The logic behind love

Should love be logical? Wait. Is love logical?

I don't feel like belting out the essay that is brewing in my head about this topic, but I do want to say that life without love has to suck! To all the fools that think they can create a logical existence without it, you are doomed for temporary happiness.

So I guess it is logical to love if one wants to live a happy life.

Not loving in place for doing what is logical is living in complacency. That is my reasoning about that. None of this business about the mind being placed above the heart signifying that logic and reason are superior to emotion. They are equal, and should both be used. So if that is your view. Tell me something. Do you love me and how would you even know? This is something to put in poetry form. I feel like I replaced blogging with poetry, but I will get back in the swing of it.

That look you got (two point perspective)

It is funny how sitting with a friend can turn into a social experiment. Sometimes people just can't handle seeing difference together. But I know the look and I know what it means. We were just sitting and working on some homework. I glanced up when I saw the old couple coming thinking to myself, "the staring will begin". No one is just going to walk by like nothing was wrong. Only my friend did not know that I was conscious of this the entire time we worked. In his world this stare is something that doesn't quite exist in this form. I glanced back down at the page not wanting to witness the inevitable. Meanwhile, through the fumes he saw something I had to look out for my entire life. After a long awkward stare down, he turns to me as says, "That guy just gave me the dirtiest look and then smirked". I found humor in the shock in his voice. I just turned and smiled. He really was clueless, but for me no explanation was needed. Because sometimes people make assumptions, and in their heads things don't fit. And like an unbalanced picture frame on the wall they stare at our difference, head turned and eyes squinting until the onlooker sees that it is finally fixed to their liking. The problem is, is that they would rather walk with their heads sideways to see what they want than accept that each picture hangs differently.

So I am back!!

I want to announce my return. I will be writing again after a long time of neglect.

Week #3- Week #5

It's all a blur. 5 test, 3 group projects, 3 independent projects, 1 speech, 1 lab practical, and endless hours of notes. I only remember trying to get more sleep. Only two more weeks of this madness. The worse part is that I have been bitten by the creative bug, but I don't even have the time for creativity. I've got a feeling these weekly snap shots off my summer will get a lot less exciting. The only adventure I can remember from this 3 week time span was shopping in the children's section of Target with a friend. We were convinced that we could fit the clothes there and thought it would be funny to try. So there we are, two college girls talking about how we would never understand guys while standing infront of the training bra section. For the record I fit into the largest size dress that they carry in the girls section. I convinced my friend that she could fit one of the swim suits but she wasn't so lucky. And my sister says that I am not adventurous. Yep, every now and then I get a moment in between studying to hang with friends, bond with Lifegroup, get some church time, and spend some time with family.

Week #2

LEADERSHAPE

So I cannot even begin to describe the madness of LeaderShape. It was awesome!!! If I can sum it up in a few words it would be: awesome group (cluster) bonding, armadillo hunting, bug swatting, awesome food, and complete darkness on the Bonnie Dune Plantation. Oh, did I mention that I was yards away from a real snake! Not only did I learn things about myself, but I met some of the coolest people on campus. Together we took on the wilderness away from civilization. But most importantly, I found out my life's vision and direction. I always knew the factors that drove me to go a certain direction in life, but writing it down wrote a certain reality to everything I thought was impossible. I not only have to be a participant in changing the education system and religion; I can be that revolutionary that spurs things.

Key things I wrote down during the week:

-(someone looking at a golf cart) "...look, there's a fratmobile..."

-poster and cheer

-team building

-inclusiveness

-sharing stories

-game night

-Tanya's story

-FIJI guys are awesome

-Star power

So that was my week in a nutshell. I am two days behind on the blog because I took a nap as soon as I got home, and didn't wake up until the next day. Oops. The good news is that I am back home for real this time. You know you are back in Savannah when you see a gothic person. I saw my first one in 10 months! Chains, baggy black pants, and a top hat...oh home sweet home.

Summer: Week 1

From The College to The University

One of the most interesting things about returning to Savannah was visiting the university that I will be taking classes at this summer. I went up there a few days ago to get some things straighten out about my classes, and what I saw was an alien world. Just 10 months ago nothing was wrong with the place, but my Charleston eyes have to re-adjust. I parked the car and soaked in the typical college scenery until I got inside the admissions building. The people here are a lot different from what I had been used to freshman year. Later that day when I was trying to explain the difference to my sister I was unsuccessful in finding a word to describe this bunch. I told her about the guy in wife-beater standing in line in front of me and the girl in head to toe Lady Gaga getup. The girl looked like she was ready for the first day of high school wearing Lady Gaga all over her clothes like it was Miley Cyrus. There is also a major difference in age demographic. Everyone is either extremely young, dressing even younger than their age or at mid-life, already holding jobs. My sister even tried to come up with a name for these people herself. The conversation went a little like this:

Me: The people here are a little different what what I am used to in Charleston.
Sissy: What, are they Country Hood-Necks?
Me: Hood-Necks?
Sissy: Shut up! You know what I mean. I was thinking hood rats and rednecks and it came out as one word.
Me: No we need to combine a lot more words for these people. They are just unique, not necessarily bad, but a little different. This summer will be interesting, but I will make sure I watch out for those hood-necks.
Sissy: Shut Up!!! Hey, you know what is funny? One of my friend's brothers who was going to college in California is taking classes there too and said the same thing about the people. He said they are a little weird. He said one girl comes to class with a different Twilight shirt every day and she has a suitcase for a book bag that she strolls around every where.
Me: Oh, I can believe that.

Accomplishments

Almost nothing...well, I did write a few more pages of one of the books I am working on and I did some more research. Read about 20 more pages of the Rand book and daydreamed about being a local musician, but then decided that maybe I will get a real summer job. I did get a chance to reconnect with my friends at home. Oh yeah, and I can't forget the endless eating and sleeping that will end in a week when camp and classes kick in.

Favorite Family Moment of the Week

-Catching up with my sister about her prom:

Sissy: So after prom Daria was talking to a group of friends about her date. She was talking about how much of a gentleman he was and how he barely wanted to touch her when they were dancing. Then she said she went to the bathroom and when she came back he was different. "Something happened to him," she said. Then I was like, "Oops, my bad. I dance with him when you left. That was my fault."

Later in the conversation...

Sissy: ...yeah, Daria's date (Asian) said that Asians see life in wide screen...

-The 4 hour conversation that I had with my mom until 3 in the morning when I got home Sunday.

-Dad giving us a lesson on Old School R&B in the car on our way back from Charleston. Dad's music lessons always make me laugh. Apparently my sister got a Gangster rap lesson on the way up to get me.


New Discovery

So today I found out that one of my relatives on my grandfather side of family wrote a book that just became a bestseller. Of course I was stoked. All of these creative family members are pouring out from everywhere. I'm not complaining, I love it. Finally some people like me. I can't wait to see what her writing is like. I'm not sure it will be my style, but I will be supportive nevertheless.


Randomness

So when I got to Savannah, I realized that it is hot down here. Then I looked at my wardrobe and realized that I own no shorts or sandals. My whole closet consist of dark colors. It is time for a necessary summer makeover for my wardrobe!! Oh yeah and I need a summer job and I want your input about what I should do. The options are as follows:

Waffle/Huddle House

Local Musician

Waitress

Some Random Mall Job

Coming up next week....Updates from LeaderShape Camp.

Home at last Y'all

Well, I am back in Georgia and I dont know what to do with myself. I have a few things I need to accomplish within this short time of summer. I will put my to do list below:

1. Summer classes
2. Get wisdom teeth pulled
3. Finish the portraits of my friends
4. Finish comissioned art work
5. Glance at research stuff
6. Read all the books I wanted to finish
7. Survive the heat
8. Hang with friends

And hopefully something interesting would happen in between getting these things done.

Hons 392 Sociological Autobiography

On July 24, 1991 I was born into the generation of millennials. Not only was I an African American female who would experiences living in different social classes, but I was also a member a technologically privileged and progressive bunch. I have grown up with a unique socialization background, experiencing working class, middle class, and upper middle class social status throughout life. Each of these stages of my life along with society's progressive attitude towards my ascribed characteristics helped shape my sociological perspective and contributed to my achieved status as a college student training to be a professional.

While the barriers of my ascribed characteristics may have limited my educational and social opportunities 50 years ago, the millennial era provided my with a more equal chance to grab a hold of these opportunities. As a woman and an African American, I have not been held back by outdated views on education like previous generations. This access to educational opportunities that improved with my age helped socialize me to embrace the preferred culture of our society that values higher education, appreciates the arts, and wants to influence society beyond their household. Living in America where there are many readily available education opportunities, public and private, also contributed to getting me to the point I am at now. This environmental factor is key in an individual's life as Max Gladwell points out in the Outliers. I would not have the same educational resources had I been born in a third world country. In saying that, I was born in Savannah, GA which is not particularly known as the best place for public school education. Obtaining the ability to go to the best schools there became a factor of class.

Throughout a majority of my life, my parents have been divorced and I have lived in a single-parent household. In the earlier stages of my life, my mom was a part of the working class and towards the middle of my life landed in the lower middle class. But because she worked in the school system, she valued and got more involved in our education than most working class families are able to. This also meant that my at home socialization experience matched the middle class ones that Annette Lareau talks about in Unequal Childhoods Class, Race, and Family Life. After work, she often came home and read to and with my sister and I before bed, emphasizing that recreational and educational reading in our lives can go beyond the class room. She also got us involved in structured activities like ballet, art classes, theater classes, and sports for my athletic sister. This differs a lot from the child-led playtime of the working class in Lareau's book. She also bought us huge workbooks for different subject matters that we had the summer to complete. While she provided us with the educational values of the classes above us, my dad provided the social one.

My dad's class status was already middle class and transitioned to upper middle class by the time I was in middle school. He took us on vacations and cultured us with the experience of the elite. These trips included visiting like Miami, Flordia; Charlotte, North Carolina; Baltimore, Maryland, Charleston, South Carolina; Las Vegas, Nevada; St. Louis, Missouri; and many others. Sometimes we went on tours and to see baseball games, but most of the time it was to shop and eat with the elite. While I am not a fan of what I call reckless spending, I can say that I have been in (because I refused to shop in them unlike my sister) stores like Sacs Fifth Avenue, Nordstorm, Brooks Brothers, Brighton, and Tiffany's. I have also gotten to enjoy food of more expense chain restaurants like Ruth's Chris and local one's that is the choice of the city's doctors and lawyers. As a result of these interactions that I experienced with the other side on vacation, I have become a versatile individual that can communicate with the range of social classes. This became key in my school experience where as I moved from better ones to the best, and where I slowly became the minority.

I started my schooling experience out in a Montessori school where we were allowed to learn at our own pace in pre-K, where I recall being able to write my name in print and cursive at that time. From kindergarten to second grade I experienced regular public schools until my mom sought to place me in a magnet school from 3rd to 5th grade, where I went to the best elementary school in the county. After that I tried a year at a magnet middle school that geared towards the arts. I was in the visual arts program before mom decided that the environment that the school was in was not what she wanted for me. That's when I made the transition to private school for middle school, where I got a firm foundation in grammar, math, and history. I also got exposed to the thoughts and beliefs of the white, upper-middle class. While my high experience school was more diverse, in most of my classes at this magnet art school I was still the minority. Our high school is the best in Savannah and constantly receives recognition at the academic level and the art level with our graduating class having the school's first Harvard student. This is an exceptional accomplishment considering the school was first chartered in the late 1990's and slowly transitioned into public magnet. While I enjoyed being a visual art major here, I also got better educational opportunities like having honors only options for most of the classes and having a variety of AP classes and after school sports, clubs, and activities (excluding basketball, football, and baseball which the school did not have) . Going here meant that you were going to college, and these educational factors along with the social class ones have given e the opportunity to reach the achieved status of a college student with hard work.

My experience in college will prepare me for a slightly higher paying career as a teacher, but it will also given me opportunities to engage in the educational world or research which could lead to other options when I am not in the classroom. I will also have the intellectual ability to converse with others of different academic areas because the liberal arts experience enforces well roundedness, forcing students to take classes beyond their subject matters. I will also experience the privilege of society valuing my views and diversified culture. I will carry into my sociological awareness and perspective along with my unique culture and hard work ethic to become the best educator I know how to be. Like Jay McLeod mentions in Ain't No Making It, the school plays a key factor in sorting children in different tracks of the social world and social class in the attitudes presented towards different individuals in their educational experience. I want to see school, instead, be made into a place tracking students in a social sense is put to an end, and all are given the equal playing grounds regardless of whether their culture is preferred in society. I think that school is a powerful place socialization that can take its power to the limit for the better. With more effort it could even counteract the family socialization experience in those classes where education is not upheld as highly. Most of a child's time is spend in school, which is more than enough hours to make an incredibly impact on how they feel about education and view themselves in society. I like to examine the conflict approach to viewing education and use it as the starting point of improving the system. Improving education means a more educated society, which means less social prejudice and a smaller gap between social classes. Regardless of social class and financial background, school played a key role in my life and he lives of my parent who continued elevating their education in adult life. It gave us the opportunity move up the social and economic ladder, which some people like the young Hallway hangers see as impossible. Education is not a social problem it is a social issue that has huge affects society and should be treat that way. These ideas are products of my socialization experience and this is my sociological perspective.

Hons 392: Comparing the poverty line and the EPI family budget to my own research

Introduction:

For this project I looked up the EPI family budget for a family living in Savannah, Georgia. My sample family consisted of two adults and two children under the age of seven. The EPI calculator gave me an average of monthly and yearly cost for the basic needs of a family including: housing, food, childcare, transportation, health care, other necessities, and taxes. I have done my own research and compared them to the averages the EPI calculator gave. In the end, I added up my yearly total and compared it with the Poverty threshold and the budget the EPI calculator gave. Under each monthly category, I explain how I came up with my estimate and provide some extra sub-categories where needed without going over the basic need criteria.

Monthly Housing:
EPI average
$769.00
My research price
from $645.00
To obtain this price I looked up local available apartment listings in Savannah on appartmentguide.com. I chose a townhouse, 3 bedroom apartment with 2 bathrooms. I selected a 3 bedroom apartment for in case the children are not the same sex. Since the family will plan on staying for a while, it will be proper that the child have their own room as a teen boy or girl. The parents will share a room with their own bathroom. The children will also share their own bathroom. The apartment that I am basing my price off of is as follows:

Live Oak Plantation

8505 Waters Ave

Savannah, GA 31406

There is a possibility that the apartment may be a little more expensive depending on whether I take a newly renovated apartment or one that needs a little fixing up, but the price above is the average price renters pay for a townhouse style apartment with 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. It is a 976 square foot floor plan, so there is not an excessive amount of space, but it is sufficient. There is also no washer and dryer connection inside the apartment, but there is a laundry facility in the complex. From my own personal knowledge of the place, I know that it is located in a traffic zone area and while it is a safer location for its price it is located in an area with a high population of illegal immigrants.

Monthly Food:

EPI Average

$643.00

My estimate price

$486.17

To get an estimate price I created a mock list of items that may be essential for weekly living, and then I multiplied that by 4 for the 4 weeks in a month. I also factored in $100.00 to the monthly total for price fluxuation and to accommodate the price change if they decide to buy items deviating from the list. For example, one week they may substitute chicken and beef for salmon and ribs which cost slightly more than other meats. This also covers times where they may need to buy more food because things like spices, peanut butter, cooking oil, or flour goes low. These items don't necessarily need to be bought monthly, but can change the weekly price of shopping when it is time to replenish them. When creating the list I considered nourishing food for growing children and having a healthy family. Most of the prices are estimates from my own shopping experiences, while I got others from prices that stores advertised on the internet. Once the monthly total was added up I added the 7% sells tax to the price. My mock list and math is below:

Sample Weekly Shopping List

1 gallon of milk $1.99 (Walmart 2009)

2 bags of bread $5.59 (based on internet average for 2009, $2.79 per)

a dozen eggs $2.89 (based on internet average for 2009)

2lbs chicken $5.58 (an observed estimate based on my shopping)

2lbs of beef $8.66 (based on internet average for 2009)

2 cabbages $1.66 (an observed estimate based on my shopping, 83 cent per)

4 pre-packaged salads $15.68 (based on internet average for 2009, $3.92 per)

5 packs of frozen vegetables $18.99 (an observed estimate based on my shopping, $3.60)

2 big bags of rice $6.50 (an observed estimated based on my shopping experience, $3.25)

1 box of pasta $4.00 (an observed estimate based on my shopping experience)

1 gallon of orange juice $3.75 (an observed estimate based on my shopping experience)

1lb of lunch meat from deli $6.00 (an observed estimate based on my shopping experience)

sliced cheese $2.75 (an observed estimate based on my shopping experience)

2lb apples $4.55 (an observed estimate based on my shopping experience)

+$100.00 for variety and price fluxuation

Math: weekly total x 4 = monthly total+100 x tax(.07)= final monthly total

$88.59 x 4= $354.36

$354.36 + $100= $454.36

$454.36 x .07= $486.17

sources:

http://www.revs.usda.gov/

http://www.wiki.answers.com/

http://www.usautodays.com/

Monthly Childcare:

EPI estimate

$1011

My research price

$555 (during school year/this one is used for final monthly total)

$795 (during the summer/3 months which is added into final annual total)

To get the price of daycare for two children under 7, I called a local Savannah daycare to find out the cost of before and after school care. I also factored in $75 for incase a late-night or weekend babysitter is needed throughout the month. The childcare service that I used is my research is as follows:

Childcare Network

7360 Hodgson Memorial Dr.

Savannah, GA 31406

The price they quoted me for weekly childcare for one child was $60 during the school year for before and after school. They quoted my $90 for the summer. I took these numbers and multiplied them by two for the amount of children. Then I multiplied them by 4 for the 4 weeks in a month. Finally, I added $75 bucks to the monthly total for babysitting expenses.

Math: price x 2= weekly cost for 2 x 4= monthly total + $75= final monthly total

$60 x 2= $120

$120 x 4= $480

$480 + $75= $555

$90 x 2= $180

$180 x 4= $720

$720 x $75= $795

Monthly Transportation

EPI estimate

$404

My research price

$273

To obtain this price I assumed that the family already owns a paid used car that takes 30 miles per gallon. I also assumed that the children take the bus to school in the morning, but the parents pick them up. The entire family uses this one car for their weekly errands. I first found the cheapest gas price that I could find in the area, which came from a nearby Kroger (located on Abercorn st.). Their price is $2.61 per gallon. Based on my family's experience with a car of the same miles per gallon, it would take about $60 to fill the tank for two busy weeks. I used this to come up with a monthly total of $120 for gas expenses. Since care insurance is mandatory in Georgia, I also had to factor that in. I used the national monthly average for car insurance which was obtained from http://www.carinsurance.com/. The average monthly price that was given was $153. I also considered that the family only needs minimum coverage for their basic needs. I added this to the gas price to come up with a monthly total of $273.

Monthly Healthcare:

EPI estimate

$407

My research price

$268.18

To get this price I did research on http://www.ehealthcare.com/ to get a quote. The website required that I put an age in for all members of the family. I made the wife 38 and the husband 39 when filling out information for the quote. The children were 5 and 6. The cheapest healthcare provider that came up was Blue Cross Blue Shield of Georgia. They gave a quote of $268.18 for the POS plan, which is the one I used for the family. The basics of this include a $7,500 deductible, 30% coinsurance, and $30 co-pay. The family will only have to worry about these expenses when they need treatment.

Other Necessities:

EPI estimate

$339

My estimate

$399

Other necessities include items like toiletry, cleaning products, utilities, car maintenance, and unexpected expenses like medicine cost when someone gets sick. Because this category can be interpreted differently by different people, I based my estimate for this off of the EPI estimate. For a family of four, items like soap, toilet paper, laundry detergent, and dish detergent can be used up rather quickly and at an inconsistent rate. This means that the amount they spent on this stuff a month plus items like utilities, car maintenance, and unexpected cost can fluxuate. I feel that the EPI estimate is a sufficient amount for whatever the family considers necessary at the time. If I were to come up with my own estimate, it would probably leave out many important factors. I consider this total the family allowance, which covers the changing necessities for the month and is left up to them to determine have it if spent for the unique needs of each month.

Monthly Taxes

EPI estimate

$385

My estimate

$450

While the EPI estimate it enough to cover elements like Workers Comp, Unemployment, and FICA, it does not consider the risk of under paying, which the family has control over. Since the family can chose how much taxes they have taken out of their paycheck with the W-4 form, they would want to ensure that underpaying does not happen. According to http://www.census.gov/, the average family of four in America makes about $43,318 a year, while the specific average for the South is $39,823. Most people follow a 22% rule when deciding how much of their yearly salary goes into taxes. For a family making between $39,823 and $43,318, this means that about $3000 dollars should be paid a month. But things like amount of dependants living under one roof and money given to charity lowers the amount of taxes that has to be paid. The family for the experiment makes a more modest salary that would be slightly above the poverty threshold to show how much one can survive off of just considering the basic needs. This safely puts them at an estimate of $450 for taxes a month. This ensures that they are no underpaying and can even mean that they are paid back during incomes tax time if they gave too much.

Final Monthly Total:

EPI estimate

$3959

My researched estimate

$3076.35

Final Annual Total:

EPI estimate

$47,506

My researched estimate

$37636.20

Poverty threshold

$22,050

Poverty threshold based off my researched price of food

(math: monthly food cost x 12= annual food cost x 3) based off of www.ocpp.org/poverty/how.htm

$17502.12

My Thoughts:

I am surprised that even considering how much lower my researched prices added up to be, my annual budget total for the bare minimum necessities was incredibly higher than the poverty threshold. While researching, I was shocked to come across prices much lower than the EPI estimate and thought that they could possible add up to be near the poverty threshold. This research shows that food is not a sufficient source to base poverty off of. The US government takes the annual cost of food for a family of four and multiplies it by 3 to state what is considered a sufficient amount to live off of. My own researched poverty threshold calculation shows how absurd that is relative to my sample family's diet, which is not as expense since the children are still young. When doing my research the component of the budget that really surprised me was how low childcare can be. I was expecting this to be one of my more expensive costs, but to my surprise it was the one with the greatest distance from the EPI estimate. It was dramatically low. Overall, I think Savannah is a pretty affordable place to live considering my ability to find almost all of the budget factors at prices lower than the EPI estimate. But even in this town where the cost of living is lower, the poverty threshold for a family of four cannot support them. Just considering necessities alone, my research shows that a family needs about $37,636 to survive. Poverty threshold does not consider the rising gas prices, childcare cost, or insurance because these things were not as big of a factor years ago when the equation was formed. Now the number is just merely an estimate of how much it would cost to eat for three years if prices do not fluxuate. This price does not meet the needs of the modern family that is now required to have car insurance to drive in their state and proper childcare to keep their children from being taken away by Defax if both of them are working.

Hons 392 Privileged: How Hollywood and the media shape attitudes surrounding the beauty of African American women

Lately, one might notice that women of color like Avatar's Zoe Saldana and Halle Berry have been the "it" actresses in Hollywood, portraying a diverse range of characters. Not only are they success stories of how actresses of color rise in Hollywood and penetrate into the mainstream, but are often painted as the poster children of beauty. In a society where beauty is closely associated with femininity and gender, sustaining the "in" look becomes a priority for women of all types. But for Caucasian, women Hollywood and the media provides them with a variety of options to base their beauty off of ranging from Cameron Diaz and Drew Berrymore to Megan Fox and Keri Knightley. For women of color, specifically examining African Americans, their mainstreamed idols of beauty are limited to the light skinned, ethnically versatile women like Rihanna, Beyonce, and Tyra Banks. This plays a key role in how middle-class African American women present themselves as beautiful and choose to "dress for success".

While being white has its privileges as Peggy McIntosh points out in White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack, being considered beautiful in America also has its privileges. This is seen in the marrying choices of richer men, where the "trophy wife" becomes more common. Many women get plastic surgery to become beautiful relative to the media's portrayal of beauty so they can be more desirable to the opposite sex or obtain a job that is based on beauty, which tend to be higher paying than the average job. This is seen in the salaries of super models, exotic dancers, big name actresses, call girls, and luxurious lifestyle of famous porn stars. Let's not forget that when it comes to endorsements, especially for beauty products, the best looking of the crop are chosen, many of who are listed in the above paragraph. While white women have to face this pressure, African American women have to deal with both the racial and the beauty factor to obtain privilege or become more favorable in America where media sets the precedent.

For African American women the pressure to be light-skinned and have straight hair may be present across the class border, but it is more prominent in middle and upper middle class where the most privilege conscious individuals are located. It is the middle class women who can afford to go to expensive salons to have her hair chemically straighten and if desired weaved with 100% non-African American human hair. The rarity of extensions made of African American hair itself shows that natural African characteristics are not desired in the beauty world. It is also these women who can afford the bleaching creams or the more popular term "complexion clearing" products made for women of color, and sold mainly in beauty stores in areas with high a black population. As a result, being dark and having "bad" or "nappy" hair has gotten the stigma as ugly. In the fan constructed top ten list of African American actresses only two of the women were of a darker complexion. This can explain why these women of color try to mask the ascribed features of their race. This Americanized idea of beauty for them contrast drastically from Africa where women of many complexions are desirable and wear their heads shaved.

This stage of socialization is prompted at early stages of an African American girl's life. This is seen in story that my roommate (Caucasian) shared with me about one of her elementary school friends who happened to be African American. One day when they were playing together, the girl reached and grabbed some of my roommates shedding hair and places it on her head. Then she makes the comment, "Now if I water it my hair will grow to be exactly like yours"(which at the time was blond and straight). At early ages children see the ideas of beauty forced on them by the media. Despite her ethnic background, Dora the explorer is not portrayed with curly, lively hair, and none of the original Disney princesses had the darker skin this little girl. She immediately noticed that characteristics of white women were more desired. This is reflected in who is considered beautiful in this race. Even when an African American Miss America is chosen, she closely resembles and bi-racial woman than an African American woman. This is seen with the 2010 winner of the competition who won a $50,000 scholarship, which reinforces the idea of beauty carrying privileges. In the case of the African American woman, beauty is also tied to the nearness of whiteness. While Hollywood and the media is slowly diversifying, faces like Jada Picket and Gabrielle Union are the ones to make to cover of mainstream (non-African American) magazines showing the world what a beautiful African American women should look like. Women like the William sisters will remain second rate and labeled as manly, and actresses like Tara Thorton will remain unknown. The interesting thing is that both races in America accept these definitions of beauty for African American because it has been long standing, showing just how powerful the media can be. As stated in Giltin's Media Unlimited How the Torrent of Images and Sounds Overwhelms Our Lives, the supply for these images will continue if there is a demand.

Want to see what America thinks African American beauty should look like for yourself?
Type in African American Actressess into google and see what comes up. http://www.google.com/
How many dark skinned, natural haired, mainstreamed women can you find?

Hons 392 Homosexuality: deviance from gender roles in America

One of the main things that make homosexuality unacceptable to some Americans is not the sexual orientation of an individual, but the deviation from the gender role assigned to them by society. These people that defy the norms of their genders are dubbed with the title "gender benders". They are left without a gender identity that classifies what they truly are because the American society is only confines them to either masculine or feminine. Betsy Lucal points this out in What It Means to Be Gendered Me, which states that "a person who does not do gender appropriately is placed not into a third category but rather into one with which her or his gender display seems most closely to fit." Each description has its set sex attached to. When this changes, this out group experiences the consequences of going against the norm.

Gender is often associated with appearances, mannerisms, and is always visible. While not all homosexuals deviate much from their gender role, in many cases the homosexual community is immediately identified by their opposite-sex characteristics. Gay men are more likely to be expressive, submissive, and emotional, which are characteristics less valued by society and looked down upon especially for men. Society expects men to be more instrumental, aggressive, and self-reliant. Gay men are more likely to adopt or have feminine characteristics that are associated with women. This can be seen in the way they dress and behave. Lesbians also "gender bend", possessing characteristics like aggression, toughness, and dominance. This leaves society wondering how they escaped the socialization process which is constantly and continually being bombarded on an individual through family, school, work, and the media.

Because these individuals refuse to conform, aggressive attitudes towards them develop. This is seen with the emergence of homophobia in many cultures. While there is discrimination against homosexuals in America, Jamaicians tend to punish this deviant behavior more aggressively showing that it is absolutely not acceptable. In the Caribbean islands gays are constantly and brutally attacked with not much help from the law, and they also face the media's hate through violent music written about them as seen in Tim Padgett's The Most Homophobic Place on Earth in Time Magazine. Similarly in America, these people are called hateful names and made to look like a freak show in public settings. Even though a lesbian may display the desirable male characteristics that society values, they are shunned for deviating from the feminine role assigned to their sex. Gay men are extremely looked down upon for having "weaker women characteristics" and for declining the privilege of being a socialized male. Like many women, they face sexism and discrimination for their femininity.

How do these attitudes still exist in a nation as accepting as America? Culturally, men are seen as the bread winners that provide for their families during an era when procreation is highly valued, especially by families. For women, they are expected to be concerned with house and matters, and are expected to have children. In some areas of America, a woman that has more male children is still valued over mothers of daughters. Homosexuals have a hard time fitting into this traditional family view of things that is still valued in America today. Their deviance from their gender role and sexual orientation goes against the procreation way of things. Naturally, two males and two females are not capable of having children or showing distinguished gender roles based on sex through their relationships. Even when they try to adopt, people fear for the children's socialization process. While the outside world tends to discriminate against these people for going against the gender roles, their families and people close to them tend to shun them for deviating from the norm of a traditional family.

Although the media, school, and family may make these individuals feel like outsiders, socialization in America is changing slowly to accommodate them. This is mostly seen in advertising and the emergence of politically correct terms for them. Some examples of this are seen in advertisements by Dolce and Gabbanna, Kay Jeweler, and Levi. There are more friendly terms like "life partners" that people are using to describe these relationships. Gay activist and support groups have emerged and are allowed to share their concerns without facing as much brutality as in the past and as seen in other countries. America is experiencing more progress relative to some other places like in the Caribbean and Mexico. Europe and Canada are ahead in their accommodation process, while places like Italy are still in the building stages like America. In 2007, and activist group launched a controversial ad showing a baby wearing a bracelet that said "homosexual", symbolizing that sexual orientation is not a choice. Similar things have been happening in our own country, and as a result shows and movies like Will and Grace and Brokeback Mountain are giving future generations a new socialization experience through the media, which embraces and encourages an open attitude towards these deviant "gender benders".

An intimate night with Strange

So last night was the night for odd events. I didn't think reading in a stairwell could be so interesting. As I sat their catching up on a weeks worth of reading my peers made their way through the usually unpopular stairwell. The first occurance was one of the most off-setting which I caught as I looked up from my pages to see a peer with paper bags on his feet making his way to the girls' floor. I asked with curiosity why he had the noisy items attached to his feet. He simply replied that he didn't want to get his feet dirt. Moments after disappearing he swung the door of the third landing open and made his way back to his floor complaining that "they like him better". Just as I thought it couldn't get any stranger I heard jiggling noise making its way to the third floor. What could that be but a girl gearing up for the protest that was today. Apparently Santa elf hats are the perfect attire for an event of such manner. If a bag wearing boy and a Santa elf protester weren't interesting enough, a friend zooms through the stairs and tosses the craziest little pamplet at me. It started out being about little children celebrating Halloween and then randomly turned in to a tool of Christian conversion. I hand the bizarre pamphlet to a girl heading back down. The irony is that the bag boy thought that my reading in the secret stairwell was strange and even asked himself why everyone was acting so "sketchy" tonight. Just when I think the madness is over, I hear a sneaky individual creep into the stairwell underneath me. Whoever it is is oblivious to the fact that I am above them and whispers to themselves as I hear a repetative clicking sound. Seconds after they leave, the stairwell is filled with an awful smell and I through the towel in. The Gladwell book and I move the normal stairwell across the hall where we discover that there is a fifth floor landing in our building that leads to the roof. I finally get some peace and quiet and conquer my last minute attempt to conquer my assignment. I get 2 hours and 30 mintues of sleep to awake to a fire alarm at 5 in the morning. I couldn't help thinking for the rest of the day that a certain department wants something from me after luring perks from an email.

Strange

Oh how I have abandoned you my dear friend Blog

If you can't tell, I have been replacing my writing time with school assignments and that is no way to maintain a healthy relationship with a blog. So let's catch up. (Numerical style as usual--no specific order):

1. I decided to try lent this year which equals lent poetry minus liberty desert

2. Interesting life complications

3. 1 beautiful prom dress for my sister

4. A happy visit to lifegroup

5. An email that may change my life

6. A dorm prayer group with friends

7. One Intervarsity meeting on an off day

10. An interesting church with interesting people

11. Oh, and poetry night with a friend (let's begin here)

Tonight was pretty cool. I talked a friend into going to open mic night with me at this museum. We enjoyed the eclectic performances, and then... a real poet took the stage (ok not really, but it took him some guts to get up there and I approve of that) This moment just really stood out to me and I wanted to record it. ( :

Hons 392 How society permits criminal deviance with the use of prisons

As seen in Dentler and Erickson's Functions of Deviance in Groups, society does not always eliminate deviants, but instead allows it. This can be seen in the accommodation of prisons and jails worldwide. The norm and accepted behavior of almost all societies is to follow the rules and laws set out by their governments, but yet they make room for deviance by providing a place for intended offenders. Countries do this to maintain equilibrium as opposed to eliminating all deviants. The deviance allowed because of these institutions include: murder, theft, drugs, and many other arbitrary and even minor crimes.

The perks of allowing deviant norm offenders to have their on little home in society include maintenance of group performance, a reward system, and boundaries. In this way, having prisons establish equilibrium in an environment. With criminals a society is able to establish a heirarchy of behavior. Without offenders there would be no differentiation from the normal law abiding citizen and a lowly criminal. By showing society that there is a consequence for being deviant against the law, a social latter is started. Those that offend the law the least (conform to norms the best) are at the top with offenders at the bottom. By emphasizing this social latter society influences others to strive to be the best law conformers they know how to. This keeps one end of society striving for the optimum levels while the deviants keep these motives recharged by existing as a lower spectrum.

While society allows the existence of criminals, they make sure the social ranks stay clear through the use of the reward system. In many cases, the award is the privilege of government protection and programs. In most countries, the criminal looses the freedom to go where ever he/she wants. They also don't have the option of obtaining better selective jobs with benefits. Hostility is something that they also face not only from each other, but from the law enforcement whose job is to protect law abiding citizens. In November, two inmates died from brutal beating they received from Italian law enforcers. The fact that prison deaths are not as publicized as military ones or other types of deaths shows the distinction between the rewarded individuals of society and the deviant ones. Normally when a criminal first realizes their demotion in society they are overwhelmed and depressed. Some cannot handle the harsh condition under which they are forced to live. Around 150 inmates die each year in Italian prisons, while around 60 of those deaths are suicides.

Yet, many countries struggle with overpopulation in prisons. Some countries have to deal with more criminal deviance than others like the United States and the Republic of China who have the highest number of inmates. One reason this could be is that both countries are strong powers that want to be seen as dominate and in control, and one of the ways a group is distinguished is in part by the norms it creates for handling deviance and the forms of it that it is able to observe (Dentler and Erickson). Because these countries want to be seen as in control when it comes to protecting their citizens, they will have a more rigid law enforcement to deal with crime in their larger populated countries. While there is some absorption for "minor crimes" like traffic offenses, littering, and contract breeches, for the most part these countries crack down on more little crimes than others where certain laws don't even exist. This is seen with underage drinking and drug usage in America. Because the drink age is higher someone is more like to get in trouble with the law for distribution to a minor, public endangerment, or other fancy terms that can be used to convict someone for the same crime. In a way these stricter boundaries that the citizens have to live under shapes the nation's cultural identity. This is seen in the way America is viewed as more conservative than European countries when it comes to the laws and restrictions like these.

Although prisons and jail funding take up time and money, most societies see them as a necessity in not only controlling criminal deviance, but also allowing it to maintain equilibrium and give its citizens a social law abiding latter that they can strive for optimum levels on. In this way, prisons and law enforcement help establish a nation's identity by showing how they deal with deviance and what is considered deviant by their law, culture, and standards. With the allowance of criminal deviance, countries would not have distinguished systems to keep equilibrium on the law latter. They also would lose some control over their citizen's behavior without the motivation of rewards and the punishment system for not conforming to the law.

sources used:
http://www.lifeinitaly.com/node/12368

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incarceration_in_the_United_States#Conditions

Hons 392 The Deviance in Polygamous Relationships in American Culture

While polygamy is accepted in other cultures like tribes and clans in Africa and Middle Eastern countries, for the audience in America it is unacceptable. Even the law forbids it when it comes to marriage. For those that violate the norm of monogamy within the States harsh judgment and queer looks are the consequences. As said by Howard Becker, deviance is determined by society's reaction to an act not the act itself. Unfortunately polygamists have been subjects of this labeling theory. Their act is seen as deviant by the conformist of the American culture when in fact under certain conditions their actions would be seen as logical and acceptable.

The primary deviance in this act is that the sexual restrictions of the society are being violated. Law and religion play a key role in shaping this standard that the majority conforms to. This oligarchy surprisingly has a great affect on the love lives of its citizens. This is seen in how a few Middle Eastern nations that are of another religion and allow polygamy embrace this behavior and turn it into a cultural norm. This shows the relativity of deviance. Many polygamists in America deviate from monogamy for religious reasons, or personal desires. They see themselves as the outgroup for being accepting to this idea and go ahead and join their own subculture. A specific example of this is the LDS Restorationist Movement with a certain group of Mormons. While legally unable to be bigamist, they find ways around the law to be considered religiously married. The HBO show Big Love depicts this subculture to many viewers, who are given an exaggerated perspective of how differently these people live. This causes stronger emotions to arise against this deviant nature, insuring that public display of this love will be culturally deviant for some years to come.

The secondary deviance seen in this act is breaking the norm of simple group relationships. The most natural and simplest type of group is a dyad. Anything after that gets more complex socially. The break from this simple structure has prompt society to label these people "polygamists", which has a negative connotation like "pedophile", "anorexic", and other deviant behavior. Polygamists are willing to deal with the complexities of larger groups to satisfy their love, desires, or religion. In his article on Polygamy, Alex Deane describes that one of the major cons in these relationships is the competition it causes amongst its partners, which can be confusing for children born into these structures. It also causes jealousy when a dominant partner arises. This is the chance that this group is willing to take.

While the reactions and discriminatory behavior towards this group may be seen as their own personal and social trouble, it is not impossible for this view to change in America. As seen with natural disasters morals and values can change quickly. Under the circumstance that there is an extreme death rate or imbalance of gender do to a tragic event like war, terrorism, or an epic natural disaster. Polygamy can easily become the norm for building up a nation or a races population. For America, which is a powerful and dominate nation, accepting a loss of power from this imbalance would be unacceptable up against its competitors. When it comes down to it polygamy could very well be used to build up the population to regain power. It could even be stamped with the stigma as patriotic, as seen with working women during the World Wars. It was against the norm during that time for women to take on male jobs, but that quickly changed due to the militant events. In an instant, women in the work force became patriotic. The government could even go so far as to legalize marriage for these groups just to retain the American values of marriage and commitment. While the chances of this occurring naturally are extremely low, given a dramatic event these outcasts can easily become an ingroup.

*photo from HBO's Big Love

Hon 392: College Identity Crisis

One thing that one notices when entering the college world is that their identity changes. The student not only takes on a new identity, but many identities. It is no wonder that around 80% of college students go through high levels of stress daily according to Pavel Gurnik's article The Truth Behind an Average College Student. It isn't just the school work that gets the students stressing through this transformation, but the transformation itself.

When one is adopted into the college atmosphere they not only hold the ascribed statuses of male, female, 20 years old, or African American, but they also acquire the achieved status as high school graduate, the situational status of freshman, and the transitional status of degree seeker. These are only some of the titles they hold under these statuses. The variety of who they need to be becomes broader at this stage in their lives. As a result, they are overwhelmed with stress. While this analysis may seem surprising considering that people deal with identity and role changes every day, college is an agent of socialization that gives one the opportunity to take on more of these identity and roles than they would have in their average limited environment.

As a socializing mechanism, college's intent is to diversify and broaden its students. Because students on average have only 4 years, they are flooded with many identities to presume at once to undergo this educational experience. This can be overwhelming if one already assumes the titles daughter, sister, employee, friend, female, and tutor. On top of these titles college adds the titles student, researcher, workshop attendee, socialite, adult, writer, resource, and many others. This is especially hard to juggle when under standards of a higher achieving reference group. This can cause the student to view themselves more harshly against the scholars and doctors of the areas of their study. That is overwhelming enough to stir up a good percentage of the stress that they experience daily.

As a whole, humans don't experience stress because the amount of things they have to do, but because of the amount of identities they have to assume. The only reason humans commit the actions they do is because of the psychological and sociological roles they try to fulfill. Because a student has been socialized in the school structure they perform the academic tasks given to them when in the frame of the class. This behavior is also seen in parenting when a mother rushes to mend the wound of her bleeding child. The use of reference sources in society is the essential of how socialization occurs. People presume the titles that those around them assume when placed in a similiar circumstance, and once the majority of a culture agrees on the norms that when it becomes acceptable to presume many of these statuses outside of the ascribed ones. For college students, skipping a lecture or refusing a research project that occurs the same time as a family vacation may seem like a leeway in their new academic environment. When trying to balance being a student, family member, friend, and employee they experience identity overload, which lead to the amount of stress they experience, like many others that significant transitions that require taking on more identities.

In the end, stress is a factor that occurs because of the many identities humans have and the way they view themselves. This view of how one sees themselves in society influences the actions they commit to go along with that perception. Without the worries of a boss' expectations or the hours of studying to pass a test to remain an A student there would be nothing to stress about. Stress is all about maintaining one's image in their society, and college students know all to well about trying too balance their many faces.

Dear God,

I am happy to say that I love You. For the last ten years of my life that hasn't changed. I just thought it was important to let You know that today. It is funny what we humans find love in these days. And God knows those things are forever changing (no irony intended). I find a permant love in You. Unfortunately, this letter may be awkward because I am having trouble conveying myself to You, but I just wanted to thank you for loving me.

S.

Now for some horrible poetry...

This is what I feel like right now:

Feel the Burn

The sun burns brightly on the secluded body of a tree,
Showing its aged and exposed young layers.
Slits of creme color spill from the bark of gray.
They are no longer hidden in the shadows of the canopy.
Light reflects off of the vunerabilities of the sturdy piece of wood,
Tearing down its prestige.
Suddenly its elegant branches and leaves of charm
Are minimized by the markings down the heart of its structure.
It has been revealed to all by the fire of the sky.
The beams of the brilliant sun brings it great heat
And the power to grow at all at once.
Rain's comforting nurture is not
Enough to strech it beyond its limits.
Nor was the soil from which it sprung
Sufficient for teaching it humility it needs
To stand with all of the significant lives in the forest.
Lumberjacks trotting through the forest that afternoon
Came across the common tree.
Repulsed by the uneven scaring,
They traveled on selecting the life of a tree whose flaws were hidden
To burn in a fire less gracious.

Kids in a lunch line

Today I realized that nothing has changed since elementary school. There is still yelling and giggling in the cafeteria. People are sharing food and spilling drinks, and unfortunately some of us still manage to get a stain in our favorite pair of pants. We still travel in flocks, and heaven forbid if we sat with anyone other than our friends. Standing in line to get our lunch is still the norm. And when it is all over and everyone gathers around to drop their tray off, there is still that weird kid that makes random noises for the fun of it. Yep, nothing has changed at all. We are "little kids" in "big kids" bodies. Then I ask myself the question:

Have I really grown up?

Well, I have gained more knowledge and a broader perspective. My body has even changed, but at the end of the day I do all of the things I did when I was younger just in different forms.

Hons 392 Colleges' use of Impression Management

Most businesses use some form of impression management "to control the impression they present during the service encounter" as mentioned in Anne M. Velliquette and Jeff B. Murray's The New Tatoo Subculture. This is also true for educational institutions. Colleges across the world want perspective students to get the impression that they are looking at the academic setting that is best equiped to prepare them for the profession of their choice. For different countries the approach to doing this may look different. In the United States of America colleges range from liberal arts and technical to medical and Ivy League. The U.S. has lots of variety to meet the demands of a diverse people. In certain middle eastern counrties, colleges focus on math and science to appeal to the dominant amount of perspective students looking for careers in those areas. As a result, brochures are packed with academic focused information. Colleges paint themselves as intellectual places where one can obtain success in pursuing their profession. They are careful to make sure the perspective student is not openly shown the disadvantages and risk that go along with studying at an institution.

From my own experience, I have seen the College of Charleston the way the school wanted to portray itself to me as a perspective student and through being an actual student. Using impression management, the college showed me its endless number of majors, study abroad programs, beautiful campus, and three story library. While they did mention certain precautions the college mainly focus on being "my perfect fit" liberal arts college. The dining hall had a variety of stations to accommodate my my specific taste, while the library had many floors on which I could research, study, get my computer fixed, and even grab some coffee for late night studying. Not only did they have adequate modern facilities for learning for those that prefer that, but they also had historical house in which one can take a class or be advised in for those that appreciated historical sites. Most importantly they had a variety of majors taught by qualified professors. To appeal to my interesting in writing in English, they could offer me the option of taking a class with the published author of Jewel, Bret Lott. I was under the impression that this was my college heaven.

As a student, I got to see the elements of the college that were less dislayed to the "customer". One of the stigmas the college deals with is being a called a party school, which is something that I had no knowledge of being an out-of-state student. My impression of what partying was like was managed by a website pictures of a flash rave in the library--good clean fun. It wasn't until orientation that they started revealing how they deal with the large number of students abusing alcohol and administering alcohol education test. They also painted themselves as a well secured place with public security call boxes everywhere and security walking around. By doing this they down played the crime that I now get more information about now that I am a student. Just last semester I got about five security alert emails in one week.

Looking at the broader picture, this is something that colleges across America and the world deal with. While MIT is a well-known, prestigious technical school it doesn't tell its perspective students that it has a high suicide rate and other factors that can have an influence on the students academic life and well being (Matrix: The Magazine for Leaders in Education April 2001 by Al Branch). When adressing many of these issues euphemism is used to water the issue down to a norm, as seen with the way strippers describe themselves as exotic dancers and socially justify their occupation in Jacqueline Lewis' Learning to Strip. In this same way colleges use statements like, "that can happen at any school" when asked specific questions about a problem that they are dealing with. This is also seen in countries like Iraq where educational reforms are being made and education is being promoted, but emphasis isn't being put on the fact that there is the risk of schools being bombed.

In conclusion, controlling what others think is an informal norm used not only in the business world, but also the education world. The usage of this technique is popular because it is what society responds to. As Machiavelli conveyed in The Prince, the way to gain control over a group of people is by giving them what they want. In this case, educational institutes are doing just that, but kicking the dirt that comes along with the attachment under the rug. Because the average student wants the academic opportunity presented to them they tend to allow these institution to affectively use this technique and gain power over their perspectives. As a result, some don't obtain the diploma or career they intended because of mental break downs, sexual assult, addictions, and other temptations and vulnerabilies that come with studying at a university.

Hons 392 The Snaf healing ritual for boredom: looking at American attitudes toward entertainment from an outside perspective

Snaf are an interesting group of individuals that live in various areas in North America. They often unite to attend massive events called strecnoc. This is where they come to worship their idols. There are snaf of all ages that gather around a platform where they listen to the screetching of their idols. Everyone chants the incantations lead by the icon. Inbetween the chants some scream, while others pass out from shock. At some of these strecnoc events the snaf get the lucky chance of being apart of the human bed built for these idols. They crowd together with their hands up for the highly praised icons to lay on. The icon is then tossed around above the crowd and then replaced to their elevated station. Others get the chance after these strecnoc to have these idols mark them or their possesions with ink. When it is all over most walk away with garments that mark that they had wittnessed the chanting of the highly acclaimed icon. These people believe that these strenoc events will temporarily cure them of boredom and add excitement to their lives.

When viewing entertainment in America as an outsider, events like concerts with cheering fans may seem a little odd. In his article Body Ritual's among the Nacirema, Horce Miner explored American attitudes about the body from an outsider's perspective. Using this same approach with the example of a rock concert, entertainment can be seen as something that is regularly sought and praised in the American culture. This leads one to assume that boredom is something that Americans do not easily adjust to. If there is nothing to do or worry about, things are created to fill this void as seen with sports, music, movies, theater, and televsion shows. About 99% of American households have a least one televsion according to the A.C. Nieslen Co. This quantitative data shows how entertainment is culturally embraced. This observation and accertion is supported with both quatitative and empirical information which is important in using the scientific method on social commentary. Without even a conducted experiment, one can see how a crowd reacts when their favorite sports team has won a game or their favorite actor is seen emdorsing a certain brand. There is lots of yelling and everyone thinks they must own that product. In the example above, an outsider observing a concert would see how the entertainer is highly praised by the crowd, and would assume that the singer is some diety being worshipped. This seems like an over-the-top analysis of how amped up the enterainment industry is in the average American home, but magazines like Star and the Inquire dedicate their existance to bringing Americans every detail about their entertainers and entertainment. One remarkable evidence of how the American society as a whole "bows down" to their cure for boredom is the amount of money they spend to obtain this cure. Just this weekend the film Avatar grossed $34,944,081 (www.boxofficemojo.com/weekend.chart).

Not only do the "snaf" spend lots of money to entertain themselves, but their entertainers are also paid well. The average actor gets paid around $50,000 which is $10,000 more the the average salary of an elementary school teacher (http://www.payscale.com/). This shows what Americans are more enthusiast about in comparison to eduction, which other cultures embrace more severely. Some Asian countries pay their educators $20,000 more than American, showing that they culturally embrace education more than average Americans. As an outsider looking in, one might think that entertainment is the god of America. In less dramatic terms, it would be seen as something that is higly valued in the American culture, which would lead one to assert that boredom is something that most Americans find intolerable or unacceptable.

No lie, I am supposed to be doing homework right now

Before I settle into my normal routine, I need to let some steam off. So here it is:

Darn non-working laptops!!!!! (I'm sad to say that Dell is dead ) : )

Unfortunately, I am in the library where I should be working on my blog for class, but that isn't happening. I have decided that I haven't been letting my emotions out as I regularly do, and that I should instead blog about that. On top of this frustrating week with my computer, my friends have decided to do some man-hunting and bathing suit shopping for me. If there are two things in the world that I could live without right now it would be men and bathing suits. But if they happen to read this, I'd like to say that I appreciate the kind gesture. Oh yeah and I must not forget that I have been slowly loosing my memory. That's right, I'm getting old.

Now for the lighter side of things:

I am really enjoying my second semester. It has been full of exciting school work and mischief as listed below in my highlights of the month:

1. Three hour astronomy lab from 7- 10 (not)
2. Statistics quiz (I think I found the best kind of math in the world)
3. Scaring the crap out of Jacob (I still laugh a little on the inside when I think of this)
4. Making better grades in Astronomy!
5. My French teacher is awesome (I don't even mind that I have the class everyday)
6. Kidnapping Snicklefritz and blaming it on Myles (what can I say, I am against stuffed animal abuse)
7. Blogging for homework (I can official say that I do homework for fun now)
8. Kidnapping Myle's stuffed cows and blaming it on Jacob (don't worry I returned them all after two nightmares about taking other people's things)
9. Oh yeah, and I finished weaving another purse!

Well, I must say Janurary 2010 has been quite eventful.

Hons 392 Haitian Law Enforcement: Personal Troubles or Public Issues

The law enforcement system in Haiti has come unraveled since the devastating earthquake. This has left the country in the hands of looters and criminals. For the surviving locals this has become both a social trouble and a social issue. In most countries like the United States and Great Britain law enforcement is seen as a social issue and is left in the hands of government under stable conditions. According to Tom Leonard's article Haiti earthquake: law and order on a knife edge, now that crime in Haiti has grown relative to the population, locals are helping law enforcers by cracking down on offenders with severe violence. The people are starting to see these criminals as personal violators of their safety. Because this rage and fear is spreading vastly among the individuals it has also become a public issue. The people are stepping up to fight the inadequacy of the police force cause by this natural disaster. These individuals feel like they have to protect the little bit of civilization they have left. It can be seen as a personal trouble in the sense that values cherished by the individuals are threatened. The organized component seen in an action embraced by the masses makes it a public issue. This analysis of this event is based off the definitions of personal trouble and public issues given in C. Wright Mills' The Promise. The people are beginning to see law enforcement as their responsibility. When asked about the public's violent participation in law enforcement, one of the natives said, "It's not good justice but if they don't do it nobody else will."

For most, fear is the catalyst for this meshing of public issues and personal troubles. This shows that natural disasters and huge social disturbances can cause a shift in how individuals view themselves and their situation relative to society. In this particular event, the Haitians made law enforcement a personal responsibility and crime a personal trouble for themselves, while the average middle class American living in a stable environment sees law enforcement as the government's responsibility. When the United States dealt with the natural disaster of Katrina, similar shifts in individual's views were also seen. These disturbances shook the social order and perspectives of two different cultures showing that any society is susceptible to shifts in what is considered personal troubles and public issues when fear and disaster strikes.

Apologetics

Apologetics is the art of getting people to see the truth in Christianity, which involves becoming aware of the worldview of others around you. That is done by getting an understanding of the culture and beliefs of others and being able to explain your own. One definition I really like is "It is the scientic art of Christian persuasion". I'd like to think of it as polite evangelism minus the obnoxiousness plus the listening component.

How does this apply to my life right now one might ask?

Answer: I really don't know, but I do know that I deeply care about people a lot. It is kind of a tiresome habit. I guess there is some relation in that I am opened-minded about their different lifestyles like an apologist is opened to learning about other cultures and religions. I do the whole listening and learning about others views thing. I am just missing the whole "persuasion" thing. Then I think to myself: Why and how would I persuade someone to believe what I believe?

One word works for both answers: Peace

Humility

n. the state of being humble.

humble: adj. lowly; unpretentious, modest.