Crash

This movie is set in Los Angeles, a city rich in diversity. Do you think that an area with such diversity would be more open or close-minded about differences why?

It would be ideal if everyone was open minded about differences but truthfully that is never really the case even in a place as diverse as Los Angeles. Having such diversity probably does the opposite effect of what people would hope it would do. It groups people according to their race and tends to cause people to stick with what they know and are comfortable with. That is why people who are consistently surrounded by diversity may be more likely to be close minded about differences. 

Which characters defied the "typical stereotypes set for them?" How?

The character that I thought defied the typical stereotype was Officer Hanson. He is partnered with Officer Ryan who is extremely racist towards black people. I would have thought that Officer Hanson was going to be the same. He is your typical white guy living in a city with a lot of crime. Many people in the movie and in real life would associate the crime with black people. Officer Hanson lets off Cameron Thayer because he knows that he is a good guy and felt bad about how his partner treated his wife. He goes against the stereotype of white men being racist against blacks and actually sides with Cameron and goes against the other policemen. 

The 99%

The desire for this person's economic security is not being met because they have a student debt that needs to be payed off along with a mortgage. This person is clearly educated with work experience and still does not have economic security. A more fair situation would be to have jobs for all or to not have to pay as much money for college. The reason this person may not have economic security is because they are using their money to pay off a student debt which unfortunately, the college degree is not paying off. You would think that since this person is educated and seems very experienced in the work force that they would be able to support themselves but that doesn't seem to be the case. I chose this image because it is scary knowing that right now I am working so hard to get into college and who knows if that college degree will actually pay off later.

This person is unemployed and cannot find a job. This person can't even afford college to receive a degree which would probably help this person find a job. A more fair situation would be to offer more financial aid to make college cheaper or to give everyone an equal opportunity to receive education to help people get jobs later. This person is so young and doesn't think they have anything to live for. It doesn't seem like they are motivated to do anything because they really can't anymore. If no jobs are hiring and they aren't qualified for any that are, what is there left to do? I chose this image because it is a scary thought. How young this person is and how unsure they are on what to do from here. 

This person's desire for economic security is not being met because she doesn't know if she will be able to afford college with all the medication and treatment she may need to help her diabetes. A more fair situation would be to have health insurance for everyone, or to give everyone an equal opportunity to go to college to receive an education. If she doesn't end up going to college it is going to be even harder to find a job and support herself along with the extra expenses to take care of her diabetes. This girl looks very young and the expenses of her diabetes is already taking over her life. She wants to be able to attend college but doesn't know if she can pay for it let alone pay for her insulin. I chose this image because it is really sad to think of girls my age that may not have college in their future. And having diabetes isn't something she can help, she was just born with it and is unable to escape it. 

Social Class- November 26

          Last week in class we have talked a lot about social class and distribution of wealth. These past couple of days we have been working on a project that has really opened up my eyes. I never really knew what class to consider myself in and wasn't very educated on how much everything costs once we grow up.

          My group and I were assigned a family in the middle class which, like the name conveys, is not the best but not the worst. There are other groups in class that can barely provide the bare minimum of essentials for their families. Seeing and calculating how expensive everything is has really changed the way I think about things. Growing up in an area like Long Grove, I had never really thought about the families who are different than mine. Even when I came to Stevenson, I overlooked the people who aren't as privileged as I am and have been caught up in the stereotype that everyone has money because we live in a wealthy area. Obviously we do live in a wealthy area, but there are definitely people that go to Stevenson who aren't as fortunate as others. But nevertheless, I have began to truly appreciate the privileges and opportunities available to me. I think about things that are a part of my everyday life that may be a luxury to others. It is important to realize the differences in wealth around us and that we be thankful for whatever we do have. 

gender vs sex

This week in class we talked a lot about gender vs sex and even got a chance to listen to the stories of 4 students who are part of the LGBTQ community. I really enjoyed getting the chance to listen to these students experiences and it really opened my eyes to a lot of different things. For starters, I never really thought about the stress that these students have to go through. I thought that the stress of school, friends, sports, etc was a lot and hard for me to deal with. I never could even imagine what some of these students must go through. The stress of being an outsider and the stress of not being accepted. It is one thing to not be accepted by other students at school, but one of the girls on the panel was talking about not being accepted by her own brother. I could not even imagine what my life would be like if I wasn't supported by my friends and family. The extra baggage that those students carry with them is huge and really affects their character. After everything those students have gone through, they are so strong. They are stronger than most people I know because of what they deal with everyday. They have faced hardships of not knowing who they are, not knowing what to do or who to turn to. The amount of stress that comes with those hardships is unbearable and I have so much respect for the students who were on that panel sharing their stories with us. It really opened my eyes and I am very thankful to have had the opportunity to listen to the students who shared a part of their lives with me.
The other topic we talked a lot about was the idea of raising a child without a gender. I was intrigued by this idea but in the end thought that it could end very badly. I thought about if my parents had raised me this way and how I might have turned out. I ultimately thought that I would be very confused and a little upset at my parents. I think if I was raised this way, I would have been even more of an outsider because I wouldn't know what I was supposed to be. I think that the best way to go about this kind of situation is to raise a child as the sex that they were born with. If they grow up and realize that their gender does not match up with their sex then they have the opportunity to be who they want to be. But raising a child to be an "x" would turn out badly in my opinion.

Family Socialization

This week in class we have been talking a lot about family socialization and how that has impacted who we are today. When I was interviewing my parents I learned a lot about how they planned to raise me, what traditions they hoped I would carry on, and different personality traits they see in me that they also see in themselves. After talking to them, they basically told me a lot of things I expected to hear. Such as how they wanted me to grow up and be a good student, have a family, and be a good person. They hoped I would someday go to college and be successful and independent. But something that kept coming up in our discussion was the importance of family. In class I talked about my families tradition of getting together with my extended family on sundays for dinner. I have been doing this all my life and have never really thought about why. My dad pretty much just explained to me that it is really important to spend time with your family and if you don't make an effort to spend consistent time together, those relationships won't be as strong. I realized how truly lucky I am to have aunts, uncles, and cousins be such meaningful people in my life. But the answer that surprised me the most was the character traits my parents see both in me and themselves. It never really crossed my mind how similar I am to my parents. For starters, both my parents and I are the oldest child, so they see a sense of responsibility in me. I have always known that I am similar to my mom but I never realized how much of my dad I see in myself as well. We both have a tendency to be shy in new places, we both are very determined, and we both are always on time for things. Throughout this whole assignment, I learned a lot about myself and my family. I realized how close I actually am with my family and how similar I am to my parents.

Charity Run and Fun

This past sunday I volunteered at the Kildeer 5K/8K Charity Run and Fun. This run was for the countryside association for people with disabilities. Going into this event I was very excited. I had never worked for a charity run before and thought it would be a really cool experience. I did not really know what to expect and was not assigned a job until I got there. I woke up at 6 am to be at Whole Foods, where the run started, at 7 am. I was not too thrilled at the fact that I had to wake up so early but I was doing a nice thing and it was only one sunday morning. When I got there, I was disappointed at the job I was given. One other volunteer and I were chosen to direct people so they knew which way to run. Normally this would be a nice job if I was put in a location where I needed to direct people. Unfortunately, I was not put at an intersection or two way street but I was put on the corner of a road fairly close to the starting point of the run where there was no where else to go besides straight ahead. So I was basically sitting on the corner of the street directing people to the only place that they were able to run. My job seemed a little bit stupid and kind of pointless and I wish I would've been able to do something more productive. Although I ended up sitting in a chair doing nothing for about 2 hours I was happy to have the chance to watch everyone running together. It was nice to see a community coming together to raise money for a good cause. There were people of all ages running, from grandparents to kids to even a family pushing their child in a stroller. I very much enjoyed watching everyone with a smile on their face as they completed the race. Since I was close to the start, which also happened to be the finish, I was able to cheer on the runners as they were almost done. I was happy to encourage the runners and see a smile across their face knowing that someone cares about them. I was overall happy with my experience volunteering at the Charity Run and Fun and it definitely made me want to participate in a run myself! 

lost boys of sudan

This week in class we watched a documentary called the Lost Boys of Sudan. This movie followed a couple boys through their journey of moving from Sudan to America. They had to adjust to a whole new culture and lifestyle here in America that is very different than what they were used to. I find it incredible that two cultures can be so different from each other and have no idea about what life is like outside their own culture. These boys did not know how electricity worked, what a shower was or even know the concept of time. All these things were new to the boys as they traveled across the world to essentially start a new life. As the boys started to adapt to life in America they found that everything revolves around time and that time is money. I found it sad that once the boys all got jobs and were going to school they didn't have as much time to spend with each other. I think that is a flaw in our culture because I wish I had all the time in the world for my family and friends. It was also so interesting to me how unselfish these boys were. As soon as they were able to support themselves they pretty much spent all their money on others. Whether it was sending money back home to their people, trying to support their families, funding organizations or building schools in Sudan it was all to help everyone but themselves. They did not completely understand why they were the ones chosen to have this incredible opportunity and they felt they needed to share their wealth with their families and friends. Lastly, it really is amazing how much a culture can change you as a person. By the end of the film, many of the boys' english was much better and they were finally understanding and getting used to our culture here. One of the most interesting lines at the end of the documentary was when one of the boys referred to a pond back home as "5 to 10 minutes away" from his house. Living in America has changed how he thinks about things. If he was still living in Sudan, he probably would have referred to the pond as very close, or not far. But living in America has made him think about things based off of time and minutes. Overall, I really enjoyed this film. It really makes you understand how different cultures are from each other and how much I really don't know about other cultures besides my own. Other people in different culture's worlds are so different from mine and I hope I get the chance to experience some one day.