Life's like a Fish Bowl

This week in class we learned that life is like a fish bowl. Our society is our fish bowl because we are sheltered in by it. When we see other people's cultures, it is like we are looking in on their fish bowl and observing. In class, when our teacher asked us what was in a fish bowl, everyone started naming off the plants, the castle, the rocks, and the filter. Nobody thought of mentioning the water. This shows that we are constantly unaware of what's around us. We need to know that someone is always "looking in" and observing our culture and our society. So, when we look out and see others, we should judge them with the same respect. Our view of normal may not be their view of normal.
This made me realize that I need to be more careful before judging people because they could be from a different culture that might make them different in some way. This is where socioogical mindfulness comes into play. Everyone was different mores so I will try to be more respectful because our soicety has often made categorize unfamiliar as weird.

Da Bronx

Today in class we started watching a movie. The movie was called The Bronx Tale. It's a true story and it's about a boy growing up in a gang controlled neighborhood. Even though it's only the beginning I already noticed many sociological things. The gang is a big influence in the neighborhood. Even the little boy knows that he must listen to the leader of the gang or he'd regret it. The whole neighborhood acts differently because of the gang and the conseguences they'd pay if they didn't. This kind of reminds me of my parents or any set of parents for that matter. My parents watch over me and make sure I do what they want me to do, like chores. If I don't do my chores, I get consequences or grounded. I am influenced by my parents in everything I do. The gang is the exact same way but the "chores" and "consequences" usually involve violence, selling, or murder. It's kind of crazy how one group of people can gain such power over a community. It's weird how I can relate this gang to parents. Why do these people have such a big impact on society?
Continued...
We finally finished the movie in class. This movie goes to show that everything you do has an outcome or impacts someone in some way. Sonny, the gang leader, had always thought he was feared. When he died, he didn't realize that he was loved abd cared for by many people in his life. He didn't realize that he had deeply affected and saved C's life. Every good thing he did didn't go unnoticed and every bad thing he did didn't go unnoticed either. The murder he committed 8 years earlier led to his own. This is why we must always have sociological mindfulness because we never know who we are affecting . One decision could change your own life or even someone else's. This made me dramatically change the way I act and it made me think more about what I say. Now, whenever my friends say a jokingly offensive comment, I make sure to remind them of my sociolgoy class and how socioglically mindfulness s important. :)

Bits and Pieces

The other day in class our sociology teacher made us make a web, not just any web, it was a web of ourselves. We had to make a web of the things that mades us well...us. I liked this activity because I have always thought about how we are all just bits and pieces of characteristics and traits from many different people, making one person. Is anyone really unique? It reminds me of snowflakes. Indivdually, we all seem different and perhaps "unique" but from far away we are all the same, made up of a lot of things that we took from other people at some point in our lives.


This also made me think about how important it is to be sociologically mindfull. Why do we start a new hobby, sport, or even like a certain color? Chances are we were influenced by someone, someway, somehow. That is why our society should watch how they act around others. That made me think how I should watch how I act around others, what I say, and what I do. Something I say, or what anyone else says for that matter, can be taken in by someone else and influence them in good ways or in bad. That article on sociological mindfulness means a lot mpre to me now.

Saliva or Spit?

The other day in class, our teacher casually asked for a volunteer. The kid who was chosen didn't know what he got in to. Our teacher handed him a spoon and told him to spit in it. The class cringed wandering how spitting in a spoon related to sociology in anyway. The student did as he was told. The teacher talked of how saliva was useful to our bodies and it prevented dehydration.
"Okay, now put it back" the teacher said while thrusting the spoon near the classmate's mouth. Everyone gasped and the kid ducked.

It was quite an experience in the 2nd period sociolgy class that morning. Our teacher later explained and made us realize that society has taught us to think that saliva or "spit" is a gross or nasty thing. It's always in our mouths, we are comfortable kissing, and sometimes sharing drinks but we would never eat our saliva from a spoon. It opened my eyes because even though I was grossed out by the thought of drinking my saliva, I couldn't really point out why it was gross in the first place. Also, the class was acting as a factor of influence for the kid who was dared to drink his spit. Before he could consider the idea, all his classmates said "ewww" and "gross!" and watched him with discusted looks. The class had confirmed to him that this was a bad idea.

But why?

We all agreed that there was n0 benefit from it, that could be part of it, but I think the point was that in our society saliva is "spit" and "spit" is gross. This is made wonder what else in my life, things I believed, was making me up as a person. The music I liked, the food I ate, the stores I shopped at, the phone I have, and may more. What makes up who you are? Are we all simply a bunch of different ideas from other people, all put together to make ourself? Can anyone really ever be considered unique?