RAce

Last week 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. I think race is a really bad way in catagorizing people because a lot of the times people are wrong.

social class

Although I was not in class the previous week, from reading the blogs I saw that the main topic was social class. Social class to me can symbolize many different things and is not just focused on one specific thing. For example social class is not classified by how much many you make or earn or hold, its much more complex. Wealth, power, education, all play a role in the class you fall. The choices you make, the lifestyle you live by is what could also classify your social status. Many times people don't look at the small things but its the small things that make the big picture. The kinds of clothes we wear, whether brand name or not can make a deference in your social class. to me social class shouldn't be a way you classify or judge people , but in the American society and most parts of the world it sadly is.

Prison

For class this week, I read Courtroom 302, and it made me realize how unjust the court system is.  The security guards/officers treat the inmates like animals. Instead of getting them some rehab or help, they immediately lock them up, 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 and have the best lawyers out there. People are convicted for possession/use of drugs while there's worse crimes like murder, rape, etc. I believe people convicted for drugs should be put into rehab not jail. 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, its not helping them. Most likely, they'll do it again and get locked up once again!

Deviance

During the week we have been talking about deviance. When you don't give much knowledge or thought to the word you think of it in a negative aspect. But deviance doesn't have to be negative. Deviance is simply differing from a norm or from the accepted standards of a society. This could be a good thing at times and that is why we did the experiment where we had to try to violate a norm in a positive way. For example, for my experiment I washed the dinner dishes. I never wash everyone dashes, I hate it. Normally I wash just my own dashes if the sink is empty. I knew I had to do something different then I normally don't do so after I was done eating, I started washing the dishes. My mom looked surprised but she didn't say anything. I think it was because she was afraid if she did I would stop washing the dishes. Afterwords she did say thank you but that was all. It was kind of funny how normal is acted. I felt kind of good afterwords.

Aikido

This week in class Sal showed us what aikido was.  He demonstrate with students in class and it was pretty funny. Aikido is the opposite of fighting with violence its a martial art which uses harmony. It has something to do with energy. Instead of hurting the other person, you fight back with being nice and peaceful. Us, as a society, are taught to handle problems by fighting and hurting the other person. We get angry and it gets us no where. However, this type of martial art teaches people to do the exact opposite. They train to make peace and handle problems without hurting one another. If everyone did this, then no one will get hurt. Aikido can solve the problem by talking it out and telling the other person that you dont want to hurt them. Internally, I think it's better that way even though it takes a lot of training because we aren't use to it and we let our anger take over.

Media & Advertising

I have never realized how bad of an effect media/advertising can have on girls and boys and how easily it shapes our society. It had never even come to my attention before till i seen those videos on media and advertising. Its like people don't even realize the negative effects of advertising. And advertising is everywhere: magazines, movies, TV shows, buses, schools, and Internets. The media shows and tells boys that you have to be independent, strong/tough, and aggressive to be a real man. Its sad to see that males have to grow up feeling that way. Its sad that they have to hold in a lot as if they have no feelings or emotions because that is what their taught. Its just making man more violent and aggressive. And then the impact it has on girls is horrible. It effects their self-esteem and body image. Girls are taught that the perfect body shape is to be skinny since advertisements emphasize thinness. But what they need to realize is that is all fake and photoshopped. It influences girls from such a young ages, its sad. This reminds me of a TV show that I saw once. It's on TLC, its call "Toddlers & Tiaras". It basically a beauty pageant of little girls. Those girls are wearing makeup, fake eyelashes, spray tans, costumes such as dresses, have there hair and nails done. I think it's crazy and wrong. I think children deserve to be children. The show actually made me mad especially at the pageant moms. The one show that I shown, this one pageant, this little innocent child she had to be only 5 years old, said that she was too scared to tell her mother that she didn't want to be a pageant queen. I believe this show is ridiculous. The media is having a terrible effect girls and boys. :(     

TV experiment

The week before spring break, we were assigned a TV experiment. There were different steps in doing this experiment. I thought this homework assignment was silly and didn't have anything to do with learning. One of the steps was to watch TV for 10 mins without any sound. It was very boring and a bit awkward. It made me realize how important the use of technical events are. Another step of this experiment, was to watch someone else watch TV for 15 mins. I observed my dad watching TV. It was actually pretty funny. He was drinking beer and had a bowl of nuts and chips that he was eating. He was laying on the couch and as he was munching wouldn't even look down at what he grab to eat. He would start laughing really loud. At the same time he would throw chips for the dog to catch, then call the dog over again to give him another piece. I wasn't even sure if he was just laying down to watch TV or to just keep himself busy, i don't even think he knew what he was watching. The last step of the assignment was to just watch the TV without it on. This was very boring and hard to do for 30 mins. But it made me realize how dumb TV really is; whether its on or off. As my dad did, people watch TV to keep themselves busy or because they're bored.

To do nothing.

We were assigned an assignment in Soc class. The assignment was to do Nothing. It seemed like the easiest homework; all you had to do was stand somewhere for ten minutes and do nothing. It seemed so simply but felt impossible. I chose to do Nothing during my lunch period at school. It was so awkward, I felt weird and as if everyone was looking at me. it was really difficult because there was soo much going on, and soo loud. I kept telling myself think nothing, do nothing. I catch myself people watching a lot and thinking. It was really hard to get in the zone but once you did get in the zone you felt as if you weren't there, it reminded me of the bell that Sal hits every morning before class starts. This experience made me realize how people are contently thinking, worrying, or just doing something. We never stop and think to ourselves to do nothing. In fact we think doing nothing is weird, awkward, time wasting, and impossible.

Independence..??

Americans have different values than other cultures do. We read an article called "The Values Americans Live By", and it classified 13 general values that Americans live by. By reading this article I have realized how different American values are from other cultures. We also just started watching Tuesdays with Morrie, and I saw how Mitch fit into several of the American values listed in the article. Some of his values were time and its control, work orientation, and success. Mitch is a workaholic and puts work before anything else. He is contently worrying about work. There are some values I can also apply to myself. For example independence.  I have always felt like I have to grow up to be independent; that dependency on someone is a bad things. I hear it mostly from my dad that he wants me to grow up to being an independence women and just to "do me". I hear it from my mom also she'll say "to never dependence on a man".  The only people my parents think we can depend on is our families. I never got it because don't I grow up to having a family of own one day, doesn't that mean I have to depend on someone? I never really got it but maybe i well once i get a little older.  

Subcultures Everywhere...

A subculture can be defined as a group with in a society that has its own shared set of values, customs, mores, attitudes, etc. A subculture can be organized by race, ethnic background, religion, age, occupation, and hobbies. SHS can be classified as a subculture because of the different mores, folkways, language, symbols, and values. Some of the values at SHS is getting good grades (doing AP classes), and going to college and knowing what you what to be in the future; where as someone who goes to a Chicago public school might just be concerned about graduating high school then worrying about knowing what they want to do and the college they would like to attend. A subculture that I am a part of is being Turkish. Both my parents are Turkish. Although I have different values than my parents and view the world wayyyy differently, I would still consider myself being apart of that subculture. A more, as a young women in my culture is to be basically be a servant. For example women are expected to pass out the food, make tea and pass it out, if were asked to do something we have to obey, cook, clean, do laundry. I don't like this at all. I have respect and if I am asked to do something I will but that's only if I'm asked. I find it wrong that women have to do everything around the house. Sometimes my dad says, "what kind of lady are you". And mentions how the way I am is because of America. I disagree with a lot of my cultures mores and values but I also agree on some. Subcultures are everywhere and everyone is part of many subcultures. 

Body language

For the past couple of days in Soc we have been talking about different cultures. We talked about how people react when we come in contact with other cultures, about non-material culture, and hand gestures around different cultures. For example the Japanese style toilet. When we were discussing this in class i was very familar with this toilet because in Turkey they also have toilets very similar to the Japanese toilet. Also hand gestures. Coming from a Turkish family, while my dad speaks he uses his hands a lot while talking because Turks like to commnicate with their hands and arms. Turkish body language to Americas would seem a bit weird and strange.  For example people greet each other by kissing each others cheeks on both sides; even man will greet other man by kissing each others cheeks. Or hand kissing is also a very important and traditional gesture in Turkish culture. It is a way of greeting a person significantly older or than you. This is a mark of respect for the elderly. Its also very common to see man holding hands or arm(very touchy-feely) but they're not homosexual.  The "OK" hand gesture in Turkey doesn't mean "ok" but means you are homosexual. The middle finger in Turkish is also very different. You place your thumb between your index finger and middle finger, then close your fist. I believe it's very important to learn and that we should to aware of our different surroundings.  

Generalize...

Generalizations and categorizing is everywhere and every one does it. It is very natural and normal to generalize. It is something we can not escape from. From reading this short article, "Should We Generalize" by Joel Charon, it has made view generalization and categorizing in a positive outlook. I also thought that categorizing people was the same thing as stereotyping but it isn't. If we do not generalize and categorize accurately that is what leads us to stereotype. We categorize people by the skin color, race, or  religion they belong in. Categorizing helps us learn about the different groups around us. But stereotyping isn't that. Stereotyping is when we put a group in a negative way. For example if someone is black, we assume that all black people like grape juice or koolaid. When we categorize we really need to be careful about the assumptions and stereotypes of the certain groups.

In group-Out Group....

Today in class we were divided in groups by the color that we happened to be wearing. There were two groups, the people wearing black and those wearing colors. The color that you wear determined the group that you were in, which was your "in-group". For example, I was wearing black, which made me "in" the black group. We then had to list reasons to why the other group wasn't wearing black.  Although this was just a lesson, right away the reasons become very judgement. Through this I have noticed how easier influenced you can by your friends, your family, and just by the different groups you are in. The diversity of groups are seen everyday and everywhere even throughout history. By not accepting other races, genders, religions, etc., we have created a society of in-groups and out-groups. It is important for all of us to be aware of our conscious and try to understand others even if their views, morals, religion, sex, race, etc,  are different. 

A record breaking Snowstorm..

Waking up on Feb.2 on my snow day, at 5:15a.m. to help my mom shovel the snow was irritating and annoying. Once I saw the snow I was actually very surprised on how much snow there was. the snow want up to my thighs. Unfortunately we do not own a snow blower so we had to use shovels. On top of that my dad wasn't home to help, he slept over night at his job to be on the safe side since he works in the city. So that was even more of a reason I HAD to help my mom. After an hour of trying to shovel, only successing 1/3 of the drive way, my neighbor finally came out to help us, his drive-way wasn't as bad since he got half his driveway powed. Its crazy how the snow storm was able to unite neighbors. We were all done shoveling my drive-way, my neighbors driveway, and the person who lives three doors down from me at like 11. After that my neighbor want and picked up one of my family friends to came over  with her little sister because their neighborhoods power was out. They spent the night and the whole day at my house. The snow storm brought all of us together. My dad told me that Lake Shore Drive was closed and that there were more than 700 cars abandoned. He told me that everyone was outside on Lake Shore Drive with their dogs, children, friends playing in the snow. I thought that was crazy.     

An open mind...

I am actually very excited about the ten hours of community service we need to complete for Soc. I actually find it funny that we only have ten hours to complete. It's such a small amount but just enough to inspire and change someone, that's for sure! I speak from experiences because last semester for Political Thought I was assigned to do ten hours of community service. I chose to do it at Sunrise Assistant Living. It was a super crazy and emotional experience. At first it was very uncomfortable, I almost felt scared and nervous. But as I want more, I got much more comfortable with the environment and people that I was working with. It was a rewarding experience. It opened up my eyes to a whole in world, the elderly world. It has pushed me to step outside of my comfort zone and take initiative. I am difficultly excited about doing community service. I'm interested in doing multiple things and maybe even doing it something different this time. I want to go beyond what I learned the first time, open up my mind more and step even further out of my comfort zone. Through community service, I learned what it means to be a part of something bigger than just myself. I just feel like community service is the least un-slefish thing you can ever do and coming from a world where people constantly worry about just themselves, i believe it a very important experience.

our surroundings..

While reading Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell, one image that came to my mind was of Turkey. Reading the Outliers really took me back to when I was just a little girl growing up in Izmir, Turkey. I moved there when I was just 6 months old and stayed till I was six years old. Although the memory is blurred I remember more than I could ever image. I have also visited a few times over the summer once i got older. The houses look almost identical. Although it has changed in construction (to fix up the towns), the culture and the social structure hasn't changed a bit... 

We had a summer home and on top of that we had an apartment, in the city of Izmir, as our original home. In the same apartment complex, actually right across from where I lived, lived my grandparents. It was almost as if we lived all together. They weren't miles or days away, they were just a few footsteps away. Everyone in town was so friendly. Everyone greeted everyone. If someone saw you sitting on your front porch they would say hey and have short conversations and you just automatically, without even thinking about it, invite them over to join you. If you were going to the store you would inform your neighbors and ask them if they need anything. In the evenings you have people over for tea. You would talk to you neighbors from porch to porch. This was just the way the social structure was, it was a part of our culture, everyone influenced each other.  It really was magical. As a little girl I have never felt alone until we moved back to America. I always just assumed that everywhere would be the same way because I have never seen nor learned it differently. I learned that I was wrong and that things change due to our surroundings...  

Who Am I???...

Hi I'm Suzy. So I'm not sure where to start or what to say, but here I goes. I am a very nice person and usually don't have problems with anyone unless they have a problem with me. I'm easy to talk to and a very good listener. I try to mind my own business and keep to myself a lot of the times. I do have a outgoing and crazy side that comes out (its my secret identity). I could get hyped randomly and get a little crazy/silly. I have fun and don't like to get involved in drama. I view the world in a positive perspective, even during the hard times (or at least I like to try to). I live in the moment. I had a pretty crazy childhood, moving a lot from places to places. I saw a lot of things growing up, which i think made me the strong person that i am today. I have had bad experiences and made my mistakes but have grown from them strongly. I like to consider myself a big mystery.