Food Pantry

The local food pantry is always looking for food donations. They are normally very low on PEANUT BUTTER and JELLY. If you call before, they will tell you what they are low on, and they have a list of the products that they accept. One day, my sister and I went to Wal-Mart and bought a cart full of food and toiletries for the pantry. If you want a quick and easy way to give back to the community, this would be a very nice thing to do!

From Sociology to SociALLIEgy

Sociology was such a cool course to take because everybody has their own personal connections to apply to the lessons. In August, I was enrolled in Sociology, but today, I am enrolled in SociALLIEgy!

Sociology class taught me to branch out and be socially deviant. At the beginning of the semester, I had little exposure to the variety of service opportunities. Had I not taken this course, I would not have taken advantage of these different opportunities. I restricted myself to nursing homes, and it never crossed my mind to tutor kids in the city or volunteer in a homeless shelter.Today, I would define myself as more of an open-minded person than I was back in August. I do not set expectations on opportunities before I actually go and volunteer because I now know it is wrong to draw conclusions before I know all of the facts.

By exposing myself to positive deviance, I have been changed forever because I am more comfortable breaking away from social norms and using more integrity. By serving, adults will have more respect for teenagers because they will see how willing the high school students are to give back to their communities.

Crash

"Crash" depicts racism in America by figuratively crashing people with multiple racial backgrounds. The movie shows the harsh realities of racism and the effect that it has on people. I noticed racism in my life when I was going through U.S. Customs after my vacation, my dad noticed that the security guard was very strict because he held two families who happened to be Asian and a different ethnicity that I couldn't identify. When my family was next, we were barely questioned. It was really bizarre. That was a real "crash" moment.

The Sport of Racism

The other day in class, we were asked to classify different balls by their characteristics. I grouped the balls together based on their color. This activity was used as a metaphor do teach the class racism. The class came up with several different ways to classify the balls. There was no wrong way to group them just like there is no wrong way to classify humans. Tall, small, black, white... The list goes on! However, when balls with different patterns needed to be grouped, the classifications became more difficult. In society, there are so many different types of people that it is really unfair to divide people up into groups. Isn't America supposed to be a "melting pot?"

Monopoly

When we played Monopoly, I was the "top hat."

My social status was pretty high; how cool is that?

Although my social status was high,

I couldn't change my social status, no matter how hard I tried!

My dad is a doctor and works at Marquette.

He provides the money for everything I get.

My parents are in the same social class as their childhood days.

They work hard to provide for the kids that they raise.

Upper-middle class will hopefully be my status, too.

I'll work as hard as I can to earn the same money that my parents do!

Big Mistake.

Americans are divided in to distinct classes. It is very difficult to move between classes because once you're in a class, people have a tough time accepting outsiders. People are most comfortable with people who are most like them. For example, in the movie "Pretty Woman," Vivian (a hooker) was given money by the man she is living with to buy a fancy dress. Since she didn't own "nicer" clothes prior to the shopping trip, she wore a trashy dress to shop on Rodeo Drive. The ladies mentally counted Vivian's money before she could even find out which size the dress was. Vivian was asked to leave the store because the saleswomen didn't want to waste their time with someone who may not end up buying an outfit. People are intimidated by people who are not like them, so they avoid them when possible.

Onward House

Last night, I went to the Onward House to tutor children who live in the city. It was a rewarding experience because I was able to help a kid with his homework. Although the trip to the city was long, I was still happy to be able to help out at the facility. I expected the place to look like it did. I feel fortunate to go to school in a facility like Stevenson. It was a great experience tutoring the kids, and I would do the event again.

Humanitarian of the Year Part 2

The other day, I was given the opportunity to volunteer at a P.A.D.S. shelter. I have been involved with so many different community service projects, but helping the homeless was an experience that left the biggest impact on me. There is a mandatory training session so people know what to expect at the shelters, but nothing can prepare you for what goes on in these shelters. I got to the shelter at 6, an hour before the guests arrived for dinner. We heated up the food and set the tables. When the guests started to come at 7, the men claimed their sleeping areas in the gym while we set up the dinner buffet. There were about 20 men and there was only one woman who stayed at the shelter that night. The men stayed in the gym while the woman slept by herself in a separate room. Obviously, my original thoughts on this issue were that I felt terrible for this poor woman who had to sleep in a room all by herself in a church. Then I analyzed the situation in greater depth. This shelter was not a one stop shot at lifting these people out of poverty. Moving from shelter to shelter every day is the routine for most of these people. However, these people were not stereotypical homeless people you'd find in front of shopping malls with coin cans and cardboard signs with spiritual messages on them to persuade people to give them money. These guests were either coming from work or coming from the streets. The gym was almost full, and the bizarre thing is I have been living in my community for over 10 years, and I have not seen a single homeless person on the streets. After volunteering and helping these people, I was left with embarrassment and remorse because I've been so oblivious all these years. My parents work hard to make a nice living for our family, and I never realized how hard you need to work in today's struggling economy to support yourself. It didn't even cross my mind that people in my community would struggle as much as these homeless people do because I have been fortunate enough to have a dad who has never been out of work. By volunteering for P.A.D.S., I definitely became more grateful for basically everything I have. From little items like a new tube of toothpaste to pocket burners like camp and college tuition, my perception of materialism has most definitely been put in to perspective. I would without a doubt recommend this volunteering opportunity to anybody.

Nursing Home

Today, I went to the Brentwood nursing home for G.I.V.E. and had a totally different experience than my previous trips to this place. I expected to do arts and crafts with your average elder, but today I was in the Alzheimer's ward with severely effected people. Each person was affected by the disease differently. Some people were really excited to see "new" faces in the home, and others didn't even realize that we were there. The lady I was working with had anxiety and wheeled herself away from the table while I was making her project! It was really awkward because there was nothing I could do to get her back to the table. I thought my camp counselor skills would work when I tried to convince her that it was fine that everyone was here, but I was wrong. Oh well! There was another lady in the ward who didn't even remember her name. I was talking to one lady who didn't remember if she had any children or siblings. It was so sad! Some of it was entertaining. This whole experience was really bizarre because the only time I've witnessed people struggling with Alzheimer's is when I've seen it on T.V. I could tell that the elders were grateful that we did crafts with them because they were all really happy while we were there. Even though it was hard to connect and make small talk with people who couldn't remember what they did 3 hours before our conversation, it was a really cool experience because it was completely different from anything I'd ever done before. I'd totally do this G.I.V.E. trip again. It was extremely rewarding!

Tough Guys Wear Pink

School shootings and other forms of school violence are rarely performed by females. Why is this? Males have a reputation to be these tough people who remain strong through thick and thin, but in reality, males are a lot more sensitive then they appear to be. When someone calls a male a "fag" or other terms that imply that the male is homosexual or feminine, the victim feels threatened because someone had questioned his masculinity. Males respond to these kind of things by fighting or even taking it to the extreme of shooting. Females are rarely the shooters. This is because females have a different reaction to "drama" than males do. Unlike males, females tend to be passive aggressive, and they work their way to the top of the social ladder by manipulating others.

Like males, females are pressured to look and act a certain way in order to be seen with the right crowd and gain respect from their peers. The movie "Mean Girls" depicts life in girl world. The video below is an analysis of the movie with the author of Queen Bees & Wannabes, the book in which "Mean Girls" was based.

What is beauty?

The Dove campaign for natural beauty is a major wake-up call for Americans to be less naive about the 'perfect image.' Americans have been brainwashed to believe that people need to look a certain way in order to fit in with others. The media is the biggest influence on the way people choose to dress themselves, etc. We, as Americans, put the fittest and prettiest people on pedestals and copy the things that they do.

On T.V. shows like Desperate Housewives, the 21st century American housewife is depicted through the main characters. People who do not look like the housewives feel like outcasts because the women who are on the show are very pretty and very fit. Sitcoms like Modern Family have a more accurate depiction of today's society, and the characters lead normal lives. In America, beauty is defined by the amount of make-up a girl wears or the athletic ability of a man. This is not the case for all countries. A year or two ago, Oprah had  Mara Schiavocampo on her show after Mara went around the world in search of the true definition of beauty.  After traveling to five different continents, Mara discovered that beauty can be interpreted in countless ways. In America and Brazil, people measure beauty by the person's body. People who want to be beautiful value exercise and will use plastic surgery if that's what it takes to get their dream figure. These two countries have perform the most plastic surgeries in the world. Japanese women use collagen to improve their skin because skin is their token to true beauty. The women of the Kayan tribe near Thailand and Burma use rings to elongate her neck. These are just a few examples of different forms of beauty. For more information, here is the link to the episode's summary.

Girls Gone Wild!

Forget food, water, and oxygen! Nature and nurture are much more important! They aid in survival for all animals, mainly humans. Studies have shown that children who are neglected while they are babies develop much slower than children who receive proper care throughout their early years. Child neglect causes retardation and stunts brain development. In an episode of The Oprah Winfrey Show, Danielle, a feral child, was found in an abandoned house and she did not have the ability to communicate with the policemen who found her. After being nurtured by her foster family, Danielle has been slowly but surely gaining the ability to function in the real world. Nature and nurture are important because today's society has transformed from diverse to "survival of the fittest." If a person does not have the ability to communicate, he/she will have a very hard time fitting in society because they do not have the proper socialization basics that a majority of people receive at young ages. In the articles given in class, one can learn that people are the biggest influence that humans depend on for growth. Family, friends, and co-workers give people an identity, and the types of environments people surround themselves with affect the way their children act. Because I was raised in an upper-middle class family, I have been extremely disciplined by my parents. They set high expectations for me, and I would never do anything that would make people think less of me because I want to maintain a good reputation. I have to act a certain way around my grandparents. For example, when my grandpa asks me how I'm doing, I am expected to respond with "I'm fine thanks, how are you?" under all circumstances. I follow these guidelines subconsciously because as an obedient person, I avoid trouble when possible.

We're Tuesday people!

In class, we watched the movie "Tuesdays with Morrie." This is the story about a stereotypical businessman, Mitch Albom, whose life is taken over by his job. Mitch's Sociology teacher, Morrie Schwartz, contracts ALS and gradually dies throughout the course of the movie. After many Tuesday meetings with Morrie, Mitch learns from Morrie that "when you learn how to die, you learn how to live." Mitch puts his work and girlfriend on hold while he waits for Morrie to die. Morrie told Mitch to live his life while he's young because Mitch was lucky to have so much time and good health. Morrie gives Mitch the ultimate reality check. Obviously death tears people apart. Morrie reminds Mitch that "death ends life, not a relationship." Death could never break the strong relationship that people have with their loved ones. Although they are literally apart, people are always figuratively together in heart. You can't live your life waiting for people to die. When my nana's sister was dying, it totally drained everybody in my family because she was dying for over a year. I was not allowed to go visit after a certain point because my mom didn't want my sister or me to remember our aunt at the near-death state. Like Morrie, my Aunt Irene had high spirits until the day she died. My mom made meatballs from my aunt's recipe one day and brought it to her in the nursing home. My aunt was able to tell that my mom didn't add all of the lemons that the recipe called for. If you talked to her on the phone, you would never know that she was dying. Her memory was never impaired either. She could talk about the trip she took to Europe 20 years before she died. My family was not able to look past the good things that Aunt Irene was still able to contribute, and they were constantly worrying. The day she died, a weight was lifted off the family because remembering seemed to be a lot easier than constant caring. I don't think this is the way death is supposed to be. I believe people should spend more time living in the moment. Waiting around for death is too draining, and wishing the loved one was still living is also draining. Hopefully American culture will generate a new view of death to make it easier on people!

Cultural Confusion

After discussing American culture with my classmates, I realized that Americans do not have a culture to call their own. From the Revolutionary War to the present, Americans have valued diversity; therefore, America has transformed from British colonies to a cultural melting pot.  Although there are some classic American icons such as a hot dog or a Chevrolet automobile, there is no right or wrong way that a person can "Americanize" him/herself. People in America have the freedom to express themselves with their religion or hobbies/interests.

Like America, my high school does not have a distinct culture because there are so many different types of people who attend the school. There is so much opportunity for students, and everybody belongs do different clubs or plays different sports. The cliques formed in school make it hard to pinpoint a specific culture type for my school. Furthermore, all high schools have cliques, and people have to find where they belong in the high school society.  

Speaking Un-spoken Languages

This picture was taken in China by my uncle.

People can say so much without even opening their mouths. In class, we discussed gestures that are interpreted differently depending on a person's native country. I had no idea that certain gestures could be offensive to someone in another nation! A couple years ago, my dad took a trip to Egypt. Unlike Americans, Egyptians expect tips for a lot more than just serving food in a restaurant or parking a car in a valet service. Doing a favor for someone (i.e. showing someone where bathroom is or holding a door open) is worthy of gratuity. If a person does not tip, he or she is considered rude or disrespectful. On the other hand, the Chinese are less greedy. In fact, when my dad took a trip to China last year, he said the Chinese were very hospitable. My dad went on the business trip with his brother, an experienced traveller. Since my uncle had been to China multiple times before, he insisted that my dad learn Chinese before going on the trip because the Chinese are honored when someone takes the time to learn their language. When my dad and uncle would go to dinner with the business associates, the associates would wait until the guests ate before they would eat the meals themselves. My dad felt bad because he would wait to eat until the server brought him steamed rice, but the Chinese insisted on waiting! Both of these experiences were culture shock for my dad. After living in America and following American rituals for such a long time, it was a strange adjustment for my dad! My uncle does A LOT of traveling in the Middle East, so I can find out about more cultural differences.

Humanitarian of the Year

The other night, I attended a training for PADS. In the hour that I was there, I learned so much about poverty in my community. When I was given a tour of the HOPE Center facility, I didn't realize that the Journeys program had so much to offer. From showers to psychologists, the people who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless can get so much help from this center. Another cool service that the foundation offers is the condos that people can live in so they can learn to get back on their feet. The leader of the tour explained that the poverty rate was increasing while the funding of the Journeys foundation was lower than ever. Luckily, big companies like Starbucks and Red Lobster donate food to Journeys multiple times during the week. I used to donate my old clothes to a veterans foundation, but I am going to start donating my clothes to the HOPE Center.  There is a closet full of clothes that people have donated, but the foundation is always looking for more. The closet had a variety of clothing for people who are businessmen or even babies! There was also a play area for little kids. One thing that the trainer made very clear was that the homeless people that we typically find in the north shore are people that we cannot pick out as homeless. He explained that, like me, most people give homeless people the stereotype of a dirty person who sits on the street with a can begging for money. In Buffalo Grove, you could be standing in line at a Starbucks with a homeless person, and you would never know the person was homeless. I am looking forward to working with people who are in poverty because I have never done volunteer work like this before. I am used to either working with little kids or the elderly. I am glad that I am branching out to help a different group of people.

Without PADS, people would not understand that homeless people are just like you and me. Some people just struggle more than others. PADS teaches us to lend a helping hand to the homeless, or there will be consequences... Watch this video to get an understanding of how not to treat the homeless! http://www.comedycentral.com/videos/index.jhtml?videoId=209909&title=homeless-attack

ComplexALLIEty

In class, we did an activity where everyone had to select groups in which they identify themselves. As a family member, I identified myself as a daughter, sister, niece, cousin, and granddaughter. As a friend, I associated myself with camp and school peers. I am a student, employee, and a volunteer. At first, I thought that being a family member and friend were the things that defined me as a human being. By doing this activity, I realized that so many other aspects have made me the individual I am today. I have been shaped because of my nationality and religion. I've even been shaped by the area that I live in! Sometimes, it is difficult for me to balance all of the roles that I play. Sociologists call this role conflict. The situations can be minor. For example, I need to balance being with my camp friends and my school friends. Some situations, on the contrary, are more difficult to handle. As a student, I have the responsibilities of doing homework, but I need to balance schoolwork with my work schedule. As the amount of roles put on my plate increase, I am able to put life into perspective easier. What is more important? Do I work more hours to make more money, or do I leave work at an earlier time to get homework done? I have experienced role strain as well. This is when the lesson of picking and choosing battles plays a big role in my decision making. Over the summer, I was a camp counselor for thirteen year-old girls. Some of the girls would cause drama in the cabin, and my co-counselors and I had to put the situation into perspective and decide whether it was worth making a big deal over. Another situation where I experience role strain is in school. The academic pressure that school puts on students is absurd! Looking back at previous years in high school, there are classes I know I could have done better in. When I don't meet the expectations of a certain role, I always try harder because I am a very self-driven person who is very competitive. WIth a sociological mindset, I will be able to look at my peers differently because the groups that people belong to shape each individual uniquely.

9 Weeks with Freaks and Geeks

The groups in the T.V. show "Freaks and Geeks" play different roles in the high school. Lindsey, the rebel, is questioning her identity, so she wears her dad's army jacket. This jacket is used to help Lindsey fit in with the burn-outs. She slowly drifts away from her best friend, who is symbolic of the person that Lindsey used to be. The smoking patio is for the people who don't want to be at school, and the "Mathletes" is a group of people who don't seem to fit in with the high school. As a "camp person," I can totally relate to people who are "cliquey." At the beginning of the summer, people from all over the world come to pre-camp not knowing anyone. Some of the staff members had never even been to America before coming to camp! During the week, the staff members are forced to step out of their comfort zones and meet people right away, so they have friends for the summer. Although everyone introduces themselves, cliques begin to form immediately. People who teach the same activity or come from the same country make connections right away and isolate themselves from the rest of the staff. My group of friends consist of people who were campers, like me. We, as the junior counselors, isolated ourselves from the rest of the staff because we were not old enough to make connections with them, and we were too comfortable with ourselves to branch out and develop relationships with the other staff members. Today's society makes it seem like the person who knows the most people will be "on top." People should have many groups of friends, but in my opinion, cliques are acceptable in society because they give people a "niche" of close friends that they can depend on.

SociALLIEgy in the Community

After reading the excerpt from Outliers by Malcom Gladwell, I learned that the community that people live in has a huge impact on the way people interact with others. By developing strong relationships with your peers, you will have a healthier lifestyle. People rely on others more than they realize, and their lives not be healthy without a solid support system. I live in a community where there is constant competition. It is very prestigious, and there is a lot of tension between families because everybody is very passive aggressive. For example, parents pressure their children to be the best, so they have to start playing competitive sports earlier than other athletes. I know that the area I live in is different than other places because I spend my summers at a camp in a small Michigan town. The population of that town is very small. All of the families know each other, and the town is very welcoming when the "camp people" are in town. A larger town, like mine, has too many people to realize when new people are in town. A lot of the relationships made in my town are superficial because the town has such a high population, and it is hard to get to know so many people. If the theory of sociological imagination is true, the people of an intimate farming town will live healthier lives than the people of my suburban town.

About Allie!

My name is Alexis, but everybody calls me Allie. I am 17 years old. I have a younger sister, Jamie. She is 15. I have two dogs, Honey and Sammy. Honey is a 12-year-old Silky Terrier, and Sammy is a 1-year-old Yorkie Poo. My favorite color is purple, and I love to spend time with family and friends.

The best vacations I've taken were to Los Angeles and Boston. In L.A., my sister and I were given the opportunity to be extras on a T.V. show ("The Cleaner"). The day we filmed was the coolest day ever! I am really fascinated by the film industry (even though working in the film industry is not my career path choice).

My favorite place in the entire world is camp. I have spent 7 summers at camp, and I plan on returning for many more years. I teach water-skiing. I can slalom (ski with one ski), kneeboard, and wakeboard. I love the people I've met at camp over the years. My camp friends are my best friends; we've known each other for almost half of our lives. Weird, right!?

I don't really have a favorite music genre. Maroon 5 is my favorite band. I am not too picky about the music I listen to. I love Pandora. Pandora is an Internet radio app that you can get for your iPod/iPhone/Blackberry. It is such a great concept!

My favorite T.V. show is Grey's Anatomy. I also love sitcoms like Rules of Engagement and Modern Family. My favorite movies are 27 Dresses, Father of the Bride I/II, That Thing You Do, and How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days. I don't read very often, but my favorite book is My Sister's Keeper.

I am involved in a lot of extra-curricular activities. I really want to make a difference in the community, so I participate in a wide variety of service groups. I am the 2011 Relay for Life event chair, I was on the Project Dance and Odyssey committees last year, and I am in Beading Cancer club.

That's pretty much everything. Yay!