final week before much needed SB.

This week has been kind of crazy for me, but maybe it's just cause I am so anxious for a much needed week off from school. Not a whole lot went on this week but I found myself in a lot of situations where I was thinking what if someone were to do this, or say this, in a situation where it wouldn't be likely or expected. So pretty much breaking social norms or folkways. On wego thru the tube last friday, there was a  perfect example of a folkway being broken by some kid walking around with a horse mask and scaring people. That is definitely not something you'd expect on a daily basis, and not a norm whatsoever. The past couple days, the temperature has dropped, unfortunately and many girls continue to still see those two days of sixty degree weather, as opportunities to wear shorts and mini skirts.... When I see that, not gonna lie, I tend to think like what the heck are they thinking? I understand a tank-top with jeans as long as there is a sweater worn with it too, but shorts when its like 35 degrees? I see that as breaking a norm. It may not stand out as much but it definitely could still be classified as that. Finally, my last example that I witnessed this week was actually today on my way to a pitching lesson. Now I am not completely sure if there was a reason as to why this person was doing this, but they were driving in their car and wearing a bike helmet. I can honestly say that I have not seen that in my life before and maybe it's just for extra safety? Who knows, but it's definitely a folkway and not something you see everyday. Not too mention it was completely hysterical and made my day :)

:(

This week has been pretty hectic and depressing for many kids in our school. I chose to pick out where I saw sociology when kids came together to remember Daniel Fulmer. I personally did not know him and I know many other people that can say the same. The other day at the beginning of tenth hour, there was a moment of silence to remember him that took place in senior hall. The hall was completely filled with students. Once again, I didn't personally know him, but I was aware of the pain and suffering that others were experiencing because of the loss, and I paid my respects because of that. Everyone who showed up was definitely abiding by the social norms that were expected. In this type of situation, I did not expect to see anyone breaking any norms or folkways because it was such a serious matter. Everyone cooperated and came together and were quiet and showed the respect that was necessary during that time. Yesterday was the wake for Daniel Fulmer and I saw most of the kids that attended on my way back to school in the afternoon. Everyone was abiding to another social norm of dress code. No one was wearing flashy outrageous outfits, they all wore pretty conservative outfits, mostly black, and nothing too eye-catching. These type of events take place pretty often with other people and personally I have been to many wakes and funerals. I know that there are definitely some important social norms that are in place and I feel personally that to break them, it would be disrespectful and rude. I believe that these social norms should not be broken and that is exactly why we have them in place for events such as these.

this crazy week in society

I feel like the more I learn about society in our class, the more I begin to see it within everyday life. Which is good cause it means that I am actually learning things and applying them. This past weekend I went to Illinois State University to watch the class 4A shooting competition as well as the girls state championship games. For the Bolingbrook vs. Zion-Benton game, the Zion-Benton team had a very large squad supporting their team. For their squad, they had a set of norms. The norms seemed to me like the dress code. Faces were painted, designed shirts, crazy outfits, but all for the common purpose of showing support to their team and school. The squad new their limits to what cheers they could do and how they could act in a public facility with lots of security. They still had to maintain themselves and be respectful to the facility and others that were trying to watch the game as well. I think that to others, their outfits may have been breaking folkways. There were girls wearing short-shorts, and it's winter time, with cut off shirts. This of course was a special occasion but it still is not a typical outfit that teenage girls wear in the winter time. Another folkway was that at half time the squad blew up beach balls and started hitting them around, however, this was not allowed and security was there to break it up right away. Because of the security getting involved I was reconsidering calling it a folkway and maybe giving it a little more serious term. I saw one particular instance where a girl did not stand up and cheer with the rest of the squad because she was busy texting, even though she was sitting amongst them, and a boy nearby who was in the squad actually called her out on it. This to me seemed like she was breaking a folkway within their squad. She knew that she should be standing up and supporting, like the rest of the students, but instead she did otherwise. All in all, I feel like the squad and the fans at the games and competition were a pretty good look at norms and groups for what we have been discussing.

Representations of America

Money- I believe that this represents American society better than anything else. No matter what your status is or how you are seen by others, money is always obsessed over and important to everyone. This symbolizes how materialistic our culture is and that we rely on money to get us where we want to go in life. It can also be seen as somewhat of a motivation to be successful. The more successful you are, the more money you get, and that is the reason we have successful corporations and industries in our country today. Other countries view us as a rich and powerful country and they are right because without money, I don't really know what else we would have to obsess over besides Justin Bieber and the Kardashians.

Diversity- I believe that when others think about America, they think about it as a melting pot. Many people of different ethnicity's have all come to this country for opportunity, and because of this, we have become one of the most diverse countries in the world. Each group has brought their own culture and traditions and therefore we have a large variety of different walks of life within our 50 states.

Fast Food -Fast pace. These fast food restaurants have done a lot for our country, good and bad. On the downside, they have been the basis for our country's obesity problem, meanwhile they are some of the leading corporations in the world that were born in America. The word 'fast' not only represents the quickness of receiving our food, it represents our country's pace as well. We are always in a hurry and never make the time to sit down for a family  meal and always resort to food places such as these. 

Technology- I truly believe that our country has lost our ability to socialize face to face and if we were to be stripped of our technology, our relationships with others would take a major downward turn. Our country has become so reliant on technology to do the work for us. We are always looking for the next best thing, as well as ways to spread new trends quickly and what better way than facebook or twitter. As our technology advances, so does our society, and sooner or later I think we will reach the point where we may not even talk normally, solely through technology.

Media & Sex- The two words combined, along with money, are probably the best words to describe our culture and society. Sex sells in our country, the less clothes, the better. We have become so enveloped in the media and the newest happenings that we don't really even care what is going on in our own lives. Between Charlie Sheen and Jersey Shore, there is never a shortage of drama or events to take our mind off our own lives and get sucked into those of other peoples. We are known for producing phenomenons constantly and people that can represent our country and what we are all about. Which is mainly sex. Even the most innocent, end up being labeled as sex symbols. Look at Miley Cyrus. No one ever thought she would get to where she is at, but as of lately she's been busted for partying too much and smoking weed. It just goes to show that our culture has a huge impact on many people and it's mainly because of sex and the media.

Norms in society

So today I went down to ISU to watch the final rounds of the three point shooting competition for girls basketball because one of my teammates was competing and I saw a couple connections to what we have been talking about recently in class. There was over sixty girls competing and I saw a lot of conflict involved where there were competing amongst each other for the final four spots. I also saw cooperation among the group of people that volunteered to work the event. They had to communicate well with each other in order for everything to run orderly and smoothly. I saw many different groups of people and a lot of it seemed to me like in and out groups. Many of the girls that were competing, brought someone with them whether it was other players on their team, their coach, or family and friends, but either way, that seemed to be their in group. Most of the groups weren't necessarily hostile towards those that were not in their group, but they weren't all the friendliest people. Another example that I saw was that even though the groups were not all buddy-buddy with each other, they still abided by the norms of society. In the arena no one was acting crazy and doing outrageous things. Of course they would cheer for their favorite shooter or show support in that way, but everyone knew that there was a limit to the cheering and what was expected of their behavior. Finally, I was with my basketball team most of the day, which I considered a secondary group and we had to have a lot of cooperation throughout our trip. We had to communicate and come to a decision on where we wanted to stop for dinner, as well as when we wanted to make pitt stops on our way their and back. All in all, I saw probably the most examples of groups and behaviors in one day then I think I would have on a normal day at school or on the weekend. It was nice to actually see real life examples of what we have been talking about instead of just taking notes and learning about these concepts. It was a success!