Doing "Nothing"

           This week for an assignment in class, we had to do nothing. Yes exactly what I said, stand an a place for at least ten minutes and do absolutely nothing. This sounded so easy to me at first, but the more that I thought about it, the more I realized in our society, we never seem to be doing literally nothing. We are always either listening, or watching, or thinking. I decided to attempt doing nothing at my fencing club. As I stood there, I personally found American culture very apparent. All that my mind kept coming back to was thinking what else I had that day to get down or what time something started or how much of it I needed to do. This showed to me the extent to which American culture value time and always having something to do. In American culture, "time is money", and to stand around doing nothing productive is highly looked down upon. As I also stood there, I seemed to drift into watching the people around me. I would watch the fencers and start to evaluate their moves and what they did that I could do to improve myself, and I would have to quickly remind myself to dismiss these thoughts. This showed me the American culture of individualism. We are always looking to better ourselves in one way or another. This activity really connected to me personally because I was able to see first hand the impact of a society and a culture can have on the life and actions of an individual.

Culture Values

          This week we read an article in class about the thirteen qualities that Americans value. Some of these qualities include time, openness, achievements, individuality, material goods, and more. Many individuals who are unaware with the cultures of America find it strange how materialistic and focused on time Americans can be. This is becoming more apparent as I grow older. In this stage of life in my high school, many teens are feeling the pressure of being involved in every club, getting good grades, getting accepted to college, while also trying to get enough sleep at night to be able to function the next day. It is so fast paced and all to improve your own self. Life is not like that everywhere. In one of my classes we are debating the idea of the siesta, or a time to relax in the middle of the day practiced in places throughout Europe. I find this idea very interesting because it goes so against the American viewpoint how "time is money". I would personally love to spend time in another country to be able to see how the ways slow paced life can be lived, because for me, living in America all my life, it seems like there is no other way because you become so used to your one culture as "normal".

The Lost Boys

         This week we watched the movie "G-d Grew Tired of Us", and this movie had a drastic impact on the way I see my own life. The story is about The Lost Boys, a group of young boys who escaped the Civil War in Sudan and walked over a thousand miles in order to find some sort of shelter. They found this shelter in Kenya and learned how to speak English as well as forming strong bonds between each other. They all literally became like brothers to one another. The American government then began to take refugees into America. The story followed a group of boys who were taken to places like New York, Pittsburgh, and Illinois. As the boys came to America, they experienced much culture shock. The social life and human interaction were so different in America to them. Majorly, they were used to always having people around to talk to, everyone cared for each other, but in America it is very individualized. The boys began to feel lonely. The social norms were so different that even one boy had become so distressed he had to be taken to a mental hospital for treatment. Personally, this movie made me realize how lucky we are and how we often take advantage of our situation. I live in a household with a family who loves me, eat a breakfast lunch and dinner each day, get an education and just a place without death and starvation right around me. The terrible things the boys had to face everyday was a real eye opener to me. It is terrifying to think that things like this occur even now in this world.