Community Service Hours

BEST BUDDIES

MOVIE NIGHT

3 HOURS

            For our Best Buddies movie night, we watched Despicable Me. This was one of the first events I was able to attend during Best Buddies, and I was hesitant. I was unsure of how to deal with the variety of people in the program, and I wasn’t too sure of what to expect. My hesitancy came from a lack of exposure. But, during the event, I found that it was like any other outing with friends. As an associate, I didn’t have a buddy, but I was assigned to a buddy family, and Laura,the buddy in my family, and I just talked about guys and school and everything before and after, and even a bit during the event. As an associate, our task was to socialize with and promote mutual friendships within our families. It was refreshing to be inclusive and interact with a different group of people than one typically sees in one’s classes and day-to-day life. I absolutely enjoyed every moment of this volunteer event, and in doing so, I found that I really matured and gained friends, as well.

Contact Info

Email: dwarkins@d125.org

SHEDD AQUARIUM

4 HOURS

            For this service opportunity, we spent time going to the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago. This event proved to be challenging, in terms of logistics. We were unsure of whether or not everyone would be able to focus and maintain themselves in a group setting, especially what with all the chaos that is the Shedd Aquarium. However, after a bus ride filled with Jonas Brothers music and whatnot, we were able to make it to the aquarium and get through it without any injuries. Although, to be honest, I was kind of just waiting for it to be over the whole time—I wasn’t really in the mood for it, but I found that I had a surprisingly good time, nonetheless. Having to be on at all times is slightly exhausting, but I found that it was actually a very rewarding experience. It’s a good experience, especially in terms of maturation, and I found that it broadened my scope of insights and influence.

NHS

3+ HOURS

For this, I mainly just spent my time prepping for Give-A-Thon--I worked on logistics, making phone calls, creating adverstisements, and whatnot, It was your standard volunteership. To be honest, it didn't really impact me all too much, but I felt good knowing that what wok I was doing was helpful, at least in some way.

CONTACT INFO: berdmann@d125.org

Social class at SHS is, well, it's unique. Regardless of the size of our school, there are distinct, if not cliche, social classes and circles ever present. At SHS, for the most part, we basically only see the higher end of the social class--there is a majority of middle-upper-middle class students at our school, and so what we mostly see is that presence. In terms of comparison to the Saints and Roughnecks reading, we mainly have many Saints in our school. The kids who skip class while getting called out, copy homework from their friends, and casually copy while maintaining an achieving front and no-discipline record, make up the majority of our school. They are accepted and even encouraged to blend into our school's society. Those who oppose the school's rules and get caught are shunned by others, looked down upon, and ostracized, even though the "Saints" do the same; the only difference is the Roughnecks get caught.

I see myself as not impacted negatively; I've learned to work the system, so to speak, and can utilize it to my advantage--those in poverty, however, do not feel the same. For the most part, they get viewed as the Roughnecks of the school, even though their actions wouldn't typically be much different from those of a higher socioeconomic status. On top of subconscious bias from the administration, there is also an added pressure from those around them to fit in and not be different rom the majority in our school. For the most part, these factors all work against the success that there is potential for , and this creates a social imbalance.

For the most part, I've come to notice that our society has dictated how men and women should, respectively, act. Men are tough, strong, emotionless, and dominating. Women are pretty, soft, delicate, and somewhat submissive. These are the roles that our society has boxed us into. Women can be seen as inferior to men both physically and mentally, while men are seen as violent ones without feelings. As a female, I've felt the societal pressure to wear makeup and dress the way in which I do; while doing so is solely for myself and my own validation, the reason why I began to do so in the first place came from a group mentality--it came from the need to meet society's expectation for myself. 

A friend of mine, especially, seems to have been influenced by society's image of what we "should be". Every time I see her, the first thing she comments on is my outfit, hair, or makeup. We don't talk about her life, her issues, or anything beyond the surface, for she is too enamored by the ideal that society has painted for us to expound upon dissimilar topics of conversation. I find that because of the shallow, visual society that we live in, I havent been able to truly connect with this friend and take our relationship past her continuous commentary about how skinny or pretty or perfect or amazing someone else is.

While I (and women everywhere in our society) may find the need to maintain a slim figure, a perfectly made up face, and flawless style, men face similarly disturbing issues; they must be seen as physically empowering and almost violent. As was discussed in Killing Us Softly 4, media, especially TV and movies, portray the "manliest of men" toting weaponry, unreal muscles, and overpowering personas. Men and women in our society feel an inherent need to mold themselves to these personas, even  if they're fighting it. Unfortunately, we're consistently and perpetually influenced by such factors, regardless of the prominent changes there have been to change the majority's way of thinking.

Recently, we've been studying social development and how events, people, and innate characteristics affect one's life. In more specific terms, we've observed the socialization process or in other terms, the influence of others upon us. The way we're interacted with, the ones we interact with, and the stimulation we encounter as we mature has significant influence over our social, emotional, and mental health. 

Looking at the above concept from more of a micro perspective, we can observe the concepts of nature and nurture. Nature, in sense,refers to the innate coding and composition of our being--basically, it means that we are born with certain aspects of our personality and regardless of atmosphere, it is how we are. On the other hand, nurture refers to the influence on our development from those around us, their actions, and the environment in which we develop. Both nature and nurture influence our socialization; nurture can impact our innate nature by pushing it further towards or away from our initial nature. For example, if I am a naturally intelligent person (I'd like to think that is the case), then being nurtured by my parents to do well in school and succeed will enhance my motivation, intelligence, and drive. 

Danielle, for example, is a case in which nurture drove someone away from innate nature, Danielle, a "wild-child" was neglected from a very young age. Forced into isolation, Danielle was unable to speak, socialize, walk properly, or even socialize with others adequately. Because she lacked stimulation and human contact (basic love and care), she found herself to be developmentally stinted. 

A lack of care can debilitate social skills we may take for granted; although seemingly unimportant, basic, and common, basic human interaction, along with nature, play a major role in the way in which we act and develop with and in relation to one another.

Hey there, so today I'm going to be discussing a few concepts we focused on in class, starting with one seen more on the controversial side of the spectrum: death.

I think, in our society, we fear death. We fear the loss of the ones we love, the loss of time, and the loss of experience. Because of our emphasis and the importance we place upon "things" and "stuff", we fear the physical loss of those we care about; to have someone die is to lose the conversations we get from them, the moments we experience with them, and the feedback we receive from them. In our case, death is seen as sad and undesirable (no one truly wishes to die for the most part, but you get my point--we seriously don't value death). However, like Morrie stated, even though we die and those we love die, our relationships with them never die with them. We'll still love them or hate them or feel what we felt during their life. To die is simply to lose their physical manifestation,  not their spiritual impact or influence upon how we've lived, live, and will live.

On a different note, love, too, is seen as controversial and has a different context in our culture. For us, love can be viewed on several levels; I'll just speak from my experience. I've found that loving your family and friends tends to be the norm. It's not strange, but it isn't highly valued either--people are not jealous of love for one's family: it simply is. However, to be romantically linked to another is seen as frightening, to fully commit to another and wholeheartedly love another is a terrifying concept in our culture. We're afraid to love another and give up a part of our selves. We have been raised in a truly individualistic society in which dependence is frowned upon, we have been raised to embrace our singular identities. We are not used to association with another--being "someone's something" isn't something that many of us are innately comfortable with because we become a part of another's life. We are into the fleeting, initial stance of love--butterflies in our stomach, rapid pulsations, and high-powered emotions. However, many of us fear the commitment that real love requires and the effort and maintenance that goes into that "real love". I, personally, am not one looking to be in a relationship at this point in my life--I'm barely my own person, I barely know what I'm doing with my life, and I've only had 17 years of being "Lianne". I know that I'm too independently driven to give a part of my identity to another--when people talk about me, I don't want to be "his girlfriend". I'm not ready to commit to that because I know that I can't become dependent on another before I've even become fully dependent on myself.

Rather than spouting out definitions, I'd rather this blog discuss my time in Amman, Jordan. My family and I go to Jordan ~every other summer to visit our extended family, and for the most part, I have failed to overcome my culture shock. Culture shock describes the literal "shock" that one encounters when being exposed to a new culture or way of life, which typically results from ethnocentrism, which is an adherence to one's own rules and lifestyle, based upon the culture in which one is apart. 

Personally, as I have traveled to Jordan (3 summers total), I've been astonished by the manner in which people there behave and interact. Like in India, in reference to the video clip we watched in class, drivers in Jordan drive with reckless abandon--"traffic laws" are a myth. Everyone makes their own lanes, traffic lights are disregarded, and pedestrians fend for themselves. It's treacherous, from my perspective, at least. Car horns, also in high contrast to America, are the best friends of all drivers at all times; the longer the horn, the more right one becomes (in Amman, at least). My ethnocentrism has made me accustomed to linear order in driving, but in Jordan, it has been a continuous shock to me to realize that this truly is not the case. 

Furthermore, material and non-material culture, which target the things we can see that are unique to a culture and those that are not as visually apparent. Materialistically, Jordan maintains a sort of "European flair" when it comes to fashion: logos everywhere. In Jordan, the bigger the A&F logo or Polo pony, the better dressed one becomes. In my experience, here in America, I've noticed that style is valued over brand names--typically ugly designer clothing is still considered ugly here, while in Jordan, ugly BRAND name clothing is all the rage. 

Also, in terms of language, Arabic is predominantly spoken, but recently, unique to Jordan, there has been a development in "popular" language. Sprinkling in English words here and there in typically Arabic-heavy sentences is considered sophisticated and high-class. This is one way in which Amman is distinct from the cultures around it, especially ours. In reference to the article we discussed in class about the Arabic word for a "win-win" situation, in recent days, phrases such as those are being made negligent in favor of distinct English phrases, which are known to boost status and increase your apparent level of intelligence to those around you

For the most part, being in Jordan has allowed me to leave the bubble that encompasses SHS and learn about my original culture and heritage--culture shock doesn't necessarily need to have a negative connotation to it, for it can lead to better understanding, empathy, and appreciation for those we share the world with.

During this first unit, we explored a variety of several sociological concepts and themes.

Social construction of reality: This concept portrays the idea that a group of people, whether it be a group of friends at school or your family, are the ones in charge of shaping how an individual is viewed. Such a group "constructs" the image of the person and because of this, it becomes said person's reality. It prevents us fro being seen as individuals and instead we are seen through the eyes of others based upon our most defining characteristics. For example, when we did a role-play of "Abandon Ship!". we chose to see the woman without working arms as fragile, worthless, and unnecessary for our group--rather than viewing her as a whole, as a group we had decided to magnify her disability based upon our own preconceptions. Because of this judgment, it became the reality, regardless of her individuality.

Macro/Micro Sociology: For the most part, this concept is not a difficult one to follow--macro sociology focuses on a broader viewpoint of several situations and sociological observations, whereas, micro sociology pinpoints smaller details and nuances of the situation. For example, in our high school, there could be a broad categorization of the sorts of people at SHS: teachers, students, athletes, etc. However, if one were to look more closely, one may see that some teachers are more polite or caring, there are X number of male students and Y number of female students. Looking closely at the big picture (macro) means that we've delved into micro sociology.

Groups/Identity & Ingroups/Outgroups: For this section, I'll discuss A Bronx Tale in order to accurately explain the concepts involved. In and out groups are used in order to depict an idea of either belonging to a group (in) or not (out). In the movie, C's in-group was the group of gangsters in the bar by his house-he felt accepted by them and found that he belonged. On the other hand, C was also a part of an out group--he was not a part of the group of black children in the neighborhood were Jane lived. He could not relate to them, they did not accept him, and he judged them as a result. C identified with the mob guys because they were like him, Italian, and he found that he could be accepted into their group. 

In my personal experience, I've faced this concepts on numerous occasions. At work, I am stereotyped as the snobby, overly rich, obnoxious SHS student. At school, I belong to the group of art-involved students and not to the groups of football players or dance girls, or even video-game enthusiasts. We're all affected by stereotypes and groups, whether for better or worse, and because of this, we see how our lives are shaped and manipulated by those around us.