:]

Now that the semester is ending I realized how much I learned these past couple of months during class and even outside of class. Now that I took a semester of sociology, it made me think differently about the world and society. It made me think beyond what is in front of my face. Now that I know about races, social class, media, gender, culture and deviance and much more, I began to look at things with a different view which was the goal from the beginning. I didn't know what sociology was all about, I just knew that I had to take an elective. We started out the year with silence and how sociology is all about being different. This was a good way to start the first day because it gave the class an idea about what the class is going to be about. It wasn't going to be like other classes that we've took. The community service idea of taking over the final was also a good idea because instead of taking a final test at the end of the semester, we can actually go out and experience new things and help others and find ourselves. I think that's what really matters in the end instead of getting a grade on a test. Each day in class was a surprise for me. It affected me more than I thought it would. It gave me a chance to take a step back and look around me and understand why things are the way they are. Now that I know more, I choose to take my knowledge and do something that can help others who have no idea why the society is the way it is. Before, I was really selfish and only cared about myself but now that I see how many people who aren't as fortunate need all the help they can get, which I learned through community service. It's not too late to change my ways because now I know that I have the opportunity to help others and I realized that it makes me happy. This is now my goal in life.

Crash

We watched the movie "Crash" this week during class. It's about different people in Los Angeles who are somehow connected. They experience love, hate, hurt, prejudice, racism and even violation.  These people don't know each other but they all affect each other in a way. Just like the society today, they're all interconnected because we all go through it in life. We experience racism and hate just like the characters do. They make mistakes which help them change their lives around because they realize that they way they're living their life isn't right. They push everything away and blame others for how they feel and act when they should really be worrying about how they are themselves first before they start judging others. Some of the characters take things for granted and in the end, they're thankful for what's in front of them. "It's the sense of touch. In any real city, you walk, you know? You brush past people, people bump into you. In L.A., nobody touches you. We're always behind this metal and glass. I think we miss that touch so much, that we crash into each other, just so we can feel something." Before we start pointing fingers, we need to take step back and think about who's fault it really is instead of blaming others. This is how we learn from our mistakes so that next time we don't make it happen again and accept the fact that we messed up. 

Social Classes

A couple weeks ago we watched videos about social class. We saw the lives of a family in poverty and learned that it's not easy. They struggle to survive each day with broken homes, no food, nice clothes, etc. It showed us that it's hard to even get to school or work with no car. By seeing this, we should be thankful that we have a roof over our head and not having to worry about money. For some of us, we take things for granted but by seeing these families, we should appreciate every little thing we have and give to the people who need help.

Races

This week we talked about races and Sal showed us a metaphor used with different kinds of balls. Different colors, sizes, types, etc. We were asked to put these balls in a catagory. People put them in catagories like the colors (orange, brown), sizes (big,medium,small), sports (basketball, football). This relates to the different races in the world. We talked about how, for example, we think dark colored people would be catagorized as black, mexican, or even indian. This is because the society already thinks of people this way. If someone is light skinned then we automatically think of them as white. But sometimes things get tricky. Depending on where someone is from, the skin colors vary. In different parts of Africa, people have different shades of brown. For example, someone from Venezuela can have light skin with light color eyes and someone would think that they're white but they're actually Hispanic.

$$$

In class, we played the game Monopoly. Each 5 people from the group had to roll a dice to see which working class they would be. I ended up being the second highest working class. The point of the game is to see if any of the classes could move up or down. This relates to the real world and how hard it is for different working classes to move up in society. By the end of the game, noone had moved up or down, we all stayed the same in our original class. This shows that its very rare that a lower class would move up to the highest class, which means the people in poverty will usually always stay in poverty and the wealthy will stay getting money.

locked up...

This week we talked about how drug issues can turn into prison issues. The security guards treat these inmates like animals. Instead of getting them some rehab or help, they immediately put them behind bars, especially if they're minorities. These "criminals" are born into the gang/drug life and that's the only life they know how to live. As human beings, they deserve a second chance. If not, they return back to jail after they're released because they don't know how else to live their lives.  It isn't fair because people that have money who made the same mistakes, get bailed out. People are convicted for possession/use of drugs while there's worse crimes like murder, rape, etc. These prisons waste so much money when they could get  more of these people help instead of putting them in jail. That won't solve anything because they won't learn from their mistakes. Most likely, they'll do it again and get locked up once again!
I have a friend who did one year in jail for assault and battery and got out because of good behavior. Once he got out, he returned back to his old ways. He keeps telling me that he's going to change and go back to school, since he dropped out of school in 8th grade. No matter how many times he tries to make a better life for himself, he can't stay out of trouble. Recently, he got arrested again. I give him advice to make a future for himself but he doesn't know how to do that alone. There's millions of teenagers out in the streets who are exactly like him. They need to get help before more kids ruin their lives because of drugs.

do something nice for a change :]

Deviance is something we think is a norm but might not be a norm to others. Here's an example of positive deviance. Julio Diaz, a social worker was on his way home one night until a teenage boy pulled out a knife on him. Instead of letting him walk away, he told the boy if he wanted his jacket. This is something noone would expect. Julio also offered to buy the boy some food. Who would ever think that he would treat a boy, who could've almost stabbed him, in this generous way. "I figure, you know, if you treat people right, you can only hope that they treat you right. It's as simple as it gets in this complicated world." (Julio Diaz)

We should be more like him, and be positively deviant. We can do "acts of kindness" not just as an assignment but more often in our own time.