All Good Things Come To An End

      This blog started off as a on going project for my sociology class. I'm not gonna lie, I quite frequently complained about having to blog every week, but I continued to blog. Little did I know, I would learn so much about life, and about myself.

     This blog was tedious, but eye opening, and often times therapeutic. Just blogging about heart break or big life changing events helped me a lot. Not to mention it really helped my understanding of sociology in everyday life. It's hard for me to not watch a TV show or movie without noticing something sociological! (Thanks Mr. Loehring)

     All in all, though, I am beyond happy I was able to keep this weekly blog! It is nice to go back and truly be able to see what I have learned and see my progression through life. This blog has been apart of my life for 5 months and I'm glad to have posted a blog every week.

     Thank you for reading about my life and being apart of my world. Signing off for the last time...

-ab(BAE)

Hurt Self-Concept

     It's amazing how one person can affect someone's day, year, or life.
    
     Positively or negatively.

     Sometimes that one person can do both. In one month, they can lift your spirits, make you more confident, and boost your self-concept. The next month, they can ignore you, make you feel insecure, and hurt your self-concept.

     We give certain people so much power to dictate our happiness, when the only person we should worry about making us happy is our self!

     Self-concept should not have to rely on another person to make you happy, make you laugh, or make you smile. You should, make yourself happy, make yourself laugh, make yourself smile. Although one person can hurt you, time goes by and things get better.

     Time heals all wounds.

     Although things seem like they are horrible and that things will never brighten up, they will.

Poverty in America

     Poverty is a relative term. It can be different for many people. Not to mention people in poverty go through different struggles and have different life styles. The poverty line is about $24,000 a year for a family of 4. But, this doesn't take into account, location of cost of living. Someone living in Illinois in "poverty" could be much better off than someone in New York.

     Just because someone is in poverty, does not mean that they are living on the street. A person could have a house and a car, but could be considered to be living in poverty. Many people need more help getting out of poverty but the government can only do so much.

     I think there should be a bigger number of shelters for people to go to, in order to get the supplies they need, or have a roof over their head. Not to mention, some sort of health care to keep everyone in top health.

     What do you think should be done about poverty in America?

-ab(BAE)

Physical Apperance

     Physical apperances, according to sociolgist, can be very inportant in life. Apperances can help with self concept, finding a future husband/wife, it can even help with getting a job! People are often told that "looks don't matter" but to some extent they do. If you look friendly, you are more likely to get approached by people rather than if you have a frown or you look annoyed at the world.

     Physical apperances can also effect out children. It can effect the way they look and how they are treated in the future. It can be a big deal to a kid if they are considered "ugly." It can effect them for the rest of their lives.

      So I'm asking, do you think looks really do matter?

-ab(BAE)

Poverty in Pop

     Many songs that are popular in culture touch on many events that are happening in culture at the time. With that being said, poverty is a common subject amoung pop artist and song writers. Many celebraties have been through hardships before they reach stardom. We listened to songs that dealt with poverty. Some of these songs are "Fast Car" by Tracy Chapman, "Royals" by Lorde, and "Man in the Mirror" by Michael Jackson. Many music artist sing and write about their hardships.

     How do you express your hardships? 

     Have you ever been through any hardships that have changed your life?

-ab(BAE)

Positive Deviance

     Julio Diaz was just having a normal day. He was on his way home after a long day at work and, sticking with tradition, he was going to his favorite diner to eat. As he was getting of the subway train Diaz was face to face with a mugger. The mugger demanded Diaz give him his wallet, so Diaz handed over his wallet and offered the mugger his coat. In a strange  turn of events, Diaz ended up having dinner with his mugger and ended up getting his wallet back! Julio Diaz performed an act called "positive deviance." This is where you break social norms but in a positive way. So instead of trying to fight back against the mugger Diaz stayed calm and was able to make a connection and turn a negative situation into a positive one for both him, and the mugger.

     After reading this, I was told to commit an act of positive deviance. Obviously I trying to get mugged so I could take my mugger out for a nice meal, but I was kind of stuck on what to do. Then I thought even the smallest gestures can be considered positive deviance. Something as small as complimenting someone's shoes, or giving someone a hug can work. Random acts of kindness can brighten anyone's day, including the person committing the act. I love to compliment people. Seeing their faces light up at such a simple statement can really make their day and change their moods.

     Random acts of kindness are qualified as deviance because they are unexpected, and not the societal norm. Most people just keep to themselves and do what they need to do. But stopping every once in a while to make someone's day is a bit unexpected but always appreciated. Although society says that if you break these social norms, you are a deviant, in these cases being a "deviant" is a good thing. Even though you are going against the norms you are positively influencing the community and making an impact on someone.

-ab(BAE)  

Is Violence Glorified?

     In class today, my teacher asked us if we, as honors students, believe our society is "Violent." The answers amongst my peers were mixed. Some thought that our society is violent, some thought it wasn't, and some thought about comparing two different nations and comparing the violence rates of both and finding out that way.

     One of my classmates, who though or society is violent, brought up that almost every movies that was nominated at the Oscars were violent movies. In fact, the night's two big winners, The Revenant and Mad Max: Fury Road, are know as action/violent films. On top of winning multiple awards, they grossed big bucks at the box office.

     In fact, if you were to look up, the most popular movies of all time, a good number of them would be action flicks. Television is the same way. There are shows like American Horror Story, Law and Order: SVU, and Criminal Minds, that make violence, crime and murder "Glorified." These shows are some of the most viewed shows on television.

     When people watch these shows, and movies, do they get a false aspect of Crime and Punishment?

     Do these shows and movies show an accurate portrayal of Crime and Punishment?

     Is violence Glorified, in our opinion?

-ab(BAE) 

    

Deviance

DEVIANCE

     What is deviance?

     Deviance is how someone would describe a person that does bad things. But, what is classified as bad? The definition of deviance can change depending on what the societal norms are to you. In class we learned about a tribe of people that walked around naked, chewed on tobacco, and wiped their noses with their hands. (When pointing out that their hands were dirty, the people of the tribe would spit in their hands then wipe the dirt in their hair).

     When hearing about this, my class was appalled! When my teacher asked us if these people were deviants, we immediately answered yes! But then I started to think, "What would they think of someone like me?" I'm a teenage girl with long, curly hair, freckles, and no piercings/tattoos. They would probably think I was a deviant. Then the conversation got more interesting.

     My class took a deviance quiz. We were asked several questions, such as:

          Do you drink/smoke? If so, how much? 

          Do you have piercings/tattoos?

          Have you ever driven over the speed limit or gotten a ticket?

     Some of these things I would not consider deviance, but by the definition of deviance, if you go 5 miles per hour over the speed limit, you are breaking the law, therefore, you are a deviant.

     By this definition, I am a deviant. I have gone over the speed limit, I have cheated on a test, I have lied to my parents- but are these really considered acts of deviance in our society?

     With this in mind, would you consider yourself a deviant? Why or why not?

-ab(BAE)

Gender Identity

Gender Identity

     Many people in society think that "gender" and "sex" are the same thing. In reality, they are far from being the same. "Sex" is based ones anatomy, while "gender" is how one identifies. This basically means, you could be a girl, and have all physical features of a girl, but in your mind you think of yourself as a boy.

     In my sociology class we watched a video of small children answering questions about gender.

           "Are you a boy or girl?"

           "Does the boy doll or girl doll make more money?"

           "Who likes to clean the house: the girl doll or boy doll?"

    So on and so forth. While watching I could tell that the clip was dated. During the whole clip, I kept thinking to myself, "if they asked the same questions to kids today, the answers would be completely different."

     I see many news stories of young twins, and one twin identifies with the opposite gender. This is becoming more of a societal norm. There is even a TV show about a transgender 14 year old, who was born a boy, but ever since he was little he wore dresses and wanted to be a girl. Instead of fighting with the child, his parents allowed the child to get a sex change, to feel more comfortable. Now she is happier than ever.

     I believe that our society is made up of more forward thinking citizens, and I think, soon, it will not matter if you are male, female, or transgendered. The gender stereotypes are fading into the background and will soon be gone forever.

    

     What do you all think of gender stereotypes? Will they last or disappear completely?

-ab(BAE)

Self-Concept

Self-Concept

     Self-Concept is the way a person views themselves. Some people's self-concept is much higher than others. Any little thing can boost your concept or tear it down. For instance, everyday when I walk into my Trig/Pre-Calc class, my confidence in immediately lowered by 60%. That class has a way of making me feel 50 shades of stupid- 48 shades I didn't even know existed.

     On the other hand, today at my lunch table, my friend decided to run his fingers through my hair and then tell me how amazing and luscious my hair is. The confidence in myself I lost during Trig was regained because so one random compliment. Along with multiple friends saying that I could get through the horror of trig and assuring me everything was going to be ok, by the end of the school day I was almost back to my 100% self-concept.

     Simple acts can help boost anyone's confidence and can turn someone's whole day around. I challenge anyone who reads this blog post to do/say something nice to help build up someone else's self-concept. Who knows, it may boost your own too!

-ab(BAE)

Cultural Lag

     The other day, in class, my sociology teacher brought up cultural lag. Even though we live in a very advanced society full on new technology, we still experience cultural lag. The reason why schools take a summer break is because, when Earth was made up of mostly farmers and people had to farm in order to survive, children would take the summer months off of school to help harvest the fields.

      To hear him say this it made me think that children have not helped harvest fields for hundreds of years. So it raises the question, should all schools switch to year round school?

     As someone who has never had year-round school, it is hard for me to think about if I would enjoy it or not. I think I wouldn't because even though you get breaks through out the school year, it is nice to know that I will have a whole 3 months away from school and not 1-2 weeks.

     I know that after my classmates and myself come back from a 2 week long holiday break, we are virtually zombies, walking around school for the first week back. I think if we had year round school and had random breaks every 6 weeks, students would constantly be in that groggy phase after a 2 week break.

    With a whole 3 month break, students get the rest they need and by the end of the break, students look forward to coming back to school.

     What do you all think? Which would you prefer?

-ab(BAE)

Culture in My World

     Now that you have gotten to know a little bit about me, its only fair that you learn about what makes me who I am. There are so many important pop culture aspects in my life that make me          ab(BAE)!

     For starters, if you aint talking Beyoncé- I don't wanna talk! Beyoncé is forever my queen and will stay that way till the day I die. she is fine, fresh, and fierce in every way. My goal in life is to be like her. After all, Yonce said it best herself; "I woke up like this, I woke up like this... flawless."

      Another culture in my life that basically rules over everything I do is, the best show of all time, One Tree Hill. One Tree Hill has taught me more about love, life and happiness than any teacher  has taught me a subject. (Mainly math, because I'm 50 shades of confused in Trig)

     I know I just said I want to be like Beyoncé, which is true, but I feel as though only Queen B herself can be on that level. So instead, a more achievable life goal is to be like Brooke Davis from OTH. She is sassy in the best way, yet caring and puts all of her friends first. Brooke is always there for people, and everyone loves her. I want to be as loved as Brooke Davis.

     Along with various movies, songs, and other tv shows, Beyoncé and One Tree Hill have the biggest impacts on me as a human being. My life would be completely different without these 2 cultures in my life.

-ab(BAE)

 One Tree Hill Themes

Beyonce is love, Beyonce is life 

Functionalism in the World

FUNCTIONALISM

      Everyone goes to school, at some point in their lives, and even though we might not like to admit it, we all fall under certain categories. It seems cliché, but its accurate. There are several groups that make up a high school that make it function like a well-oiled machine. Of course you have the athletes, "nerds," band geeks, social butterflies, partiers, and so many more. We might not like to admit it, but every school has these stereotypical clicks. Although we might not like to admit it, everyone can relate to, or falls under one of these groups. At my school, however, you can belong to several of these groups; throwing a wrench in the stereotypical system. I know many people who are athletes and band geeks, social butterflies and nerds, etc.

     Being apart of these groups isn't a bad thing. By being a part of this system you contribute to the successful functionality of the school. You help make your school what it is. It may seem like you are just a tiny fish in the giant ocean that is high school, but without you, it would not function the same way.

     As for my self, I fall into several of these social groups. I'm an athlete, being as I played volleyball and ran cross country. I met some of my good friends through sports and I enjoyed (almost) every second of it. I guess I would be considered a "nerd" since I'm in mostly honors and AP classes. It's in these classes that I've met most of my friends. I'm not a band geek, theater kid, or in show choir, but I do have several friends in these groups. I like to put myself out into the world and make friends. The more people in my life the better. I also like to help people, so I'm in various community service clubs at my school.

     I may fall into several social groups, but that's just my way of contributing to the social function of high school and everyday life. We all contribute to the function of everyday life and help it run smoothly.

                      -ab(BAE)