Who am I? This is a question that can't really be fully answered yet. Each year through high school I think that i have grown as a person and i think that will only continue as i move on to college. My parents and my brother have definitely been a huge influence on the person I am becoming. I have learned from their mistakes and seen it's important to make mistakes to grow as a person in life. My dad has been a huge influence on me. He is the hardest worker i know and will do anything in order to support his family. He is one of the reasons that i have been so motivated to do well in school. After graduation, I plan on attending a 4 year university and majoring in psychology. When i'm older i want to be able to help people and make a difference in someone's life. Thats why i think becoming a psychologist would be ideal for me because both are very people-person jobs. Who am I? after the whole semster in soc i have definitely changed as a person. I have opened my eyes to so many things. Before this semster i will admit i had many stereotypes in my mind about people of different cultures and races. After this class, many of those stereotypes have been erased. The service project helped me to change the way i viewed people of different races and socioeconomic backgrounds. The color of your skin and the amount of money in your bank account does not make you who you are. Even though it many sound very cliche, it is what's on the inside that truly matters. The service project also taught me that giving back to the community makes you feel good about yourself. I hope to continue to do volunteer work throughout my life. Sociology has shown me that even in the midst of such a diverse culture, we are all so similar. Everyone wants to live a happy and successful life. I feel very fortunate that my parents have provided a life for me to help make that possible. Next year i will be going on to college. This experience is sure to be a new and exciting one. i know that being away from home, my family and my friends will only help me to expand my sociological mindfulness. I am really thankful i had the opportunity to take this class. Many high schools do not have the resources to offer a course like this and i am lucky that my school can. I enjoyed every moment of this class and all the lessons i learned will stay with me throughout my life.

Crash

This week in class we watched the movie Crash. Although I have seen the movie many times before, this time I got a different experience when I watched it. When I watched it this time, i used a sociological imagination. Every scene had a different act of racism in it. It was shocking to see how many things I had not seen in the previous times I've viewed the movie. This time i saw all the little racist remarks and caught all the intertwining relationships that are in the movie. We talked about how some people are critics of the movie. I can understand how people many think the movie makes everyone in American seem like a racist, but that isn't the meaning behind it. I think that it is important to realize what the movie's underlying meaning is. No, not everyone in America is racist but racism is all around us. Without even knowing it we could be involved in a situation where race comes into play. We are unaware because sometimes race is implicit, and not directly on the surface of each situation.

Rach Schmace

If i were to ask you what race you belonged to, how would you answer? White? Black? What race would you classify someone from Australia that was very darked skin? The thing about race is that it truly does not exist. It is just a social construction that our society has formed. There is no biological facts to support race. Will there ever be a day when people will not judge you solely based on the color of your skin? Personally i cannot say. I do believe that our society is evolving and moving away from skin color. But since race is something we learn from birth, it is hard to say if it will ever truly be erased from our minds.

Monopoly

This week in class we continued to discuss social class. We played a game of monopoly where each player began in a different social class and earned a different salary. The interesting thing about the game is that it really did mirror real life. Even though each player in my group ended up with more money than they began with, no one moved up in social class. Similar to the criminal cycle, the poverty cycle is never ending. It is very hard to overcome poverty once you are born into it. We do not have a choice of what class we are born into, but we play with the cards we are dealt. I think a major issue dealing with people living in poverty is the lack of medical insurance available. 45 million people in the U.S. live each day without health insurance that just is not right. Something should be done to make it easier and more affordable for every U.S. to have access to health insurance.

For Richer or Poorer

This week in class we watched a video on social classes. The movie showed us blue collar families living in trail parks, and upperclass families vacationing in the Hamptons. The difference between these two classes is huge. Wealthy people are raised to believe they are more intelligent, more likable, and more attractive than lower class people. But are they really? Just because they are led to believe something does not mean it is accurate. The movie made me feel a lot of compassion for people who are on the other end of the spectrum. We met a woman named Tammy, and her two sons. One of her sons wanted to become a lawyer or an architect. The issue with poverty in America is that it is a very hard cycle to bring yourself out of. When you are born into a family that is in poverty, it becomes difficult to lift yourself up. Hopefully in the future this will change and people will be able to rise above their hardships.

Locked Up

This week in class we focused on the jail systems in America. The realities of these jails is astonishing. The crime system in the U.S. is a never ending cycle. Once you go to jail for the first time, the likelyhood of you returning skyrockets. I wish that there were more programs available like the half-way house. I think that is a good way for prisoners to readjust to real life. In the episode of 30 days we watched, Morgan Spurlock went to a very innovative jail. The jail provided classes and support for men and women who were trying to overcome drug addictions. I think that is a very useful idea. Spending years and years in prison will not stop someone from being an addict. Counseling and support is what these people need in order to turn their lives around. If more jails moved toward this type of system, i think the return rate to jail would decrease dramatically.

Saints vs Roughnecks

This week in class we read an article titled "Saints vs Roughnecks". The article discussed 2 groups of boys. One was made up of upper-class white males who recieved good grades. The other was made up of lower-class males whose grades were average. Both groups of boys engaged in acts of deliquency, but the saints always got away with their crimes. The roughnecks were the boys in the community labeled as "trouble-makers". Is it fair that just because the saints are apart of a higher socioeconomic class that they can get away with committing acts of deviance? I do not think so. The saints engaged in these acts more frequently than the roughnecks and constantly put others in danger, but they always recieved the benefit of the doubt. I think this does reflect our society. The upper-class always has a head turned to it because of the fact that they have money. No one wants to deal with their lawyers and law suits so they are let off the hook. I believe if you do the crime you should serve the time. Another thing society disregards is that acts of deviance are not always negative. Something as simple as bringing someone their newspaper can be a positive act of deviance. Something like that is unusual though, so people usually think that type of thing is odd. I wish we lived in a more connected society where everyone respected the way others acted.