Being human

We focused a lot in class this week about how we, as humans, are affected by both our nature and nurture in our lives. Nature consists of our genes, emotions, instincts. Nurture is basically just our social environment, society, and interactions/relationships we have with other people. Both nature and nurture play off each other to create the person that we are now. All my life I've been in such a positive environment. My parents always played with me when I was little. I had siblings. I went to school. I had friends. I was healthy. My parents always told me how much they loved me. It was actually pretty surprising me to in class when we learned of the feral children and how they were raised in isolation and basically stripped from both nature and nurture, like how could I take everything I have for granted when there are actual cases out there where kids never got what I did? The one story of a young girl named Dani really stuck with me. Her mother basically kept her in a room for six years, until the police arrested her for child neglect. The young girl had no human interraction and had the mental capacity of an infant. This girl, who should have been in first grade, can't speak, can't play, can't write, can't do anything due to her lack of nature and nurture. After learning of these feral children, I don't think I'll ever get mad at my parents for little things anymore.

Nothing

Last week in class our teacher gave us an assignment that we had to do nothing. We basically had to stand in a crowded area and just do nothing. We couldn't talk, or pretend to be waiting or looking around for something, we just had to stand there and "see what we see", and then reflect back on the process after ten minutes. I chose to do this assignment when I was at an airport when I was visiting Alabama. At first I thought an airport was a good place to do this because I thought people stand around doing nothing and no one notices but also because it was a really crowded place. I felt really awkward and uncomfortable at first. i'm not used to just standing around doing nothing. I always have to be doing something. I guess that's what the point of the assignment was--to prove that in our society, we're taught that it's awkward to just be standing around doing nothing. I noticed that everyone was running around like crazy (or maybe that's because they were missing their flights! i'm not sure..) and no one really took the time to just stand still and relax. From now on when my life gets really crazy busy, I'm going to make sure to take time and do nothing--it really did relax me!

Dependency -- Tuesdays With Morrie..

For the past few days in class, we've watched the movie "Tuesdays with Morrie" I've never seen this movie before but from what I have seen, I'm trying to analyze through a sociological perspective. The main character, Mitch, is obsessed with work, and keeps himself busy and detatched from the real world (his social life, like his girlfriend, and his old teacher Morrie). Mitch WANTS to be independent, although he becomes more and more dependent on the people he loves later on in the movie.

I think a lot of people are afraid of being so dependent on others is because you can lose the people around you. Mitch knows that Morrie is going to die; Morrie is sick and he's getting worse with every tuesday visit Mitch has. I think it's hard sometimes to get too close to someone you know you are going to lose. Or maybe it's just the thought of losing them that makes you so afraid of getting close in the first place?

I depend a lot on my friends, family and parents. Whether it's for support, advice, or just to talk and listen to each other, I need these people in my life. My parents have helped me a lot. When I was younger, I depended on them for rides. But now I have a license and a car, but sometimes I still ask them to drive me!! I also depend on my parents for starting college, having a place to stay, clothes, food, etc. I need my friends and family a lot for advice, or just to hang out. It doesn't really bother me being somewhat dependent on these people. If I was completely independent, I'd feel alone. I like having my friends and family around when I need them.

Alabama--subculture

We've been talking a lot in class about culture and subculture. Our teacher emphasized our social norms, and how other countries have their own cultures--and sometimes each country has their on subculture within. We learned how culture can depend on a lot of things: materialistic things  (clothes, phones, cars, etc..), resources, and even religion.

Last weekend my mom and I went to look at a college in Alabama. When I told all my friends that I was looking at schools there for next fall they all made fun of me saying I'd be the only jew. I thought it was soo weird that it was even a big deal that I'd be going there; being jewish is a part of me because everyone in my family is, but I've never really payed attention to my religion. When I went to visit Alabama, I met up with an old friend I have that goes there, and she introduced me to her friends, and they were asking me all about being jewish. Like they had never met anyone jewish before.. it was really strange and uncomfortable!!

Although Alabama is in the US, it felt like a completely different culture to me, even though it's a subculture. In Chicago people drive so fast and everyone is always in a hurry, but in Alabama I noticed that people even drive like 15 miles under the speed limit, and they take their time and go really slow with everything. I've seen Illinois colleges before, and Alabama college was so different also. I don't know if it was just the town or particular school, but there were a million churches, and no materialistic stores on the campus.

I think it's possible to evolve with whatever culture you're surrounded by, but visiting Alabama and comparing it to Illinois (even the people were so different there!) was so surprising to me!! Everyone says the south is different from the midwest and it really is true!!

(a photo I took in Tuscaloosa, Alabama...a few minutes past the college campus)

Culture shock definitely came into play for me when I visited Alabama. Not only were the people so different in the south than in Illinois, but the town (from what I saw) and some of their regular day customs were so different. I drove 5 minutes past the college campus, and was shocked when I saw the tornado damage in Tuscaloosa (left over from when the tornados hit in April just past the campus). It was horrific and I had never seen anything like it!! It was really shocking to see that such a beautiful campus where nothing looked wrong at all, had immense damage just a few minutes past the school. I was so shocked to see this.