Who Am I Reflection

In the beginning of the semester, I remember answering the question "Who Am I?" with a quote. I simply couldn't describe certain qualities or characteristics about myself when knowing that I'm consistently changing and improving myself. So I settled on a quote that advocated we are the little things we do each and everyday: we are the books we read, the films we watch, the people we talk to, the decisions we chose to make and the decisions we don't make.

Sociology has taught me that we are a manifestation of things we don't have control over. Who we are is based on our environment, nature and nurture coincide to raise us to our full potential. Sociology has made me become aware of the social construction of my environment, and how I must be empathetic and understanding of diversity--rather than try to categorize myself, as well as others.

One of the most important things I've learned in sociology is that those who are in the poor working class have very minimal chances of rising above poverty--regardless if they contribute to the community and work. This has made me realize that wealth does not exist without the poor, and that the American Dream is not necessarily prosperous for all.

Thinking about answering the question, "Who Am I?" after taking sociology has made me think about much more than just myself. I am more than my favorite things, the people I talk to, or what I choose to do in my free time. I am a part of culture, just as culture is flourished by me. I am connected through nature and the self cannot exist without a nourishing community.

Crash

The movie Crash we watched in sociology uniquely incorporated an entertaining way to communicate implicit and explicit racism in the United States. Implicit racism is where racism may be implied, or carried out in an unspoken rule; whereas explicit racism is when individuals are openly acting on their prejudices. I enjoyed the movie Crash because all of the characters introduced in the movie were associated among one another throughout some point in the movie. By  having the characters' paths cross, it was evident how racism fluctuated through implicit and explicitly. It was interesting to see the impact of racism on an individual, and how they reciprocated the racism onto another individual. It made me realize that racism is prevalent in our society because it acts as a cycle; where those who feel culturally defeated must be domineering in order to regain their confidence. Because humans are intrinsically aggressive, racism which acts in a cycle may never fully subside in society.

Deviance

Although I'm aware of what deviance is, discussing it in sociology allowed me to view how deviance may effect those in society. Deviance is violating the norms of society and is relative to time and place. Those who are deemed deviant in society rarely outgrow their stigma. For instance, those who are in the lower class with those who abuse the law, yet they themselves stay above the law, are deemed deviant for being associated with a disobedient lifestyle. This reminded me how I am sometimes deemed deviant for being friends with those who got in trouble with the drug bust last year. Although I may not associate myself with the incident or pertaining to what led up to the incident, I sometimes carry a deviant stigma for remaining friends with those who got in trouble. Going over deviance in sociology has caused me to become more socially aware of how prejudice and judgement impacts the one's role in society.

Social Construction of Race

Growing up in a country withstanding its reputation as a melting-pot of cultures, America is much more race conscious than the majority of countries around the world. Sociologists have uncovered race to be constructed through different bias societies, as race is not biological. Each culture has constructed its own view of race and different ways to identify one's cultural make-up. For instance, some Latin-American countries attain over one hundred racial terms to describe not only their skin color, but their diverse ethnicity. Most Americans would classify themselves strictly based upon skin color, rather than identify themselves as a hybrid of their ethnicity. This is especially ironic for Americans, as they preach cultural diversity but tend to differentiate individuals based upon skin color.

I believe there should not be a social stigma for identifying race; for it may  be differently identified in different parts of the world. We are becoming more racially integrated as globalization is increasing, and we must leave our prejudices in the past and embrace the growing cultural diversity.

Poverty in America

Discussing poverty in sociology last week has immensely broadened my view of the working class in America. The most interesting thing I learned was that living on minimum wage is no longer sufficient to survive enough to live on. As prices are slowly inflating, the minimum wage fails to cater the financial needs of of the working poor. For no matter how hard the poor must work, the minimum wage is not enough to provide for everyday basic needs. Because of this, it is almost irrevocable for the working poor to overcome poverty or rise above their social class. I believe it's important for the government to give more attention to the issues the working class poor posses and to ultimately raise minimum wage.

Devisions in Social Class

Going over the devisions in social class this week opened up my understanding and empathy towards those living in poverty. Originally I have accepted the fact that those who live in poverty are poor simply because of unfortunate circumstances. We tend to ridicule those in poverty for choosing not to contribute to society and live off of welfare. Although this may be the case, and often exaggerated by the media, it's important to understand that the majority of American society is out of touch with the difficulties to be raised in poverty. Regardless if adults decide to decline the welfare opportunity and get a job, it's quite difficult to search for a job in poor rural areas because jobs are not always available and transportation is a huge hindrance. Moreover, those raised in poverty are not always given the opportunity to achieve an exceptional education in order to strive outside of the poor social class. I learned from the documentary that those who are in the working-poor social class may be just as dedicated to succeed as the upper middle class. I believe it's important to not discriminate against the working poor and not ridicule them as welfare-bums because if we cannot relate to their experiences, nor their social struggles.

Community Service

This Friday I volunteered at a soup kitchen, called A Just Harvest in Chicago, in order to receive a few hours of community service for class. I was there from 5 to 8 and stayed a bit after to help clean up before my father would pick me up. I went with a group of students who were also in sociology. I completely put myself out of my comfort zone to volunteer on a whim. Although sociology taught me how diverse the communities are that I'm not apart of, I primarily learned to not judge individuals' intellect based upon their social class. I encountered a man who took philosophy courses at a community college who  was excited to rant to me about his epiphanies about life. Meeting this man altered my perception of the negative intellectual stigma associated with lower class individuals; for they may strive to be educated intellectually, as well as educated about the society manifesting around them.

While I was serving one man his water, he had the propensity to thank me for being there. He was the only person to do so and caught me off guard, so all I managed to do was look back at him with a smile and reply "Of course." Although I knew that volunteering at the soup kitchen was good in itself, it was important for me that the person I was helping validated that what I was doing was important and recognized.

More so than being a learning experience, volunteering at the soup kitchen inspired me to continue doing community service, for it's a moral obligation to give back to your community.