This is it...the last and final blog!
It's been an interesting semester of Sociology. Sometimes the class has been a little crazy and counterproductive, but when we all seem to settle down and get into good discussion it has been really enjoyable.
Surprisingly I find myself using a lot of the topics we've discussed in casual conversation. I was fascinated by the idea that the jail system has become a corporation, and I spent half a car ride to Missouri criticizing the socio/economic ladder of America.
In the end I have a more critical toward our society.
I no longer see 1000 cereals in aisle six as "freedom."
I've appreciated all you've had to say Sal and want to thank you for an interesting academic experience!
Sunday, June 1, 2008
Race
A lot of us say that we're not racist, but the truth is we all have racial preferences regardless of how concious we are of them.
I'd like to think that my prejudices are mild, but the ones that I do hold are rooted deep in my social upbringing.
While I did grow up in a diverse neighborhood I have still spent the majority of my life in the suburbs where diversity is sparse.
I took the Harvard test and was disappointed to have a preference toward one race over another but the truth is I wasn't surprised.
By the way, Megan's results swung her prejudices in the opposite direction which is interesting. I'd like to find out what makes her preferences opposite.
I'd like to think that my prejudices are mild, but the ones that I do hold are rooted deep in my social upbringing.
While I did grow up in a diverse neighborhood I have still spent the majority of my life in the suburbs where diversity is sparse.
I took the Harvard test and was disappointed to have a preference toward one race over another but the truth is I wasn't surprised.
By the way, Megan's results swung her prejudices in the opposite direction which is interesting. I'd like to find out what makes her preferences opposite.
Sunday, May 18, 2008
This American Life
I didn't really find myself enjoying NPR until I got into high school.
I wanted B96 on family car rides, but I got "This American Life" with Ira Glass instead.
For those of you unfamiliar with "This American Life," it's a radio program that examines different social themes. Recently they've taken "This American Life" to cable and now it appears on Showtime every Sunday night.
Today's episode got me thinking; one of the segments dealt with the idea of time in high school- "will we really remember the things that bother us most today?"
Will I remember making the vital choice to take AP Math over regular?
Will I really think back on my years at Stevenson and remember how much I didn't want to serve my two detentions?
The fact that over three years I skipped one class?
The social system at stevenson values these kinds of trivial thoughts as major stepping stones. I feel that according to my counselors one of the most important decisions I can make is to choose to GPA waiver an elective or opt for a level change.
But the truth is I won't remember most of high school. I hope to remember my favorite English teacher. I can never forget my grandmother's funeral, the accident with my mouth, my first real boyfriend...
So little of what I do matters to my memory.
So many things that society stresses are really meaningless in the long run.
I'd like to think that when I settle down, my high school GPA won't mean a thing.
Its true nature will be forever unknown.
If my kids ask me I can lie comfortably knowing that I had better things to remember than that.
This is a clip from an episode of "This American Life," it poses a few different sociological questions- see for yourself.
I wanted B96 on family car rides, but I got "This American Life" with Ira Glass instead.
For those of you unfamiliar with "This American Life," it's a radio program that examines different social themes. Recently they've taken "This American Life" to cable and now it appears on Showtime every Sunday night.
Today's episode got me thinking; one of the segments dealt with the idea of time in high school- "will we really remember the things that bother us most today?"
Will I remember making the vital choice to take AP Math over regular?
Will I really think back on my years at Stevenson and remember how much I didn't want to serve my two detentions?
The fact that over three years I skipped one class?
The social system at stevenson values these kinds of trivial thoughts as major stepping stones. I feel that according to my counselors one of the most important decisions I can make is to choose to GPA waiver an elective or opt for a level change.
But the truth is I won't remember most of high school. I hope to remember my favorite English teacher. I can never forget my grandmother's funeral, the accident with my mouth, my first real boyfriend...
So little of what I do matters to my memory.
So many things that society stresses are really meaningless in the long run.
I'd like to think that when I settle down, my high school GPA won't mean a thing.
Its true nature will be forever unknown.
If my kids ask me I can lie comfortably knowing that I had better things to remember than that.
This is a clip from an episode of "This American Life," it poses a few different sociological questions- see for yourself.
Sunday, May 11, 2008
The Future of my Future
While the graduation lunch following my sister's "commencement" ceremony from UIC was delicious, it was also unnecessarily stressful.
After the congratulatory toast all talk turned to the future and money. How was she going to make a living? Was she going to move out to San Diego and work in a big Pharm Company? Was she going to go for her Masters in Medicine?
And then the conversation shifted gently over into my future.
My aunt and uncle are firm believers in realism. In fact they absolutely have no faith in my romantic ideas of majoring in writing and journalism.
My parents are firm enough supporters of what I want to do with my life but my aunt and uncle never miss a beat to tell me that I will make bad money. They're probably right. There's not a huge chance that I will ever make a lot of money in journalism and freelance writing unless I stand out enough. I'm hoping that I will- but this is a big dream. I could quite possibly never make more than fifty grand.
Yet, this isn't a disgusting salary. Matched with a salary of a partner of about equal earning I will still have more money than most of America.
But with a salary so much smaller than the one I live under now will I really live in my idea of "comfort?"
My aunt and uncle say no.
I'm not really sure what the answer is.
We've been socially programmed to reach for money before reaching for something that might make us happier.
Of course I can major in business and take over my father's company- i'll make a nice chunk of cash, but that thought doesn't inspire me.
I'm inspired by the idea of writing regardless of the outlet.
I don't think i'm the only one that faces this problem.
Art School Versus Law?
It's clear your chances of stability are better with law but will this stability really bring you happiness?
I'd like to think I would rather enjoy going to work than waiting desperately to go home everday...regardless the salary.
What do you think?
After the congratulatory toast all talk turned to the future and money. How was she going to make a living? Was she going to move out to San Diego and work in a big Pharm Company? Was she going to go for her Masters in Medicine?
And then the conversation shifted gently over into my future.
My aunt and uncle are firm believers in realism. In fact they absolutely have no faith in my romantic ideas of majoring in writing and journalism.
My parents are firm enough supporters of what I want to do with my life but my aunt and uncle never miss a beat to tell me that I will make bad money. They're probably right. There's not a huge chance that I will ever make a lot of money in journalism and freelance writing unless I stand out enough. I'm hoping that I will- but this is a big dream. I could quite possibly never make more than fifty grand.
Yet, this isn't a disgusting salary. Matched with a salary of a partner of about equal earning I will still have more money than most of America.
But with a salary so much smaller than the one I live under now will I really live in my idea of "comfort?"
My aunt and uncle say no.
I'm not really sure what the answer is.
We've been socially programmed to reach for money before reaching for something that might make us happier.
Of course I can major in business and take over my father's company- i'll make a nice chunk of cash, but that thought doesn't inspire me.
I'm inspired by the idea of writing regardless of the outlet.
I don't think i'm the only one that faces this problem.
Art School Versus Law?
It's clear your chances of stability are better with law but will this stability really bring you happiness?
I'd like to think I would rather enjoy going to work than waiting desperately to go home everday...regardless the salary.
What do you think?
Moving Up
My parents came to America with four hundred dollars and a two year old baby in an effort to live the "American Dream."
My mother washed dishes and my dad did clerical work, both earning barely enough to sustain a family of what would soon become four.
They've come a long way in the past eighteen years in a prime example of immigrants achieving that "American Dream."
Or have they achieved it?
Has anyone that's moved up in the economical ranks?
I moved to Vernon Hills in the middle of seventh grade from the very comfortable suburb of Buffalo Grove. I knew it wasn't going to be an easy move because I had to switch from one junior high to another, but I would never have guessed the magnitude of difference between the two areas.
I used to think a house that cost six hundred thousand dollars was expensive, but according to my new surroundings I was mistaken. A great deal of my classmates lived in gated communities, homes that ranged upwards of a million dollars. I was proud of my new townhouse until I met two kids who had indoor pools.
I moved five miles away but this was a whole different world, one I still can't totally understand.
My family has grown more economcially sound over the past few years; we've upgraded cars, we've gone skiing in France, we've remodeled the kitchen- but even with our very comfortable ecomomic status we aren't in the same class system as some families that live down the road.
The biggest sign of status that we lack is Country Club membership.
I had little idea about the politics of the Country Club until I got to talking with a few friends who know all about it; some of them because they have elite membership, others because they have faced Royal rejection.
I've been browsing the internet for a while now trying to find the exact prices for membership to certain Country Clubs, but the real yearly cost of membership to a place like Twin Orchards (members include Michael Jordan) or Royal Melbourne is unbeknownst to me; my friends claim that just a golfer's membership to Royal Melbourne is seventy five grand, and i'm figuring the more prestigious Twin Orchards costs at least eighty thousand.
In order to be a part of one of these fanciful institutions you must be invited. Some will tell you it's a good idea to make friends with your neighbors because they just might be sitting on the board of one of these special places. That's how some people dig their way in- they make "friends" with the whole damn neighborhood in a pitiful effort to find someone who happens to wield power over at some Country Club.
After the invitation there is of course the interview process where someone from the Country Club will come to your home to judge you and your family. I can only imagine this to be very nerve wracking. You're opening yourself up so that someone can either peg you adequate or inadequate, and god forbid you are pegged inadequate you will just be some rich outcast.
After careful scrutiny you will either be denied or given the right to pay upwards of one hundred thousand dollars a year to mention to your friends and coworkers that you are a member of a Country Club, and that one day you will play eight holes with Michael Jordan. I'm sure this feelinhg is magical.
The Country Club is what we really consider the "American Dream" in these here parts. This status isn't cheap but just because you can afford it doesn't mean you get to have it anyway. I guess you have to be a certain kind of rich (cough white cough WASP or JEW cough WHITE cough no immigrants cough cough cough.)
I've never heard of first generation Ukrainian immigrants playing golf, or being invited to play golf privately on the expensive Twin Orchards green.
My family lives a good life, better than most, maybe even better than that of some Country Club members but we are not officially upper class.
We won't ever be officially upper class, and unless I marry someone of higher status or make so much money that a Country Club is almost obliged to let me in I don't see myself being invited inside in the near future.
However my boyfriend did promise he would take me Twin Orchards for dinner over the Summer so that should make for an interesting blog...
We have a class system in this country and its lines are not so hazy like some may think. Most of us consider ourselves middle class even if we make more than the middle income or less because regardless of our paychecks we do in fact hold this middle status. We aren't Country Club elite or poor enough to be dubbed into the lower class redneck or ghetto fabulous culture so most of us are stuck in this middle ground; we're a huge group of Americans trying to achieve this "American Dream," but in our eyes achievment seems to identify itself with Country Clubs and the Hamptons- and we might not ever get there. This middle class seems worse off than the rest because it lacks the establishment of any kind of culture. We are just stuck inside a giant limbo.
My mother washed dishes and my dad did clerical work, both earning barely enough to sustain a family of what would soon become four.
They've come a long way in the past eighteen years in a prime example of immigrants achieving that "American Dream."
Or have they achieved it?
Has anyone that's moved up in the economical ranks?
I moved to Vernon Hills in the middle of seventh grade from the very comfortable suburb of Buffalo Grove. I knew it wasn't going to be an easy move because I had to switch from one junior high to another, but I would never have guessed the magnitude of difference between the two areas.
I used to think a house that cost six hundred thousand dollars was expensive, but according to my new surroundings I was mistaken. A great deal of my classmates lived in gated communities, homes that ranged upwards of a million dollars. I was proud of my new townhouse until I met two kids who had indoor pools.
I moved five miles away but this was a whole different world, one I still can't totally understand.
My family has grown more economcially sound over the past few years; we've upgraded cars, we've gone skiing in France, we've remodeled the kitchen- but even with our very comfortable ecomomic status we aren't in the same class system as some families that live down the road.
The biggest sign of status that we lack is Country Club membership.
I had little idea about the politics of the Country Club until I got to talking with a few friends who know all about it; some of them because they have elite membership, others because they have faced Royal rejection.
I've been browsing the internet for a while now trying to find the exact prices for membership to certain Country Clubs, but the real yearly cost of membership to a place like Twin Orchards (members include Michael Jordan) or Royal Melbourne is unbeknownst to me; my friends claim that just a golfer's membership to Royal Melbourne is seventy five grand, and i'm figuring the more prestigious Twin Orchards costs at least eighty thousand.
In order to be a part of one of these fanciful institutions you must be invited. Some will tell you it's a good idea to make friends with your neighbors because they just might be sitting on the board of one of these special places. That's how some people dig their way in- they make "friends" with the whole damn neighborhood in a pitiful effort to find someone who happens to wield power over at some Country Club.
After the invitation there is of course the interview process where someone from the Country Club will come to your home to judge you and your family. I can only imagine this to be very nerve wracking. You're opening yourself up so that someone can either peg you adequate or inadequate, and god forbid you are pegged inadequate you will just be some rich outcast.
After careful scrutiny you will either be denied or given the right to pay upwards of one hundred thousand dollars a year to mention to your friends and coworkers that you are a member of a Country Club, and that one day you will play eight holes with Michael Jordan. I'm sure this feelinhg is magical.
The Country Club is what we really consider the "American Dream" in these here parts. This status isn't cheap but just because you can afford it doesn't mean you get to have it anyway. I guess you have to be a certain kind of rich (cough white cough WASP or JEW cough WHITE cough no immigrants cough cough cough.)
I've never heard of first generation Ukrainian immigrants playing golf, or being invited to play golf privately on the expensive Twin Orchards green.
My family lives a good life, better than most, maybe even better than that of some Country Club members but we are not officially upper class.
We won't ever be officially upper class, and unless I marry someone of higher status or make so much money that a Country Club is almost obliged to let me in I don't see myself being invited inside in the near future.
However my boyfriend did promise he would take me Twin Orchards for dinner over the Summer so that should make for an interesting blog...
We have a class system in this country and its lines are not so hazy like some may think. Most of us consider ourselves middle class even if we make more than the middle income or less because regardless of our paychecks we do in fact hold this middle status. We aren't Country Club elite or poor enough to be dubbed into the lower class redneck or ghetto fabulous culture so most of us are stuck in this middle ground; we're a huge group of Americans trying to achieve this "American Dream," but in our eyes achievment seems to identify itself with Country Clubs and the Hamptons- and we might not ever get there. This middle class seems worse off than the rest because it lacks the establishment of any kind of culture. We are just stuck inside a giant limbo.
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Drug Culture
During the class activity on drugs some groups categorized heroin as a prescription drug- of course no one actually knew it was heroin they just had a pharmacological report to look at. Yes, the heroin roots do stem back to older modern medicine when opium was all the rage but in today's society heroin is undoubtedly super taboo.
But, while some "hardcore" drugs carry a taboo around them there are of course "cool" drugs- the coolest of course being marijuana.
Since migrant workers carried their weed over the border nearly a century back the attitude toward pot has changed dramatically. We went from media bashing to media love. Movies love weed: Bongwater, Accross the Universe, Harold and Kumar, Cheech and Chong, The Big Lebowski, Grandma's Boy, Half Baked, and dozens more portray pot as a-ok. Overall cinema has fallen in love with drugs. There is in fact a whole genre of movies called "drug films" which usually portray washed up drug addicts that even in all of their misery seem---hip.
In today's society its become hip to smoke marijuana so it's no surprise we're all toking up. Everybody is head over heels with weed.
The government has started to go a little more easy on marijuana in some states, medicinal weed seems to be the best cure for ailments cancer patients face after chemo, marijuana has its own magazines and websites, Ron Paul made high school teenagers happy with his ideas to legalize....
But if we legalize weed will it still remain so hip?
Our other popular legalized drugs have currently faced a little less lovin'. You can't smoke your cigarettes anywhere, if you smoke you're gonna die, and in general Americans are trying hard to make smoking a taboo. Cigarettes just don't carry the classy sophistication they used to in old cinema. We've made cigarette smoking into something that's more trashy and a lot less hip.
And then came alcohol...we're programmed to understand that drinking will lead to alcoholism, if you drink and drive you will be executed, and only lame jocks drink 'til they drop. The media likes to portray alcoholics as wifebeaters, wash ups, and definitely not hipsters. I mean the guys in beerfest weren't hip by any means.
So if we legalize weed how cool will it be?
I think some of the romaticism will leave. Where's the ten o clock phone call to your dealer? The shady pick up? The pot smoking giggle you share with your friends at midnight in your elementary school parking lot?
Well that will all be gone as soon as you can get your half sack at BP.
We're head over heels with marijuana. From the big screen to some kids basement- pot has been glorified.
You can't overdose unless you're accidentally smoking crack, it's totally curing alzheimers....it really is just all the rage.
And it's definitely a force to be reckoned with.
But, while some "hardcore" drugs carry a taboo around them there are of course "cool" drugs- the coolest of course being marijuana.
Since migrant workers carried their weed over the border nearly a century back the attitude toward pot has changed dramatically. We went from media bashing to media love. Movies love weed: Bongwater, Accross the Universe, Harold and Kumar, Cheech and Chong, The Big Lebowski, Grandma's Boy, Half Baked, and dozens more portray pot as a-ok. Overall cinema has fallen in love with drugs. There is in fact a whole genre of movies called "drug films" which usually portray washed up drug addicts that even in all of their misery seem---hip.
In today's society its become hip to smoke marijuana so it's no surprise we're all toking up. Everybody is head over heels with weed.
The government has started to go a little more easy on marijuana in some states, medicinal weed seems to be the best cure for ailments cancer patients face after chemo, marijuana has its own magazines and websites, Ron Paul made high school teenagers happy with his ideas to legalize....
But if we legalize weed will it still remain so hip?
Our other popular legalized drugs have currently faced a little less lovin'. You can't smoke your cigarettes anywhere, if you smoke you're gonna die, and in general Americans are trying hard to make smoking a taboo. Cigarettes just don't carry the classy sophistication they used to in old cinema. We've made cigarette smoking into something that's more trashy and a lot less hip.
And then came alcohol...we're programmed to understand that drinking will lead to alcoholism, if you drink and drive you will be executed, and only lame jocks drink 'til they drop. The media likes to portray alcoholics as wifebeaters, wash ups, and definitely not hipsters. I mean the guys in beerfest weren't hip by any means.
So if we legalize weed how cool will it be?
I think some of the romaticism will leave. Where's the ten o clock phone call to your dealer? The shady pick up? The pot smoking giggle you share with your friends at midnight in your elementary school parking lot?
Well that will all be gone as soon as you can get your half sack at BP.
We're head over heels with marijuana. From the big screen to some kids basement- pot has been glorified.
You can't overdose unless you're accidentally smoking crack, it's totally curing alzheimers....it really is just all the rage.
And it's definitely a force to be reckoned with.
Sunday, April 20, 2008
2008
I'm sure it's been hard to be a teenager in any generation.
Regardless of what decade you're in you have to deal with the hormones and emotions that come with teenagerdom.
But I feel there's a lot more that we have on our plates in 2008. We don't really have too much freedom to live the lives we imagine ourselves having.
I can't get a decent paying job and I legally can't do a lot of things I might want to. I can't even stay out past 11 P.M. on a weekend according to the state of Illinois.
How can I start to integrate into society if i'm not allowed to be in society past 11 o clock?
This inability to integrate into society leaves teenagers floating around aimlessly.
I can't vote, I can't smoke, I can't drink, I can't drive too late, I can't make decent money, and yet i'm expected to be mature and polite and nice and contribute to a society that holds me down?
We're maturing earlier and being held down for longer.
It's nice to have everything be provided for me but what am I going to do when it's time for me to provide for myself if I can't start trying now?
This lack of purpose in today's society is what really leads to all kinds of social problems that parents are afraid of.
Smoking pot, getting drunk, having sex...
It's what a lot of kids turn to doing because there's nothing really else to do when the school day is done.
Regardless of what decade you're in you have to deal with the hormones and emotions that come with teenagerdom.
But I feel there's a lot more that we have on our plates in 2008. We don't really have too much freedom to live the lives we imagine ourselves having.
I can't get a decent paying job and I legally can't do a lot of things I might want to. I can't even stay out past 11 P.M. on a weekend according to the state of Illinois.
How can I start to integrate into society if i'm not allowed to be in society past 11 o clock?
This inability to integrate into society leaves teenagers floating around aimlessly.
I can't vote, I can't smoke, I can't drink, I can't drive too late, I can't make decent money, and yet i'm expected to be mature and polite and nice and contribute to a society that holds me down?
We're maturing earlier and being held down for longer.
It's nice to have everything be provided for me but what am I going to do when it's time for me to provide for myself if I can't start trying now?
This lack of purpose in today's society is what really leads to all kinds of social problems that parents are afraid of.
Smoking pot, getting drunk, having sex...
It's what a lot of kids turn to doing because there's nothing really else to do when the school day is done.
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Politics
I have lost a lot of motivation toward schoolwork and athletics because of "politics."
I'm not talking about the 2008 Presidential elections, i'm talking about social politics- the kind that favor some people over others.
Coaches, teachers, bosses: these authority figures, regardless of the objectivity they promise, play favorites.
As a student and athlete it's hard to manuever around these politics without losing a sense of self. I have been criticized by my coaches for being disrespectful because my personality rubs off on them the wrong way. I don't understand how to talk to my coach unless it's about the game, and I don't understand why I have to make this deep relationship with someone who should only be there for one purpose (at least in my mind): coaching.
So, as my teammates surround "coach" and blabber on about their weekends I just feel uncomfortable. I am rejected because I don't understand the point of this effort, and I land in bad graces because I become the unsociable and shifty looking kid.
When it comes time to get in the water I am a starting player, but I feel that I have to watch my back; I am more disposable because of the coach's personal opinion of me as a person- not a player. I used to get pulled out for nearly every mistake, so now in addition to being paranoid I try to make attempts toward conversation that end up purely political. I feel insincere but I really want to be in the game- regardless of "personality" I have put forth a great deal of effort.
I am trying to be a more honest person but sucking up to authority is just plain contradictory.
I'm an eerily sarcastic person- so even when i'm being sincere or making a simple joke it sometimes comes off the wrong way.
Do I change the way I speak or act to be more socially accessible? I need to be more aware of my words- but can I really change myself?
Some other thoughts-
A question reposed:
Is it worse to write about something you actually care about (albeit overdo the profanities during the process), or B.S your way through each of these blogs. I've tried hard to not do the latter. I've read some truly great blogs and some severely bad ones. We know how to write sentences, capitalize letters, spell things out, yet if you look around there's some thought and effort lacking. What's really the bigger sociological crime? My opinion is clear.
A question I think about:
Is the pain, lack of sleep, and unhappiness I get from playing water polo really worth it? Do high school sports have to be so intense?
Goodnight
I'm not talking about the 2008 Presidential elections, i'm talking about social politics- the kind that favor some people over others.
Coaches, teachers, bosses: these authority figures, regardless of the objectivity they promise, play favorites.
As a student and athlete it's hard to manuever around these politics without losing a sense of self. I have been criticized by my coaches for being disrespectful because my personality rubs off on them the wrong way. I don't understand how to talk to my coach unless it's about the game, and I don't understand why I have to make this deep relationship with someone who should only be there for one purpose (at least in my mind): coaching.
So, as my teammates surround "coach" and blabber on about their weekends I just feel uncomfortable. I am rejected because I don't understand the point of this effort, and I land in bad graces because I become the unsociable and shifty looking kid.
When it comes time to get in the water I am a starting player, but I feel that I have to watch my back; I am more disposable because of the coach's personal opinion of me as a person- not a player. I used to get pulled out for nearly every mistake, so now in addition to being paranoid I try to make attempts toward conversation that end up purely political. I feel insincere but I really want to be in the game- regardless of "personality" I have put forth a great deal of effort.
I am trying to be a more honest person but sucking up to authority is just plain contradictory.
I'm an eerily sarcastic person- so even when i'm being sincere or making a simple joke it sometimes comes off the wrong way.
Do I change the way I speak or act to be more socially accessible? I need to be more aware of my words- but can I really change myself?
Some other thoughts-
A question reposed:
Is it worse to write about something you actually care about (albeit overdo the profanities during the process), or B.S your way through each of these blogs. I've tried hard to not do the latter. I've read some truly great blogs and some severely bad ones. We know how to write sentences, capitalize letters, spell things out, yet if you look around there's some thought and effort lacking. What's really the bigger sociological crime? My opinion is clear.
A question I think about:
Is the pain, lack of sleep, and unhappiness I get from playing water polo really worth it? Do high school sports have to be so intense?
Goodnight
Monday, March 17, 2008
Profanity
I don't think that "cussing" is a crime.
Our society has stigmatized profanities for a long time, but I feel that "swear words" have become a part of our common day talk.
Stub your toe, hate traffic, can't find a pencil. We don't react to these situations with a gosh darn, we put in a S*** or F***.
Movies, Music, TV Shows, Basic Conversation: All of these things are littered with profanity.
So why do we still treat something so common as so taboo in school and the workplace?
If we're a sociology classroom then we should respect the social existence of bad words in everyday life.
I don't think writing F*** necessarily makes something coloquial either. If my use of negative language is so "coloquial" then shouldn't half the kids writing in all lowercase letters with crappy (excuse me: poor) grammar be picked on?
I think that bad grammar is a bigger sign of laziness and disinterest in these blogs than a cuss word.
I understand that I have to tone down the S*** because these social standards still stand, and I may have overdone my limit for a school assignment...
Yet, let's face it: Swearing isn't going away.
So why the bad rap?
Our society has stigmatized profanities for a long time, but I feel that "swear words" have become a part of our common day talk.
Stub your toe, hate traffic, can't find a pencil. We don't react to these situations with a gosh darn, we put in a S*** or F***.
Movies, Music, TV Shows, Basic Conversation: All of these things are littered with profanity.
So why do we still treat something so common as so taboo in school and the workplace?
If we're a sociology classroom then we should respect the social existence of bad words in everyday life.
I don't think writing F*** necessarily makes something coloquial either. If my use of negative language is so "coloquial" then shouldn't half the kids writing in all lowercase letters with crappy (excuse me: poor) grammar be picked on?
I think that bad grammar is a bigger sign of laziness and disinterest in these blogs than a cuss word.
I understand that I have to tone down the S*** because these social standards still stand, and I may have overdone my limit for a school assignment...
Yet, let's face it: Swearing isn't going away.
So why the bad rap?
Is it really that easy?
Morrie made things seem too easy.
Life isn't that simple.
You can't just ignore the whole social construct we have going.
At least that's my take.
Sorry for the half heartedness.
I just didn't like the movie.
Life isn't that simple.
You can't just ignore the whole social construct we have going.
At least that's my take.
Sorry for the half heartedness.
I just didn't like the movie.
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
Winning
I got into a selective art show that took place today at "The Great Frame Up."
I was extremely proud of my work.
But- I don't win. I am not a winner. I enter contest after contest and regardless of how simple the criteria or the rules I find that I almost always face rejection.
My piece took two months of intensive labor, but a friend of mind walked away with fifty bucks and some honors in my category.
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.
I think I have a bad personality. Maybe i'm just not likeable? I got up to talk about my work, and I think I was the only kid who didn't get a hand shake.
Maybe I give myself too much credit for being good at shit I might suck at...but who knows?
I sure as hell don't.
I hope that later in life my artistic and general endeavours end up with some kind of blue ribbon...be it a pay raise at work or noble prize.
Maybe i'll end up appreciated long after i'm dead- most likely not.
Damn society and their unreasonable opinions toward all of my genius (yeah right).
By the way, if any of you have seen Juno check out the blog of the screenplay writer Diablo Cody. She used to be a stripper, but now I think she's just floating in comic awesomeness.
I feel far too lame to keep this post going so i'm going to try and regroup and remotivate my life.
I need to think of some kind of community service plan that I care about because GIVE seems to be bullshit quite frankly.
Goodnight.
I was extremely proud of my work.
But- I don't win. I am not a winner. I enter contest after contest and regardless of how simple the criteria or the rules I find that I almost always face rejection.
My piece took two months of intensive labor, but a friend of mind walked away with fifty bucks and some honors in my category.
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.
I think I have a bad personality. Maybe i'm just not likeable? I got up to talk about my work, and I think I was the only kid who didn't get a hand shake.
Maybe I give myself too much credit for being good at shit I might suck at...but who knows?
I sure as hell don't.
I hope that later in life my artistic and general endeavours end up with some kind of blue ribbon...be it a pay raise at work or noble prize.
Maybe i'll end up appreciated long after i'm dead- most likely not.
Damn society and their unreasonable opinions toward all of my genius (yeah right).
By the way, if any of you have seen Juno check out the blog of the screenplay writer Diablo Cody. She used to be a stripper, but now I think she's just floating in comic awesomeness.
I feel far too lame to keep this post going so i'm going to try and regroup and remotivate my life.
I need to think of some kind of community service plan that I care about because GIVE seems to be bullshit quite frankly.
Goodnight.
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Blood
Caution: This blog contains graphic descriptions and coarse language. (Sorry Sal)
We were supposed to blog about "A Bronx Tale" so i'll make my connection right off the bat. I know what it feels like to get the shit kicked out of you (or at least your mouth.)
I play water polo. Today I went to a men's practice because I wanted to pass more. I passed, I played, and then in the last five minutes of virtual nothingness a decent sized man accidentally hit me so goddamn hard in the face that I saw stars. I saw stars, and then I let my tongue drift around, and I could feel two goddamn teeth sitting halfway in the roof of my mouth. When you near pass out of shock it's hard to feel pain but that doesn't stop the blood from coming.
It bled like a shot artery, and when I saw myself I didn't give two shits about the fact that my lip was partially torn or that I needed to go to the ER- I just thought about my boyfriend and my beauty. Will he love me? Will I be able to get some serious dental surgery by tomorrow morning? And even now at 12:17 AM after spending some quality time with my pops at Highland Park Hospital I can only feel vain.
I'm still bleeding hard, and there's not too much on my lip to stitch anyway. I have a 7:30 A.M appointment with a dentist, and so much hate in the pit of my stomach that it's unbelievable. My gums are completely fucked up, and I can't look at myself in the mirror because I become completely overcome with disgust.
People say that love is everlasting. Through thick and thin the one that loves you will stay. I don't want to be with me right now so how could I make my boyfriend look at me. Maybe i'm writing a blog this open because i'm suffering a mild concussion, but as I sat in Highland Park in a wet swimsuit in the middle of Febuary covered in blood- I could only think: will he love me?
What is this sociological dilemma?
I wish I knew.
I can feel my mouth coming apart against the backs of my freshly crooked teeth.
I'm going to go get some legal drugs.
Goodnight.
We were supposed to blog about "A Bronx Tale" so i'll make my connection right off the bat. I know what it feels like to get the shit kicked out of you (or at least your mouth.)
I play water polo. Today I went to a men's practice because I wanted to pass more. I passed, I played, and then in the last five minutes of virtual nothingness a decent sized man accidentally hit me so goddamn hard in the face that I saw stars. I saw stars, and then I let my tongue drift around, and I could feel two goddamn teeth sitting halfway in the roof of my mouth. When you near pass out of shock it's hard to feel pain but that doesn't stop the blood from coming.
It bled like a shot artery, and when I saw myself I didn't give two shits about the fact that my lip was partially torn or that I needed to go to the ER- I just thought about my boyfriend and my beauty. Will he love me? Will I be able to get some serious dental surgery by tomorrow morning? And even now at 12:17 AM after spending some quality time with my pops at Highland Park Hospital I can only feel vain.
I'm still bleeding hard, and there's not too much on my lip to stitch anyway. I have a 7:30 A.M appointment with a dentist, and so much hate in the pit of my stomach that it's unbelievable. My gums are completely fucked up, and I can't look at myself in the mirror because I become completely overcome with disgust.
People say that love is everlasting. Through thick and thin the one that loves you will stay. I don't want to be with me right now so how could I make my boyfriend look at me. Maybe i'm writing a blog this open because i'm suffering a mild concussion, but as I sat in Highland Park in a wet swimsuit in the middle of Febuary covered in blood- I could only think: will he love me?
What is this sociological dilemma?
I wish I knew.
I can feel my mouth coming apart against the backs of my freshly crooked teeth.
I'm going to go get some legal drugs.
Goodnight.
Thursday, February 14, 2008
I Really Want Brownies
It's Valentines Day, and I feel fine.
I'm in a steady relationship so there's no reason for me to go home, eat my feelings, and watch lifetime like all my Valentines Days past- but yet there is something missing.
I really want a brownie.
I don't want chocolates or roses.
I just really want a brownie.
My soul is empty and hungry.
I need this baked good.
What does this mean on a sociological level? Most likely nothing, but if anyone is reading this and by any chance is holding (brownies) please let me know.
I'm in a steady relationship so there's no reason for me to go home, eat my feelings, and watch lifetime like all my Valentines Days past- but yet there is something missing.
I really want a brownie.
I don't want chocolates or roses.
I just really want a brownie.
My soul is empty and hungry.
I need this baked good.
What does this mean on a sociological level? Most likely nothing, but if anyone is reading this and by any chance is holding (brownies) please let me know.
Monday, February 4, 2008
Some Kind of Strange
There was a raging debate on the ethics of swallowing your own spit today; i'm not sure how pleasant it would be to do a double take with my own bodily secretions but I think I could lap my own spit back up if need be...
Now someone else's loogy? I don't think I could make myself down a stranger's spit unless I was offered a reward. For cash money anything can be done.
I think that's such an ironic thing about our society. We've set all of these social standards and stigmas around things we claim to be absolutely volatile, but if you give someone just the right amount of cash nearly all societal rules can be broken.
We're only willing to make changes within ourselves and our beliefs for a prize. If a teacher told me that a worksheet was optional and virtually irrelevant to the material needed for a test or quiz I would probably throw the worksheet out almost immediately. It doesn't even matter that I could've learned something new and interesting- all that matters is that the sheet doesn't offer me any reward so why bother?
Unless we can learn to break out of this constant rewards system much of our social progress can seriously be halted. We've reached an era where most of us refuse to do things unless they can benefit us in some sort of way.
I am totally guilty of playing a role in this system, but I hope that I can find ways to break my needy habits. We have become a very self centered society perpetuated by our personal greed. Of course we'd all suck someone's spit back up---the only difference is our price.
Now someone else's loogy? I don't think I could make myself down a stranger's spit unless I was offered a reward. For cash money anything can be done.
I think that's such an ironic thing about our society. We've set all of these social standards and stigmas around things we claim to be absolutely volatile, but if you give someone just the right amount of cash nearly all societal rules can be broken.
We're only willing to make changes within ourselves and our beliefs for a prize. If a teacher told me that a worksheet was optional and virtually irrelevant to the material needed for a test or quiz I would probably throw the worksheet out almost immediately. It doesn't even matter that I could've learned something new and interesting- all that matters is that the sheet doesn't offer me any reward so why bother?
Unless we can learn to break out of this constant rewards system much of our social progress can seriously be halted. We've reached an era where most of us refuse to do things unless they can benefit us in some sort of way.
I am totally guilty of playing a role in this system, but I hope that I can find ways to break my needy habits. We have become a very self centered society perpetuated by our personal greed. Of course we'd all suck someone's spit back up---the only difference is our price.
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Silence is Golden
I am a firm believer in silence. Whether it be awkward or not- keep the silence going.
"Awkward silence" is just a ridiculous term. You can't characterize the lack of noise as anything but a lack of noise. Going along with the whole idea that this is a Sociology class i'm going to say that silences only seem awkward when they occur in situations that we don't find to be normally silent in our societies. Of course complete silence on the first day of a class seems strange because we've been trained to think that a situation like that requires some kind of verbalizing.
So, silence isn't anything but silence...the awkwardness is all in the mood that the lack of noise creates-- not in the noise itself.
In my opinion silence is golden, and sometimes it's just better when people don't speak; the constant need to talk can create a mood much worse than awkwardness, and excess noise can bring forth the following: extreme headaches, waves of nausea, and pure unadulterated annoyance.
Keep yourself and your classmates educated,
Embrace the "sound of silence."
"Awkward silence" is just a ridiculous term. You can't characterize the lack of noise as anything but a lack of noise. Going along with the whole idea that this is a Sociology class i'm going to say that silences only seem awkward when they occur in situations that we don't find to be normally silent in our societies. Of course complete silence on the first day of a class seems strange because we've been trained to think that a situation like that requires some kind of verbalizing.
So, silence isn't anything but silence...the awkwardness is all in the mood that the lack of noise creates-- not in the noise itself.
In my opinion silence is golden, and sometimes it's just better when people don't speak; the constant need to talk can create a mood much worse than awkwardness, and excess noise can bring forth the following: extreme headaches, waves of nausea, and pure unadulterated annoyance.
Keep yourself and your classmates educated,
Embrace the "sound of silence."
Straight Blogging
It's the computer age so blogging seems logical in and out of the classroom. I'm not sure how much i'm going to be willing to say for thirty kids I don't really know, but what the hell. I'm rewriting this whole entry at 5:53 P.M, and i've only got about seven more minutes before I disengage from the computer to enjoy some television. I'm sure that in the years to come things will be even easier for me--i'm talking comcast internet TV.
It's 5:55 P.M and i'm ready to check my email, my facebook, and get out of here.
Yeah technology...!
It's 5:55 P.M and i'm ready to check my email, my facebook, and get out of here.
Yeah technology...!
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