Drugs and Deviance

This week in class, we did an activity connecting deviance to drugs. For this activity we had to decide if a certain type of drug is legal, prescription, illegal, or a felony. This was fun and interesting. While trying to figure out what group each drug would be a part of, most of us were just trying to figure out what the drug was. I think most people did this because certain drugs already had certain labels on them based on what they knew. What struck me the most during this was that caffeine got an unexpected rating. Some groups thought it should have been illegal or prescription. This was so weird to see. This is something that some people consume daily in typical beverages like coffee, sodas, and even chocolate. It's weird to think that caffeine was grouped as something illegal when it can be found so easily. I drink coffee and pop often and I never thought about what kind of label it has. Everyone would say that it is safe and legal just because everyone knows that from its name and reputation. Another one that was intriguing to find out about was the nicotine. Nicotine was rated as a felony or illegal. Its odd because even though it has such horrible effects, its still legal, and people don't consider it such a big problem. I think the biggest thing I learned from this activity was that certain drugs have labels that are only taken from where the location is and when it is. Other states would probably classify these drugs more differently than we did.

The Saints and The Roughnecks

This week in class we read an article called The Saints and The Roughnecks. The Saints were white, middle-class, suburban teenagers. Everybody in their school, including teachers, viewed them as good guys, and they were always given extra chances. The Saints would often ditch school, drink, and pull pranks. The Roughnecks were a little bit different. The Roughnecks were not so rich, and they came from a small neighborhood. The Roughnecks also committed some of the same things that the Saints did. Despite the fact that these 2 groups committed similar crimes, they were given different punishments. For example, if one the Saints did bad on a test, he would get a second chance since he'd was viewed as a good kid who is really capable of doing better. The Saints would also get off easy from the police than the Roughnecks did. What intrigued me about the article was that not only were the boys' deviance influencing the way people viewed them now, but it also influenced their futures. As people expected, most of the Saints went on to college after high school, and they got really good jobs. Most of The Roughnecks ended up not going to college and not getting so great careers. This article proves that your appearance and background, can influence people's perception of you. This reminded me of one my friends who had gotten pulled over for speeding. When my friend got pulled over, the officer knew who she was in school. He knew that she was a good kid, who was involved, and did a lot of community service. Since the officer knew she was a good kid, he let her go. It really proves that in society people's appearances, backgrounds, and social classes play a big role in how people view them.

Community Service #3

4/11/12 Wednesday 4-8pm This was my 3rd day volunteering at Condell Hospital. I worked with Barb today. Today, alot of interesting things happened. They weren't good things, they were serious. When I first arrived at the hospital, things were a bit slow at the beginning, but today the hospital was busier than ever. One patient had over 30 different visitors. This patient had been severely injured in a motorcycle accident. Since I've been working here for a few days, im used to what I have to do. When visitors come in to see a patient in, for example, the ICU, I treat them as any other visitor coming to see another patient. But to them, they have a completely different outlook on that. Their thinking would be that its someone extremely important to them. I feel like working at a hospital's front desk makes it harder to realize what visitors are really there for. To me it feels like its just a job, and it probably feels like that for the doctors and the people that actually work there. I feel like I learned that I need to be more aware that its not just a job, there are people that are injured and ill everyday and it's serious. While sitting at the desk, a man came in. This man had been through a lot. He was telling us that he had just lost his wife to breast cancer a few days ago.  When working at the front desk, people really open up to you about their situations. His wife passed away at the hospital and he wanted to know if her body was still there to arrange for her funeral. When he was telling us this, it was so sad I had tears in my eyes. Hearing things like this makes this job feel more personal and it feels like less of a job when you are talking to someone and helping them. When my shift was over, I went home thinking how lucky I am that my family members are healthy and safe, and I was grateful for that. I love volunteering at the hospital, and i plan on continuing my work there.

Masculinity

This week we discussed masculinity. One thing we talked about was why violence with men really occurs. During class we watched a video that showed how masculinity is portrayed. People everywhere think that a real man is strong, buff, tough, doesn't show emotion or weakness, is able to fight etc. However, males that don't live up to those expectations are considered wusses, sissys, or even girls. Men feel obligated to turn to violence when they are stripped of their masculinity. In class, we read an article that focused on school shootings. Basically, the article concluded that men turn to violence when their masculinity is taken away from them by being bullied or teased, or gay-baited. When men feel like they aren't men, they turn to violence in order to prove their toughness. I think we learned about this because it's so important to realize and be conscious of the fact that the image of a typical, real man, is not real at all. The media subtly teaches us what we're supposed to think real men are supposed to act like and look like. We also watched a short video showing us how Disney movies try to influence us about masculinity. The media also encourages men to become violent toward women and to take control over them. The reason that violence toward women occurs is because the media sexualizes violence. I have never experienced this myself, but I know that many girls in high school end up in abusive relationships. Its so awful that we have the mindsets that the media wants us to have. The media makes us think that women are only valued for their looks, and men are only valued for their strength. I could never understand why men are expected to be so violent. I really enjoyed this unit of socialization. I learned and realized alot of things that I had never noticed before. The media is a scary thing if you really think about it, and we need to be more aware of the things that influence us every single day.

Community Service #2

4/4/12 Wednesday 4-8 pm

Yesterday was my 2nd day volunteering at Condell hospital. I was expecting just another day at the hospital to be the same as any other. I worked at the front desk again, and I worked with Patricia this time. Since I had to go there straight from school, i was so tired and hungry, but i knew that I wanted to be there. I got to do some new things. This time, I had to transport a patient to their room in a wheel chair. I was a little bit nervous doing this since I've never done it before. I was nervous that I would bump into something accidentally, or I would get lost and frustrate the patient. It was a long walk to get to the patient's room and it was a bit tiring to push a wheel chair that far, but I got it done and it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, and I was able to help somebody. I spent most of my shift doing what I usually do, like greet visitors and tell them which room the patient they are visiting is in. Something cool that happens is that every time a new baby is born, the hospital plays a lullaby and I heard the lullaby 3 times. Something interesting that happened was that the helicopter that is used for traumatic accidents, came through. This usually doesn't occur often, so it was interesting to see that. At the end of my shift, the last people that came to the desk was a couple who had been in a devastating car accident. I had to call a cab for them and find them a hotel to stay at. This couple got into an accident, had just been treated at the hospital, lost their car to destruction, and they couldn't go home for a long time. While I was listening to them telling us what had happened to them, I realized how lucky I was to just be able to go back my own  home that night. I enjoy volunteering at the hospital, and I find that each week I experience something different and hear different stories.

Digitally Beautiful

In class we've been discussing how the media influences us. More specifically, this week we talked about how women in the media are portrayed. Women in the media are not only used to sell products, but also ideas. Women in advertisements are not real. For example, The pictures in magazines and catalogues are all photoshopped. It is like 1 women's photo is more like 3 or 4 different women put together, using different parts of the body. It is gross how the media portrays females. Women are only valued for their looks. Ads show women super skinny and flawless. Because of these unreal and literally impossible body types, millions of women battle with eating disorders and depression. I think that we are learning about this because its extremely important to have a conscious mind when you are being bombarded with millions of ads with fake things. It is easy to say you don't care, and you think that the media has no impact on you, but the media has such a huge influence on you, and you aren't even aware of it because it seeps deep through your mind. Huge corporations try to make money by making woman feel insecure and vulnerable and convincing them that they need something in order to feel good, happy and beautiful. Like many other females out there, I've always felt bad about myself when I see ads with perfect and flawless women. I always think to myself why I can't look like that. Well, now I know that the images are completely impossible to achieve. We are all the worst judges of ourselves, but we all need to be aware that the pictures we are seeing are never real. It's really great and refreshing to see Dove and other companies in the beauty industry put more emphasis on inner beauty rather than outer, and seeing more plus sized models in the fashion world. Everyone is beautiful in their own way, and it is so sad that society stripped us of that feeling, and convinced us that if we don't look a certain way, we won't be accepted.

Community Service

Wednesday 3/28/12- 4-8 pm

For my community service project, I decided to volunteer at Condell hospital. I have never volunteered at a hospital before so I didn't know what to expect. I was a bit nervous at first. I didn't know my way around the hospital at all. Other volunteers showed me around though so that it was easier. So far it has been a rewarding experience. I meet so many new people everyday. I worked at the main desk with Barb, at the first entrance of the hospital. Normally, I would ask visitors if they are here to see a patient and I would direct them to the patient's room. Occasionally, I got to do things like deliver flowers to some patients. I delivered one bouquet of flowers to a woman who just had a baby. It was amazing to see the smile on the patient's faces, and how happy the patients would be when you'd bring them the flowers. I expected that my job would have just been to do paper work at the desk or something but I actually got to meet people and interact with them. One thing that surprised me was that the hospital had different "codes" for emergencies. It was surprising how many times you would hear something like codes for severe trauma so often in just one day. Another thing that surprised me was that some of the patient's did not want visitors, and I couldn't understand why. Since it's only been my first day, I haven't gotten to do as much, but I plan to continue at the hospital, hopefully I will get to do some more things. So far, I really like  volunteering at the hospital, and I really enjoy learning new things there.