unity.

During the past two weeks in class we have talked a ton about culture. It was so interesting to partake in the activity where we went around the class room and tried to name where the people were located based on their possessions. I found this to be very informative and actually fun. You think you may know someone based on their culture and what we, as Americans, assocate as their culture. One thing that alot of places valued was family and technology. those were the most common things i noticed that united all the places as one to make up the world. We may all live a thousand miles from eachother but we do have certain things in common and i think that is important to remember because although I may be more comfotable with my own culture that doesn't mean I can't connect to another.

yes, I'm watching you.

hahaha. I know my title is kind of creepy but point blank it is a true statement. You are always being watched, whether it is by me is a different story. But somewhere, somehow, someone has there eyes on you and are judging what you wear, how you talk, who your friends with, etc. Most people like to say they live in a judgement free world but seriously..I find that hard to believe. I am not saying judgement is bad because a lot of the times you may get a nice compliment, but judgement is an opinion. this whole idea of judgement and watching was sparked from an activity we did in soc class this week. I was in a group that choose a research method of obervation. we had a "good" girl and "bad" boy walk up to an all asain table and an all girl table during lunch and yes at different times. We were testing the effects of appearence and gender. The people at both tables didn"t really interact with the student that sat at their tables but as soon as said student left they would start giggling or talking again. this showed me, the observer, that judgements may not be said but are always occuring and not until a situation is comfortable are they spoken about.

silence?

During soc this week we did a rather interesting experiment. It consisted of people being on a boat and having to be kicked off. The word to describe this scene was chaos. I was playing a med student who was single, young, and honestly didn't have that much to offer. I was a lucky one. The others on the boat assumed they needed me incase of an medical emergency. My value of life was never questioned. But almost everyone else was being judged on what they knew and if they had family..blah blah blah. People started getting frustrated and "commited suicide" by steping outside the lines of the imaginary boat. What I took away from this was how important silence can be. I said close to nothing and survived. Sometimes less is more. This lesson is really useful in a real life situation whether your fighting with a friend, teacher, sibling, or parent. Your silence allows you to survive in stressful situations like I survived on a chaotic boat.