To be honest, watching Tammy Crabtree made me really upset. The world we live in is a lot more privileged than we can even realize. I've been given a gift to be able to live the life I live, which is not perfect at all from a few different standpoints, but at the same time, it is a blessing. And sometimes, I feel guilty because it's hard for me to understand that every time I want something I don't need or treat myself to food or shopping I can't always afford. I can't imagine living like Tammy as awful as that sounds, but it scares me. It makes me sad to know that that is a majority of people. So many live from paycheck to paycheck trying to support kids and keep everyone safe and fed. And it makes me sick to think that this poor woman has to walk 10 miles every single day to work a low-payed job and deals with awful people screaming nasty things to her along the way. No one deserves that. Also, despite the social pressure to feel upper class, the boys should realize how much their mom goes through on a daily basis just for them. I have met the nicest dressed people with fancy things and loads of money, but they also had such an empty personality. I have also met someone who grew up with little money, "dirty" clothing, and actually used to be in a gang. He comes from a group of people close to me that have grown up with nothing and are now some of the most inspirational people to be in my life. I have never seen a day go by where one of them isn't thankful for everything they have built for themselves now, especially coming from the environment they grew up in. I'd much rather be around genuine people than an ignorant wasp like the one in the video.

For years, we have perceived men to hold all the power and women to sit and wait on them. Men were leaders, the only kind to ever hold the position of presidency, while women followed orders. Men had constant control, even over the entire world, but women had to fight to even be considered for that. Men are strong, tough human beings, and women are the ones who break down. Of course, this is all according to society's stereotypes. We look at men, and we want to see someone unbreakable. We take the body of a male and define him by that because men are never supposed to be seen. We look at women, and we try to find vulnerability. We take the body of a woman and look beyond that because women allow themselves to be seen. Women feel emotions, and sometimes too many. But who ever said that these qualities would make a woman passive and a man's repression strong? Women are seen as creative, imaginative, innovative human beings, and what are all those things without vulnerability? And what is strength without vulnerability? Take Alice Paul, a woman but a fighter. She had every opportunity to lose everything and everyone in order to create a society where women would have rights. She was seen. She was starving. She was breaking down and then she was moving. She was one of the most vulnerable human beings, and in that, one of the strongest people known to this day. She changed the way an entire group of people lived. And yet why, do we find stiff, hardhearted men to be the strong, powerful ones? Maybe the strength is in that part where we allow ourselves to break down and start over.

When I was younger, I do remember moving around quite a bit, but not at an age that could really affect me much. This was before I went to school, and moving was more than switching houses. I've stayed in the same school district throughout all my years of education, and I do admit it has been both helpful and hurtful. There are times I continuously wonder what it would be like if I could walk into another school and go there for a month as opposed to where I am now. Would I be more accepted? Or would my behavior from previous socialization to my prior school confuse and frustrate kids at the new school? It has honestly been interesting getting to know myself throughout my years of school and the people I have surrounded myself with, some of which, have come and gone. I do think my perspective, or the way I see myself, would have been much different in a different location; though, I'm not sure if that's a good or a bad thing. On a positive note, I am fortunate enough to live in the community I live in. Although it does have its disadvantages, it also has its perks. I am blessed with a loving family, and I would never change my experience of living here because of the people I've met. Some of my best friends and even teachers have taken steps in shaping who I am and changing my life, and for that, I am forever thankful.

How can you define a society that seems so inevitably individualistic? We are all wired by technology, barely paying attention to one another and constantly looking for the next best thing. But then again, there are those that do not live their lives conforming to American society. While all of us are human and very similar, the way we choose to live is always different, and how could you come up with norms for every single person different person in one country? Well, everything we do IS the same; we're just doing it alone. That can be how America is defined. Yes, there is a lot to be said about individualism, but at the end of the day, we're all on our iPhones in the same exact room --not talking-- playing the same exact game. We're bound for change, and sometimes, we seek to grab on to it way too fast. That's because we're a fast pace generation. Time is consistently moving, and the most important thing about that, is that we never let ourselves forget it. We are caught up in being busy and making use of time because time is money. We're driven by tomorrow, and the next day, so we sacrifice now to make things better in the future. My only problem with that is, when do we start living? At what moment do we look back and realize all the days we have missed out and for what? A better tomorrow? What is a better tomorrow? Why are we not living now?

Isn't it interesting that our society is too busy to stop in our tracks for just a few seconds to realize and understand things we try and put out of our minds on a daily basis? Have we ever even taken the time to realize something as small as cups? And how we waste at least 40,000 a day including two different types of cups? We have to waste a whole new kind of cup just for coffee because our society can't function one day without the addiction to caffeine filled. On 9/11, 3,000 people died, and that will forever stand as one of the most tragic days in history. The worst part of all this is that 1100 people die from cigarette smoking each day and not once has anyone gone out of their to acknowledge those that have passed from that tragedy. And it continues. Every day after, 1100 people are dying from the same addiction, but it goes completely unnoticed. We are also the most medicated. We thrive on anestesia and painkillers that will numb us from feeling every single thing I have just mentioned. We know it's happening, but we don't do anything about it because we choose not to feel it. We also perfect. We go out of our way to perfect the things that don't matter instead of working to better the things that do. Teenagers are frequently getting breast surgery to make their boobs bigger in order to look perfect. It's funny how we go to such great measures for insignificant things and numb the things that matter.

What is normal to one person may be inconceivable to another. People were absolutely outraged when Annette Sorenson willingly left her baby outside of a cafe by itself to go enjoy lunch with her husband. In the middle of New York City, this concept does seem beyond strange. No one has ever done this before, and in a city like that with many strangers and frequent child abductions, it is truthfully ridiculous to leave a baby outside on its own. However, Annette is Dutch, and from where she was raised, leaving a baby outside of a cafe while eating was actually the right thing to do as opposed to bring it inside. This still does not excuse her action because her husband is from New York and should have made her adapt to New York societal norms, but did Annette really do as much wrong as someone who wasn't Dutch? Common sense is different all around the world, so how can we judge the way one person thinks as opposed to another? When we are in a certain culture, it is appropriate to adjust our sociological mindfulness and adapt to certain rituals performed that we may not be accustomed to. If I were to go to Denmark, I would have to leave my baby outside of a cafe as I ate because if I brought it inside, people wouldn't understand how I could bring such a small child inside and expose it to the dirty, intoxicating air instead of leaving it outside to peacefully rest in fresh air. We cannot make the mistake of thinking that everything we perceive as normal here is viewed the same way in a different culture.

There are many aspects that have shaped our culture and the way we live today. One main source of society now is technology. We rely on the easiest and most efficient way to do things. So many relationships nowadays are labeled and lived via text online; some people even meet their significant other through an online dating site, showing that we can't even meet the right one on our own. We spend so much of our lives on Facebook and share too much of ourselves in a public setting. Half of our "friends" on Facebook are faces we don't even talk to. 9/11 is another thing that has shaped the way we live. We are in fear of almost any Muslim we see and assume their intentions are the same as Al qaeda. Also, and this is in no defense to Al qaeda, those terrorists thought what they were doing was good for their G-d. They were convinced that killing Americans was the right thing to do. What is normal or good to one person may be the opposite to another. Reality TV has also played a pivotal role. We are exposed to these skinny models and scripted lives on TV, and suddenly we are on our way to getting plastic surgery and trying to perfect ourselves in a way that isn't even real.

The interesting thing about people is that we desperately do not want to be judged by others but it is the  first thing we think to do when we see new people ourselves. The thing we don't know is everything internal, so instead we take everything on the outside and place a stereotype or label upon someone completely unknown. We don't know the story, but too many times, we assume we do. We did an activity in class where we had to judge people just based on how they turned around and said hello. What if that person was having a bad day? That bad day doesn't define them. No one knows what's behind the surface. There are so many stereotypes out there, and the best thing we can do is look at people from an objective point of view as best we can because many people do defy the judgement they are predispositioned to. We must be vulnerable to enough to let ourselves be seen. As hard as we fight it, and as much fear it may bring, it also brings love and connection and belonging. Humans need that.

Wednesday, the first day of class, some interesting behaviors presented themselves amongst the students in class. Not only were the first 10 minutes of silence awkward and uncomfortable but they were also interesting. No one knew what to do or say. No one spoke up, and we were left waiting for the first person to break the silence. This experience actually got me excited to take sociology because the different ways people responded to the situation really interested me. What if no one ever spoke up? What would have finally happened if the teacher had never said a word the entire period? It was actually fun to see how everyone reacted; human behavior has always been intriguing to me, so I am positive this class will be as well. Learning about social norms and conformity sounds like a great topic to study. In all honesty, I don't believe it is possible to like everyone, but I love the concept of people. Everyone has a different story, a different way of thinking, and different beliefs as to what they view as "normal." Humans as well as the human mind and consciousness of being will always grasp my attention, and I can't wait to further study topics centered around these ideas.