle class home, I have still experienced this judgement. This spring break, I went on a cruise to the U.S. Virgin Islands. While there, I met many kids around my age. The looks of judgement I received when they heard that I was from the Northwest suburbs of Chicago were resounding. Everyone just assumed that because I was from here that I drove a BMW and my family had 3 houses. In addition to this, people assumed that because I am in higher social class that I do nothing wrong and am a perfect angel. While I do not break any laws, that doesn't mean I am a perfect person. The realist in me knows that someday I will speed while driving or fail to use my blinker, but my sociological brain tells me that because of my social standing, I will most likely be not branded as deviant, only as making a small mistake.

Volunteer Oppurtunity #3

On December 6th, I once again went to my church for a volunteer opportunity. While there, I helped hang up decorations for the upcoming holidays. I helped carry boxes from the attic, hang up greens and lights, hung up wreaths, and helped put the lights on our Christmas Tree. I'd done this in the past, but this time I was not in charge of ironing the bows. I arrived at my church at 1:30 and hung up the greens until 4. After that, I helped cook the dinner that was being served that night. I helped make the Mac-and-cheese and set up the containers to keep the food warm. Overall, this experience was a lot of fun for me to have and share with my family and friends from church.

Volunteer Oppurtunity #2

It's no secret that I am active in my church, so it should come at no surprise that my next volunteer oppurtunity came through my church. I completed this activity on the 16th of November. I arrived at my church at 9:30 and finished at 10:30. This activity is an annual Thanksgiving basket making event that our teen group does. I attended last year, but this time I had no friends come and there was a completely different group of kids, a majority of them I did not know. We started my lining up boxes. After that, we all grabbed an item that was to be put in the box and worked by just taking the bag of our objects and putting one in each box. I was in charge of putting the condensed milk and canned pumpkin in each box. We ended by closing up the boxes and numbering them. At first, I was nervous because I didn't really have anyone to talk to while putting together the boxes, but by the end of the event everyone had loosened up and we were all talking. It was very hectic, as we were in a small room for the size of the event, but we made it work anyway. It was an overall really fun experience and I'm very glad that I decided to attend! It feels good knowing that we fed so many people for Thanksgiving. The fact that such a small group of teens could feed so many people really inspired me to try and volunteer more because I knew that even I could make a difference.

Week 6

Sociology had opened my eyes, there's no doubt about that. Because of this class, I have become sociological mindful of what is happening in the world around me. One way I have been impacted but did not expect it, is in the issue of gender. I have now realized the way our society forces our young members to be either one gender or the other. When applying for college, we get the choice of either being male or female. No if, ands, or buts, we have to be either one.

Through the video we watched in class, "Tough Guise 2" I relaized the impact that society has on boys. I always knew girls were changed because of it, but I didn't know everything that boys were put through. While surfing the Internet, I found 2 pictures that perfectly summarized how boys were shaped to be (please excuse the language in the second one, it was too good to not post!)

The first picture depicts the struggles that young boys put together of what they experience on a daily basis. The second depicts the struggle of a young boy trying to show some femininity but it not being accepted by his family members. This behavior is not only shown by teenagers, but a young boys' own family members. These boys are told to be tough and brave and are "suppost to like violence". The fact that a young boy can describe this while many people are blind to it shows that they are not trying to see what is wrong with our society.

The pressure experienced by young women is just as great as that experienced by young men. As shown by a Dove commercial we watched in class, women in our society rarely think highly of themselves, though others may think very highly of them. Around Halloween-time, we looked at the Halloween costumes worn by young girls and boys. The girls were always depicted as fun or girly and something as minimal as a fairy or cheerleader while the boys were members of the military or firefighters. Simply put, the girls were supposed to cheer on the boys while they saved the world. As they grew up, they could be the same thing, only with less clothes. One picture I found again perfectly depicts the struggles a young girl experiences through society. 

Pictured here is a young girl and boy posing together. This billboard is from The Body Shop and I don't think I've ever been more proud of a company for depicting something wrong with our society than I am with them for having this. Because the girls name is Alex and it names all of the things she aspires to be when she grows up (and none of them are a housewife) the reader automatically assumes that it is talking about her brother. It is not until we read the lower right hand corner that we find out that her brothers name is Chris, and it was talking about her. While this hit the nail on the head, I still want more. I want companies to depict the exposure of young girls to ads of women naked with a product placed strategically to still be printed. These ads have gotten worse and worse, and it is because of this class that I really saw what magazines were printing. All in all, I find it sickening the amount of pressure experienced by our young members of society. Boys are told they have to be strong and cannot be at all feminine, and girls are told they cannot have a job that does anything and they have to wear next to nothing to be noticed by anyone. 

Volunteer Oppurtunity #1

On Saturday the 8th of November I volunteered at my church's (The Lutheran Church of the Holy Spirit) annual holiday boutique. While there, I signed people in, allowing them to receive the newsletter telling them the date for the next years boutique. While I have volunteered at my church for 7 years in a row, this was my first time doing sign in. I experienced many type of people while working at the table. Some were nice and more than willing to simply put their name and email on the sheet of paper. Others were rude or sassy to me, when I was simple working to help them in the future. It was frustrating to experience ungrateful people, but the little old ladies that reminded me of my grandmothers made the experience more than worth it. I worked at the sign in table from 8:30 to 11:30.

After working at the sign in table I quickly moved to our church's kitchen where I was in charge of handing out soup to our vendors. I prepared their plates which contained an assortment of cheeses and crackers. My mom and I then went around handing out the soup to the vendors. Many of them were grateful that they were being fed while still working and for the hot meal on a cold day. Some, however, were rude to my mother and I, which was frustrating as we did not even have to offer them a full meal. I delivered meals from 11:30 to 1:30. Overall, the experience was fun and definately worth dealing with the public. 

Week 5

These pasts few weeks have shaped me to become sociologically mindful. Every little thing a family member of mine does makes me wonder if I do that action also. Because we talked about nature and nurture, this thought process makes sense.

Our class learned that nurture shapes a person and the way they turn out to become as adults. An example of this is when children are left to live with wild animals. It is not uncommon for them to take on the characteristics of the animals they grow up with. Additionally, we saw evidence of nurture (actually the loss of it) when we talked about children abandoned and abused by their parents. While they were given proper nourishment, they were unable to communicate like the should have been for their age. These children often times had to learn how to walk and talk. We watched a clip from Oprah where a young girl was discovered abandoned emotionally by her parents. She was mentally younger then she should have been, thus proving the point of nature v. nurture. Eventually, this young girl was adopted and her adoptive parents are working with her on her speech and walking.

This topic resonates with me on a deeper level. My family and I are very close and I am aware that I take after them in my actions. Since learning about nurture, I have realized that I am more similar to my family then I originally thought. For example, 11 years ago my grandfather passed away from Parkinson's Disease. While I only knew him for 5 years, some of my actions are shaped by him. I enjoy eating all the same foods he ate and even have some of the same favorite restaurants (Superdawg!). One night, I went to get a scoop of ice cream (the favorite dessert in my house) instead of putting my ice cream in a bowl, I decided to put it in a cup. As soon as I put my ice cream in the cup my dad mentioned that I take after my grandfather. Little did I know, my grandfather only ate his ice cream in a cup. I don't remember ever seeing him eat ice cream from a cup or conciously deciding to become like my grandfather, but this shift occured by nature. While my grandfather was only able to shape me for 5 years of my life, it was enough to change an action that I do nearly every day (told you it was a favorite in my house!).

The idea of nature is that we are born knowing these actions and it our genes that tell us what to do. While this is an interesting idea, I honestly believe that little me watched my grandfather scoop ice cream and was shaped for the future. I say this because no one else in my family eats their ice cream in a cup. If nature shaped us, my sister should eat her ice cream in a cup, since my sister and I share the same gene pool. My father would be the one to be influenced the most from my grandfather so I find it interesting that he does not use a cup for his ice cream. While my dad is normal in his ice cream eating habits, I see parts of my grandfather in him. Since my grandfather passed in 2003, he has still shaped my father and who he is today.

Week 4

This week in sociology we learned all about American culture and what we value in our society. Our reading of 'Bemused in America' gave us insight on how culture may be viewed as different from other cultures around the world. Through this reading we learned all the things we do that are seen as weird by other cultures. An example of this is all the different phrases we have. As Americans, we do not simply say "so and so died" we try to make the situitation sound nicer by saying they "passed away" or are "no longer with us". These phrases are seen as confusing to other cultures as they are more up front about death and are not afraid to come right out and say that this person has died.

This ties into the concept of American values. We value control and fear death, while other cultures value fate and destiny. We always have to arrive at a place on time, or we are seen as rude. In other countries, they value human interaction instead of time. They believe that it is better to be late somewhere due to a valuable conversation than arrive on time but cut all conversations short due to aways keeping an eye on the clock. This is especially true for myself, as I get anxious when I am not in my seat by the bell and personally value it when someone is on time, or even early. I view lateness as rude and would never intentionally make someone wait for me. I believe that no ones time is greater than another persons, so they should not expect me to wait for them if they do not value my time.

A valuable example from class is the movie "Tuesdays with Morrie". This movie depicts the life of a man and how it changes when his college sociology professor is dying. His professor teaches him life lessons and why the values of American society are not what they should be in this day and age. He teaches Mitch (the main character) that we should not be afraid of death, as it is their time to go. He also learns that our connections with people are often times cut short because we are afraid they will not last together. Morrie teaches Mitch the absurdness of this reasoning, as we are going to lose someone eventually so we may as well forge great relationships with people. This movie provided examples of American values and knocked down everything I once valued. Morrie teaches that we should not keep track of time, as it is the people in our lives that mean the most. From now on, I am hoping to keep this idea with me when I am avoiding conversations in the hallway simply to arrive on time to class.

Week 3

This past week in sociology was not only interesting, but informative as well. We started off our mew unit by playing cards in class. We were separated into different groups and were each given a set of rules to play by. Winners of each game moved up and losers down. Then, we started a new game. After a couple of minutes, it became apparent that each group was given a different set of rules to go by. This made playing the game confusing for the winners and losers, as they did not know going into the game that their rules were different. This was connected with culture shock. Culture shock is defined as confusion or disbelief of a different culture or society one is not familiar with. This was also explained with the fish bowl diagram. The fish is literally taken from its known enviornment and thrown into a new one expecting it to be different. The fish will be shocked to learn that the water is not the same, the materials found in the fish bowl are not the same, and the surrounding enviornment is not the same. I have experienced culture shock while on vacation. While on a cruise in the Carribbean, we stopped in St. Maarten. The island was beautiful, though very shocking to experience. The island is split into two sides, Dutch and French. While visiting the French, it became apparent that we were not used to the culture they had. The beaches were nude ans everyone was taking full advantage. The women were shirtless, as well as their young children. My mom even gasped when she first saw the beach.  We were not used to what they see as their norm and were slightly confused as to why they would walk around naked and be comfortable with everyone seeing them.

The feeling that the French were doing something wrong by being naked was my family and I being ethnocentric. We did not feel that their culture was right, as simply American culture is what should be followed. Ethnocentrism is when one does not think of other cultures besides their own. In class, we talked about a Dutch couple visiting the United States. They left their baby outside in the cold and thought nothing of it. In Dutch culture, it is customary to leave children outside as many cafés are smoke filled and not suitable for children. The parents were detained as many bystanders thought the parents were simply not caring for their child. The young couple was ethnocentric because they did not think of the American culture before acting. Additipnally, New York natives were ethnocentric when they did not pause to think if the couple was foreign and followed a different culture.

Our society taught us to call the police if we have a problem; this is the idea of the Social Construction of Realtiy. This simply states that our society shapes us into being the way we are today. For example, I am shaped by my society in many ways. I know it is not appropriate to go out in my pajamas and I am also aware of what is considered good manners during a dinner party. Society has shaped me to not wear pajamas while running to the store and to not slurp my soup while at the dinner table. This duals with Sociological imagination, as my culture teaches me to not slurp my soup and eat a hamburger with both hands and no utensils. In other cultures this would be considered rude or unwarranted, but in America, it is considered normal.

Week 2

This week in class we watched the movie "A Brox Tale". This movie alone shows the different topics we learned about in class; the first being ingroups and outgroups. The main character, Calogero, is apart of many groups in his life. Calogero serves as a student and son-like figure to the men of his neighborhood. He is shaped by them and their ethics. He is a son to his father and mother. Calogero is also a student, and friend. His father and his mentor, Sonny, clash often, showing conflict between groups. Calogero's master status is the "gang" he is a member of. His life is shaped by these men and especially Sonny. No matter where Calogero goes, he sees himself as a member of this crew. He thinks about Sonny's opinion before even considering his father's. Because of this, Calogero's family is a secondary group to his mentor. This is opposite of my own life, as my family always comes first. My friends, boyfriend, and mentors will always come in second to them. No matter where I go, I see myself as a sister and daughter first, and a girlfriend and friend second. 

This movie is also a fine example of stereotypes and catagories. Calogero and his friends are sterotyped as the "Italians" by their African American neighbors. Likewise, the African American neighbors are stereotyped as less than the Italians. These groups do not like to mix, shown in a scene where the two groups clash and end up in a fight about race. Although I have never experienced a fight solely due to race, I have experienced stereotypes. Just this past weekend, I flew to Tennessee with my dad. I specially remember hearing someone say that they stereotyped Chicagoans as rude and lacked that certain "southern hospitality" that Nashville seemed to have. Another person commenting on my choices of college mentioned that the further South one gets the more genuinely nice the people are. While the general population of Nashville was caring, I can assume that not everyone is having a good day. These comments about the south were stereotypes about the population as a whole. Though these people are from the same region, they cannot be grouped together. Ones personality changes with their mood, therefore Southerners cannot all be viewed as genuine people- I'm sure someone out there is having a bad day!

Overall, this class has taught me a lot not only about myself, but about society in general. I am now wary of stereotypes around me and how they are affecting my perspective on things. 

Week 1

Growing up, I never really thought that one person could change the world. The idea that one thing someone does in Japan can change a person in New York and what they do can change a person in Paris just seemed impossible to me; then I started taking sociology.

This week we learned about sociological imagination. This idea was created by C. Wright Mills. It basically means that your history shapes who you are and who you will be. When we say history, we mean where you're from and when you are living. For example, I was born in 1998 so I never knew a world without computers or cell phones. I barely remember 9/11 and I never witnessed any wars besides the War on Terrorism. I vaguely remember life without an African-American president, so the idea doesn't seem so different to me. I'll graduate high school in 2016, college in 2020, and law school by 2023 (hopefully!). Knowing how much the world has changed in 5 years, I can't imagine what it will be like when I walk out of my law school graduation. All of these things are when I live, but where one lives shapes them hugely. I live in a suburb of Chicago. The city is 30 minutes from me on a good day, an hour on a bad one. I'm not used to living far away from a big city, as I have had it in my backyard for 16 years. I've traveled much of the world and experienced many cultures. The way I am growing up is different from a teenager growing up in a small town in Kansas. He/she probably has not traveled out of the country and their big city is Kansas City. The outlook they have on life I far different from the one I have.

After learning about sociological imagination, we learned about sociological mindfulness. This is the idea that one's society shapes them and they shape their society. I was never aware that I make an impact on society, but I am learning differently in this class. Now, every little thing I do I wonder how it will effect someone. If I litter, how will that effect future generations? If I decide to sit with someone new today at lunch, how will that effect them and their day? These questions and the general thought that one influences their society is 1/2 of the backbone of sociological mindfulness. The other 1/2 is that society shapes anyone living in it. For example, it had been drilled into my head that I will go to college and I will be successful in life. Society brings on this pressure to me, and I let it run its course. I am being mindful that society shaped me into believing that I must do all of these things in my lifetime. But, I am a member of society and I influence it right back. I have the power to change its way of thinking and maybe helping the future generation decide what they want to be in life and not have society choose it for them.

Finally, this week in class we watched "Freaks and Geeks". This show touched on the different social cliques there are in high school. With this, we learned about Functionalism. This was created by Emile Durkheim. He studied suicide rates and how there is a pattern within them. He found that there are large scale patterns to society. Next, we learned about Karl Marx's Conflict Theory. He theorized that different groups had different levels of power in society. An example of this in real life is that a government official has more power than I do. Finally, we learned about Max Weber and Symbolic Interaction. He studied religion and it's affect on economics. He concluded that there is small group interaction in today's society and we use symbols as special meanings. These concepts connected to Freaks and Geeks in multiple scenes. It showed conflict when the Freshman were bullied by an upperclassman. The bullies showed more power than the Freshman, causing them to attack them. Symbolic Interaction was showed when the "cool kids" sat on the bleachers and the rebels sat underneath them. The rebels also had the smoking roof as their spot. These all showed that different places can symbolize power in a certain society.

Well, that's all we learned about this week. Overall, I am becoming more aware of myself and others and how we affect the people around us with our actions. I am learning that a simple smile can change someone's day, which can change another persons day, and so on. And to me, that's pretty freaking cool.

About Me

Hi, I'm Hannah! I'm 16 years old and live in the suburbs of Chicago. My family is fairly small, with it only being my sister, my mom, my dad, and myself. Of course, one can't forget the 2 dogs that roam around my house delivering kisses and snuggles on the daily. I haven't played any sports since I injured my shoulder about a year ago playing tennis. I'm involved in my school's Law Club and Animal Welfare Club. My friends constantly bring food over to my house and don't give me any of it, which is so very sweet of them. Even though they don't feed me, my friends are even better than I could have imagined. I consider my parents to be my friends first and parental units second, which is pretty rare for a teenager to say. They support me with everything I do and constantly provide me with advice on anything I ask. My sister is the only person I can go to for everything and is still my best friend, even though she is 401 miles away from home attending the University of Missouri. Although I am not planning on attending Mizzou, I am still planning on following in her footsteps and attending college after I graduate in 2016. My dream school is Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee. Because that's a reach academic wise, I am also looking into Auburn University, Clemson University, Ole Miss, Emory University, and University of Miami in Oxford. After getting my undergrad in Biomedical Studies I hope to attend Law School with an emphasis on Patent Law. As a career, I hope to practice in a law firm in Charleston or any other medium-sized city in the south. All that being said, I consider myself a practical person so I know that plans change. I'm okay with not ending up doing all of that, as long as I'm happy where I end out. I'm happy where I am now and I'm hoping to be able to say that throughout my life.

Thanks for reading!
Hannah