99%

I've never thought to think about money until now. Now is the time I realize how much my parents love me to spend that much on me-insurance, education, etc..

I'm lucky to be a girl, too. My brother always complains about having an 'expensive' girlfriend, because he pays for everything. It's tradition, and I don't know what started it, I have an idea, but I am not questioning it. I'm grateful for this, because I would be broke if I always had to pay for someone else.

I am very aware of my money and try to save as much as possible. My parents still pay for meals, but if it's anything entertainment wise I normally have to provide myself. I've always believed that change added up, so I always tried to value a penny.

Watching this videos in class make me realize how fortunate I am. My family can afford all of these things for me. Yes, money is still an issue, but I never realized how much worse it could be. We are in the 99%.

Dude(tte)

Boys Versus Girls

Dude vs. dudette. It's somewhat hard to describe when to use what term. You use dude when approaching a boy, but dudette when approaching a girl. However, how do you know what gender they are? Does this apply to gender or just sex? Their gender refers to how society perceives them as physical aspects describe sex. Perhaps, it's what we own. 

Media suggests that girls should be more into shopping and dolls than boys and boys should be more into video games and sports. We receive messages that girls should act dumb and it's okay for boys to act as jerks. A fun experiment was to walk up to a person and call them an opposite gendered name. For example, walk up to a boy and say 'Hey chick.' See what their reaction is. It's more common for girls to identify with boy's today. Girls are becoming to express themselves through similar mannerisms a typical man might. And so think about this the next time someone says 'you throw like a girl.' What does that really mean? You throw like you like to play with dolls? Hmm... The reason girls are becoming more tomboyish is probably because men are referred to as powerful beings. 

Where I Come From

You see that girl. The one some people might say doesn't belong. That's what people think of me and my family. A black in a family of whites. It's weird when people refer to me as black though. There's a boy on my bus who will often make racial jokes, and then apologize to me, even though I took no offense. I consider myself white. As I have the same mannerisms as my family and I only thought it was just my skin that set me apart. Surroundings have a major impact on my life. I always wonder where I would be if this family hadn't taken me, and then I realize how grateful I was to be living in such a great community with a privileged school and loyal friends. I could have been a totally different person, but I like who I am.

I have the ULTIMATE power.

Dancers are stronger than they appear. They make the moves they do look easy. Each week, I go to several dance classes and try to achieve more than I've achieved before.

Not just dancers, but all athletes have learned that you make the most progress if you push your body past it's unnatural limitations when it's tired. We are taught corrections on how to do things better, technique, and how to prevent soreness. We learn how our body functions and we believe we know what we are not able to do.

When dancers have something in their mind that they don't think they would be able to do, they won't be able to. There's not much the dance teachers can do to help us. They can give us choreography that helps, but we really need to apply their corrections that they gave us, even if it's hard, otherwise we will not make healthy progression.

The dance teacher may know more about rhythm, choreography, and technique, but at the end of the day, it's up to you. Nobody can force you to do something you don't want to. You just have to know where you want to go and that you are able to reach that goal. With that mindset, you will be talked about at the studio in a positive light more than 'Dance Moms' is mentioned.

I have the ultimate power.

Tick Tock

Time. 


Time provides structure and allows people to come together.


We did a lot of talking in class about what time does to the attitude and personalities of individuals and the purpose of it. Time has created a fast-paced environment, but was created so people could provide themselves a routine that fit their schedule. 


Most days in class, I find myself checking the clock every ten minutes. Why? Because, I'm in a hurry to rush out of the class. I don't think I've ever gone a whole 24 hours without looking at the time. I need to see the clock when I wake up to determine if I want it to be a lazy day or if I want to accomplish something. Time is important, if I had an appointment or some relevance, but if not, why look?


We covered up all the clocks in the classroom, so it seemed we were without time for the whole period. The sun still changed slightly, but we began to see edginess from most people who felt as if the time was part of them. In the school day, I don't think time really matters. We start when the teacher is ready. We leave when the teacher kicks us out. The school day is always over when a bell rings. It's not like looking at the clock will speed up time. It actually makes time go by slower. The ticks make you antsy. Go a day without looking at the clock and live your life in the moment you feel is right.

Time is measured in moments.

Stereotypical

Women and Asians are bad drivers. Black people are poor. Mexicans steal. These are just some stereotypes. Every person can fit into one. In class, we wrote down examples of what we thought of of certain kinds of people, such as a model or an athlete. However most descriptions are applicable to the category, every one has different personalities. Over the weekend, I watched The Pregnancy Pact, which I highly recommend researching about. It's about a girl who faked a pregnancy for her class project to see how people would react. Many people became discriminant against her, because she was 'pregnant.' She wanted to understand how much people stereotype, because she was still the same person. Everyday I struggle with stereotypes. I come from a mixed family, so I am black and white and I hear things everyday. I think all people are stereotyped, but I only hear the ones that apply to me the most.

The Awkward Silence

Every night, I lay myself asleep debating if every choice I made was good or bad. I always seem to focus on the bad experiences in my day, but seem to wake myself up with a new perspective on life. I wake up and smile, because the sun has just come up. I focus on things that could happen in my day and expect great things of myself. Perhaps, my expectations are too high. However, I normally do not do any of the things I tell myself I can. I think about it and debate it, creating a pro/con list  in my head, sometimes I talk it through with friends, but sometimes I don't. The reason I do not achieve most of my goals is because of fear. It’s a part of life and I know where my fear derives from. I do not want to be embarrassed. It’s awkward. And even though I try to blend in and stay silent, I’ve managed to have many awkward moments. In fact, I told my friend yesterday that there could be a show based off of me, The Awkward Life Of….. It was not the start of my day, but when it came third period, that’s when my day became awkward. As I was scrambling my way around the hallway in worry that I would walk into the wrong classroom, I saw the room number and my teacher was standing outside the door as a relief to my hesitation that it was still the wrong room. I entered and recognized people I knew, but were not friends with. I sat down in the first empty chair that drew my eye and people came in few by few. When the class was filled up and the teacher entered we all expected her to make an announcement, but she just sat down. Whispering lips started to occur throughout the room and it was awkward. We did not know why she was not talking, or if we were allowed to be talking. I did wonder if we were never given a direction not to talk, why would we be whispering? And that question came into discussion after our teacher had had enough of the silence. These are things I like discussing and I am hoping to learn new things about people and the way we think. Despite the awkward first ten minutes or so of the class, I am looking forward to sociology and hoping to learn more about myself and others.