To Truly Be Sociologically Mindful

            In my first blog, I answered the question "who am I?'. I talked mostly about my family and the people I felt have influenced me most directly to make me into the person who I am today. After understanding the sociological view of the world, this question has created more depths to travel in the answer. Talking about my family a lot has made me come to realize how much I rely on them, and I learned that this is okay. America is a very independent society and it is often looked down on to be too dependent, but it was very interesting to learn that in each different society around the world there is a different answer. Collective societies can function just as well as independent ones like America and I found that very interesting. Sociology has really defined my sociological imagination. I have come to realize that many separate things come together in order to define a person. I have also come to realize that all things that a society constructs, like race, gender, religion, sexuality, etc., fluctuates from society to society. What one society finds deviant can be the norm for another. This proves that there is no correct way to live, no perfect person to listen to. It makes the world so much more interesting and makes me want to become more and more sociological mindful. Thank you.

Implicit and Explicit

             This week we watched the movie "Crash". This movie I found not only interesting, but also showing great examples of implicit and explicit racism. An example of explicit racism that the movie shows is when a Farsi character wanted to buy a gun to protect his family, the gun store owner started calling him an "Arab" who was involved in 9/11 and refuses to give him anymore business. This is purely an explicit example  because the store owner is deliberately discriminating and making assumptions of this man just because of the society we live in today. An implicit example would be the cop who was always trying to be aware of racism and avoid it. He even told a personally embarrassing lie in order to get away from his racist partner but when he is driving an African American man home and the man reaches in his pocket, he automatically thinks it is a gun and shots him while in reality he was only trying to show him a religious statue. This is an example of implicit racism because the cop really wanted to do the right thing and never discriminate, but in the end his inner reflexes that society has embedded into him took control. I personally really enjoyed this movie because it showed so many separate stories and the backgrounds of all the people that make the absurdity of racism so clear and it really made me understand how disgusting stereotypes of races are. An individual is an individual and hopefully one day this society will never have to worry about implicit racism, let alone explicit.

Race

        Today we talked about race. I never really thought about it before but I was really interested to hear that race is actually not biological. The word "race" is not something that actually exists, but that each culture creates differently. All it is is a social construction of reality, a social "norm". "Race" changes with each place you go. For example in other countries  they have over 100 different names for their classification of "races" while a country like America has much less. If race can change with each culture you go to, then there is no way that race can be genetic even though many think that their culture "norms" are genetically correct. This relates specifically to my life specifically because I never really thought about race not being biological. I always thought that you are born with that one specific race and you are that one race wherever you go. To know that "race" changes throughout cultures is really interesting and is important to know that you cannot just place people into certain categories.

Polar Plunge!

       I first want to start off by saying what a great experience I had at this event and would recommend it to anyone. Besides being a little muddy and for obvious reasons, cold, this event was amazingly run and has an amazing purpose. Polar Plunge is an event that raises money for the Special Olympics. Each participant donates money and is able to run into a frozen lake, the ice literally needs to be chipped away, and fully dunked with a group of friends. Each group is able to dress up as a theme and as you can tell from the picture below, my group were princesses. It was not only an amazing experience, it was my first time ever jumping into a frozen lake, but at the same time I knew that the money we helped raise was going to an amazing cause. Polar Plunge is one of several Special Children's Charities. The Special Olympics is an event were athletes learn fundamentals, rules, and strategies from their coaches during a training period prior to competition. Special Olympics Chicago also provides motor activities training programs for persons with sever and profound disabilities. As you can see this is such an important event for not only the athletes, but for the family and friends as well, and knowing that you can help raise money for such an event is amazing.

Project Dance

       A few weeks ago I partook in an event called Project Dance. Project Dance is an fundraiser to raise money and awareness for Lincolnshire's Riverside Foundation and Stevenson's K.I.N. Fund. After doing some research I learned that the Stevenson K.I.N (Kids In Need) Fund was established to help provide financial assistance for our own students in Stevenson who are in need. I also learned that the Riverside Foundation is a residential facility that helps enrich the lives of adults with developmental disabilities and allows them to live a more independent life while also participating in recreational activities to learn new skills. Project Dance was a great experience for me because not only did I get to have a good time and dance with friends, but seeing some of the members that the Riverside Foundation brought was amazing. They were all dancing and having a blast and it really touched me. Project Dance not only is a fun event, but it really does help people. This year Project Dance raised over $60,000 and it feels great to know that I was apart of that. It was an amazing experience to know that those individuals who were dancing their hearts out are going to have a fun and safe place to live their lives while also learning important skills. When thinking about how many students who go to my own school and need help is astonishing to me because we never really take time to think about it all. I have been very privileged in my life, but knowing that I can help not just my own community, but possibly even friends, by helping raise money for the K.I.N. Fund was also important to me. It was truly an amazing experience. 

Can We Live Off That?

          We watched a part of a documentary called 30 Days, following a man named Morgan and his girlfriend Alex who lived for 30 days on the United States minimum wage to see if it was really possible to survive. The minimum wage has not increased in over several years, but the amount of money needed to live sufficiently has as inflation and other factors have increased. This is proven by what Morgan and Alex experienced. They both worked full time jobs, Morgan at times with two, and still could only afford one bus pass between the two of them. They literally had to live check-by-check and if one of them was sick and could not work for the day, they didn't know what to do. During this time Morgan and Alex both had a medical problem and had to go to the emergency room. Seeing how much they had to pay just to enter into the room is ridiculous. It really opens your mind to see that not everyone has health insurance, not everybody has a safe and comfortable home to return to at night to relax. There was one scene that really caught my eye. When Alex and Morgan were looking for furniture for there apartment,  they came across a place where people volunteer their own time to help people in need, giving them free furniture to make others feel as comfortable as possible. Alex cried at realizing how nice human beings can actually be. I want to make a difference somehow as well. Not just do the "required" community service hours to "get it over with", but really do something that affects the lives of others. If all of us can just give one more thing in these world, open our eyes and see that there is a serious problem that is being ignored, maybe we can make a change. It might be small at first, but a first step can go a long way.

The Social Ladder

           We started class off with a sort of gambling activity. Each person was given three pennies and we had to flip a coin and bet which side it would land on. Whoever won, would win all of the others persons pennies and would then move on to face another person. As the game progressed, we began to see the disadvantages and unequal opportunities that were present. As the game rounds continued, not everybody had the same amount of pennies anymore. You had to verse a component with either more or less pennies then you, and we quickly learned what a advantage or disadvantage that could bring. This form of gambling should "technically" be fair, since flipping a coin is a 50/50 chance of winning, but in reality, the more coins you had to start off with as the rounds progressed, even with that 50/50 chance when flipping the coin, the much higher chance you had at winning. This example can directly be related to social classes in life. We all think we have equal opportunities and chances in this country, but in reality, where you come from and how you start out has a larger impact than we think. For example, money can be linked to living in a better area, going to better schools, getting more tutors and help, and this education is directly linked to success. Typically, the higher on the social ladder an individual is, the more education they have received. Personally, I never really thought through how much of an advantage I really do have already in life. Even just thinking about a job over the summer. My dad helped design a cafe in Glenview and goes there often to eat. I was able to instantly get a summer job there and in essence pick the hours I wanted just because I was related to him. Just thinking about all those people who are constantly looking for a job and how easily I was able to get it just because of my background alone. It really makes you stop and think.