What is Race?

A race is a group of specific, physical differences that other groups don't have. Races generally accumulate in specific geographical locations. Race does not have to do with genetics. Diving people into different races also comes with determining what rights and freedoms people of those races should have. People often judge others based on their race. Some people often think their race is superior to another, but the truth is, there is no subspecies of humans. There are no races that are biologically inferior to another, despite what some people believe. Race is more than skin color because people also associate race with other physical characteristics such as eye shape, hair texture, lip shape, or physical and mental abilities.

The 99%

This person has gone through extensive education, yet they still can't find a job, and the jobs that are available don't pay enough to support a life. In a more fair situation, everyone would be able to find jobs for the profession they are passionate about, and these jobs would pay well. This person obviously is very educated and probably was a part of a higher class, but now that they can't have a job in which they are well qualified for, their social class drops. I chose this image because it kinds of scares me that I can go through so much education and work really hard and still get screwed over by the job market.

Alvin can't afford a college education and cannot get a good paying job without having a college education, so he is stuck in a very bad cycle. In a more fair situation, FAFSA would be more accommodating and cover all need based aid. This person is going to be a part of the lower class due to his lack of education and lack of job experience. However, if Alvin had enough financial aid to pay for college, he may have gotten a better job after and moved up on the social class ladder. I chose this image because I'm in the process of financial aid and figuring out how to afford college.

Positive Deviance

This weekend Emily and I decided to go positive pranking. Positive pranking is something I learned about on the internet, and in a nutshell, it's doing what people would consider pranks and making them beneficial to other people. I remember one I heard was TPing, when you would put tootsie pops on peoples' lawns instead of toilet paper. So, Emily and I decided to take food out of her pantry and give them to people with positive notes. My favorite was a piece of cheese, wrapped of course, that said, this may be cheesy, but I hope you have a great day! We ding dong ditched people and dropped them off at their doors. A few of the people were good friends, and I few were those kids we've never talked to in class but we happened to know where there houses were...not creepy of us at all. It felt really good to leave someone a message. It also felt really exhilarating to run away after we left the treat on someone's doorstep. At a few of the houses we watched to see the person's reaction, and they were typically very happy and smiley when they saw the gift. It feels good to make someone happy. One of my favorite quotes is, "In finding happiness for others we find it for ourselves", and it leaving treats at people's doors and making them happy, I felt happier.

Gender

After we watched the clips on gender in class, I thought a lot about America's Next Top Model. I watch the show a lot. I record it, and when there's an ANTM marathon on, I sit in front of the TV for hours even when I've already seen the entire season. From watching the clips in class and thinking about ANTM, I realize that modeling is a market, and that models pose and people choose picture in a way that they think will sell a product. Marketing is sometimes false. Now a days it seems like marketing is always false, but with the models we see in the magazines and on television, I think we as a society realize that this is not how everyone looks. Women realize that not everyone is stick thin with big boobs and mile long legs. Men realize that not everyone has an eight pack and looks like a laundry back filled with meat. Although we realize this as a society, we also realize that someone looks like that in the world, and if someone else can look like that, we can look like that too. We know that this body figure is unrealistic and rare, but when we see people that we could look like, we automatically feel bad about ourselves. We could look at pencil wearing a skirt, realize it's a pencil in a skirt, and still want to look like a pencil in the skirts we buy. Another trick of marketing is that we feel if we buy a certain product, we have the ability to look like the model in the picture. We say, hey that looks good on the model. I want it because it looks so good, and even though I don't look like the model, it doesn't mean I can't look like the model and make that outfit look great on me. I think it's a problem that we strive to look like these models when we know that we can't look like them. It makes us feel horrible about ourselves because we know that someone out there looks the way we wish we could look. If magazines start publishing pictures of people who look like us, we will realize that the way we are is good and right and socially acceptable, which is ultimately how we want to feel about ourselves.

Un-TV

I found it really hard to watch the TV with the sound off and counting the number of technical events that occurred over ten minutes, but what I found the most challenging was watching the TV when it wasn't even on. I got easily distracted. Staring at the blank screen did not satisfy my eyes or mind so I often looked around and then realized that I had to keep watching the TV. I thought that it meant that I don't like looking at things that are still. I like watching things that move and captivate my attention. I guess that also explains why I have such a hard time at Art Museums looking at things that don't move. I much rather prefer the Planetarium and watching revolving planets. I think as a society we like things that move because it gives us something to follow with our eyes. It also tells us how to feel and what to look at. When we look at things that are still we have to think about what it means and why it looks that way because it is still and the movement that we would see on a TV doesn't automatically tell us how to feel with motions and expressions and sound.

I also noticed that my TV was relatively small and not as high tech as other TV's I've seen. It could use a nice dusting as well.

What is Cool?

http://www.glogster.com/abby899/cool/g-6lklse2urt900fpip8fu8a0

I think this should work. This is our "What is Cool?" poster!

Family Interview

My parents expected that I would be tall like my mom. That didn't end up happening, but they also expected me to go to college. They expected me to be independent and raised me in a way that I wouldn't be dependent on those around me. They expected me to love everyone I meet and be a very confident person. They also expected me to not be a pushover because according to my mom, I was a very difficult pregnancy.

My parents tried to impart Judaism on me, my dad a lot more than my mom. My dad grew up pretty Jewish. My mom grew up Jewish, but wasn't allowed to have a bat mitzvah because she was a girl, and she was actually punished my her parents when she wanted to study Judaism. So, it's especially important to my dad that I was taught about Judaism, but they've also been open to me learning about other religions. Ever since I was little, I've had a lot of animals. My parents actually bred labrador retrievers for a while, so at times I had a dozen puppies in my house. I've always thought having animals was important. My parents imparted the lesson of inclusions on me. They taught me from a very young age that it's important to include everyone and accept people for who they are.

My parents taught me about the importance of family from an early age. My uncle, my mom's brother, was studying at Northwestern when I was little, so he would come over and play video games without us. I got to watch him grow up as he got to watch me grow up. Now I'm that same figure he was to me for his two twin boys. My parents have also imparted the importance of independence on me. They allow me to make a lot of my own choices, especially in the college process of where I want to go and what I want to study. They've taught me how important trust is and how important it is to have trust and give it to others.

My parents said that they sometimes disagreed on how to discipline me. I've never been hit or spanked or anything like that, but they had a hard time punishing me by making threats that they couldn't keep and follow through with. My mom said my dad would often say things like, "Well, if you keep acting like this, you're not going to go to Mexico and you'll be miserable for winter break". But in reality, what was going to happen? A thirteen year old was going to stay at home by herself while her parents were on vacation. It just wasn't likely. My parents told me that I was a pretty easy child, and that I rarely needed to be punished.

My mom said that as a child, I was like my mom as an adult, meaning that it took her a long time to become outgoing and bold whereas I came out of the womb pretty outgoing. Like my mom, I am outspoken, sarcastic, messy, and I get my musical abilities from her. From my dad I get my insight, my height (short), and my nurturing qualities. When I asked my parents where I get my stubbornness from, they pointed at each other, so I guess I get it from both of them.

I'm not really surprised by what my parents wanted for me and how they expected me to be. My family and I have talked about our values and expectations and traditions since I was little, so I pretty much knew all of them. I did learn that my mom didn't care much about Judaism, which I never really knew. I thought it would be even more important to her because she never got to have a Jewish education, but I guess she never stressed a Jewish education because she wanted me to realize there were other religions than that and that religion shouldn't be the most important aspect of my life.