Heritage

I was born in Russia, but I pretty much think of myself as an American. Granted I only lived two and a half years of my life there, I sometimes feel like I should be "more Russian" than I really am. I feel that because I was raised in America, I hold true the values that Americans hold close. For example, as Robin Williams states on his list that achievement and success and major personal goals, I can fully relate to that. My parents moved to the United States to live a more satisfying life and let me have a more fullfilling future, so money was definetly a factor for them. I agree with the list and think that America does have it's own culture to some extent.

Volunteering

Today I volunteered at Onward House, a place for young students, to tutor them. I expected a terrible neighborhood and kids who would refuse to do any work. When we got there, it was an average neighborhood for the most part, and all the kids were so nice. It was so much fun to help them with their homework and help them learn to read better. We also got to play games with them. My childhood was relived through that. I really enjoyed the experience and thought I bonded with some of the children. I'm hoping to go back every other week and keep doing this even past sociology class.

Bronx Tale

I really enjoyed the movie we watched in class. I'm a sucker for most mobster movies, and the social construction in this one was really relevant. The neighborhood that C. lives in consists of all Italians. Some people, like C.'s dad, try to stay out of the mafia part, but others, like Sonny, embraced it and were in charge. Most of them know that it's an unwritten rule that they don't like black people. They're not welcome in their town, and the Italians aren't welcome on their side either. When C. goes out with the girl, he's breaking a sort of code that he knows his friends will shun him for. However, to his suprise, Sonny tells him to go for it and that she might be "one of the great ones."
In school, you'll sometimes see a couple and think "how are they together", but you thinking that just means that they have overcome this social obstacle that C. had to overcome too. I think it's really cool that people get to know others outside of their comfort zone, even if it doesn't sit well with others.

Boat Experiment

In class we were supposed to pretend we were stranded on a boat but it could only hold a certain amount of us, so the rest had to be kicked off. It was interesting to see how people decided who to keep and who to basically kill. At first people thought about who would be the most important for society as a whole but then they started focusing more on how to keep themselves alive. The man without hands was the first to go because he wouldn't be of help on the boat, and eventually the pregnant cheerleader was kicked off. I understand the reasoning that she wouldn't really be much of a help, but I also think that since she was going to bring a baby into the world, that was pretty important to save.

I think this, in a way, relates to how all of us live our lives every day. We decide who to "keep" in our groups, and who to keep in touch with in our families. I feel like if everyone took a step back and saw that people had a lot more to offer than some may think, we may all learn something new.

Freaks and Geeks

I've seen the episode of Freaks and Geeks that we watched in class the other day, but this time when I watched it with a sociological mindset it seemed a little different to me. The different groups in the episode seemed to be the freaks, the geeks, and the bullies. Along with that there were other groups that overlapped: like Lindsay's family. She was the freak, her brother was the geek, and her mom and dad were there to lead both of the in the right direction no matter what they were part of.

I think that there are definetly some negative influences from the groups. The freaks cause Lindsay to start smoking and do worse in school. The geeks cause her little brother to be social outcasts and get picked on, and the bullies are hated by some people.

But also along with that, I think that it's very function in the way that they all have something they belong to and somewhere to go.

My school also has "cliques" but I don't think they are as apparent. There are so many people that it's hard to belong to just one group, so I think a lot of people end up overlapping. I also think that students here are so stressed about college because it's the norm, and we haven't really lived life any other way.

Silence

The first day of school, sociology class started with the teacher taking a seat in the back and sitting silently. It let to an awkward silence because no one knew what to do or say. All our lives we've been taught to follow the teacher and expect them to tell us how to start class. With this change of pace, a lot of students were taken aback and not sure how to deal with it, but why did that silence have to be awkward? Not all silences are. For example, every other year I've started school the teacher would tell us to be quiet and that wouldn't be awkward, but when not given instructions people become confused and nervous and the mood becomes awkward. I think we have to get out of the sociological rut that we're in, and start to see how others live their life and how we can change ours.

Who am I?

Hi there! My name's Yelena and I'm a senior in high school. I was born in Russia and moved to Chicago when I was around 3 years old. I moved to the suburbs in second grade after that. A pretty boring place if i do say so myself, but I plan to get out of here when college rolls around. Speaking of college, I want to major in psychology, but I'm not so sure what I want to do with that yet. Maybe I'll minor in sociology. (Which would make this blog useful for something other than the obvious schoolwork.)

I would say my friends are probably the biggest influences in my life; they've been there for me through thick and thin. They've learned to deal with my uniqueness, for lack of better words.

I guess I'll write about my view on life or something eventually, but for now this is all I got.