Social Class System

In America, we see people getting richer and poorer everyday. The rich gain more money and the poor get less money. In other countries like the Philippines, it may be considered a norm, but not in America. Both my parents were born and raised in the Philippines in the middle-class area. They have told me stories about how their country is like a social class system - you have the poor, middle-class, and the rich. In today's society, we're not used to that. In fact, most people don't even notice or care. People are just people and it doesn't matter how much or how little money they have. While in class today, we were having a discussion on America's social class. Sal told us how the Americans "kicked the Britain's out". Back in England, they have lots of norms that we Americans don't have. Their social class is so much different than ours. When I was growing up, my mom would tell me stories about how she traveled to London before I was born and even before she met my dad. I don't remember most of the stories, but I do know it was interesting to hear because when I grow up, I want to travel the world like my mom did. It was a complete eye-opener for her to see all these different people with their heads held high and their English accents. In the U.S., we don't have that; people just see what they think is rich and what they think is poor. Many people want to be rich and have lots of cool things to show off to their friends, but I think we should all appreciate what we have. I remember moving from house to house when I was younger because my parents wanted to give me a stable house to grow up in. I went from apartment, to condo, and now a house that i can move freely around. Sure, living in those places before the house was hard, but I learned to be grateful for what I had at the time. Some people don't even have a home. But more than anything I wanted to be rich like those people on MTV or like those singers I used to look up to when I was younger. "My Super Sweet 16" was the first show I thought of when talking about social class.

In this show, teens with giants amounts of money get to spend it on a party they'll only have once in their life. I remember watching this show thinking I wanted nothing more to be just like them. But judging on the show, they looked like spoiled brats. Social class in America is just divided; I wouldn't label anyone "poor" or "rich", they're just people. 

30 Days

Dealing drugs, escaping - we've all done it in or seen someone do it during some point in our lives. Whether it be TV or real life, there are lots of bad people out there. Some we may consider "the good person" may even turn bad. Today in class we watched a show called '30 days' with Morgan Spurlock from 'Super size Me'. In this show, different people are experimenting with different places or things to see what it feels like. This episode with Morgan showed him seeing what it's like to be in prison for a month. While watching this, I was shocked and heartbroken. There were many different people in the jail cell who got busted for different things. One got busted for distribution of cocaine and the other for reckless driving. It was hard for me to watch, but at the same time I was interested in how different things were and how people acted. I remember one statistic that he said, "16% of Americans are in jail because of mental disabilities", or something along those lines. Being locked up for a decade or more can do that to a person. America is supposed to be "the land of the free", but nowadays it seems like we're resorting to jail instead of getting actual help because we don't have enough money. There was one guy in particular that I found rather interesting; his name was Randy and he had skitsofrenia.When he saw a camera in front of his face, he flipped because he wasn't used to that kind of thing. I wasn't surprised when Morgan mentioned that people who have been in and out of jail develop some sort of mental illness, because like I said before, it can happen when you're in a certain place for so long. In jail, you're restricted to all freedom. When Morgan had his parents visit, there wasn't even a table they could sit at, just a big plastic wall with a phone attached to the side. I could tell that he was on the verge of tears after his parents left because he couldn't show any physical affection. If it were me in that situation, I would feel lonely. All I would want is attention; to be loved and to be held. It's really sad that some people have to go through this kind of thing because I know everyone has some sort of good in them, they just have a hard time showing it. Sometimes, they're scared and the only way to show they care is by doing bad things. From personal experience, I remember watching a show on MTV called "Juvies". It was a show about teens from the Lake County or Indiana area who have been sent to jail. Drugs, alcohol, stealing - you name it. It was basically like 30 days, just for teenagers. While watching 30 days, I thought of this show. It reminded me of how bad things can get and how desperate people can be when they have absolutely nothing and families just give up on you. When a person does something repeatitivley, they're bound to get kicked out at some point. When "Juvies" came out in 2007, I was a freshman or sophomore in high school. I remember watching this show hoping that I wouldn't grow up that way an I still hope to this day that I don't. Jail is a scary place; to think that people would want to spend up till 50 years old in that jail - maybe even more, is just scary. I believe everyone deserves to live their life freely.

Masculinity & Femininty

It starts at the age of eight or nine, maybe even younger when both boys and girls are told to be "tough" or "feminine". We're suppose to wear certain clothes or act a certain way in order for people to like us. A "tough guy" or a "girly girl"? And if we don't act that way, we're considered stupid, gay, or any other type of nasty name that comes to mind. But is that how we genuinely are? More than likely, most people aren't as tough or as feminine as they seem. It's just how the world sees us. Some people want to act a certain way to keep their reputation. Like in high school, there's a variety of groups that each person is in. When we see those people, we think of them as glamorous or someone we highly look up to. In reality, they're nothing different. People are people. They just tend to hang with a group(s) that have the same interests as them. In Disney movies like the little mermaid, Ariel finds a prince who she thinks is the guy of her dreams. The only major difference between the two is how one is on water and the other is on land. Even if they're forbidden to be together, they end up doing so anyway. Although I think this movie is an all time classic, it sets an example which boys tend to follow - that they're supposed to be some big masculine tough guy who's so good looking and all the girls look up to him.

There are no guys in this world (that I know of) who are actually like that. It's only portrayed in movies or books. I find it rather disturbing how Disney or any other movies portrays the "ideal guy". No guy is ever so masculine that their shirts rip off, and girls as young as seven or eight expect in their future that a guy will do that. I'm sure it will happen, but I believe every girl will find their prince charming sooner or later.

Another topic that was discussed was femininity. In class we watched a video on how the "ideal woman" is supposed to be portrayed: Skinny. Every model is seen as a beautiful figure or someone every girl dreams of being. I know when I was about 12-13 years old, I thought I was the ugliest person on Earth. In middle school there were a few people who teased me because of how I looked. There was one person in particular who said I looked horrible in my 5th grade school picture and even though I was young at the time, I remember it destroying my self esteem. I tried everything to get rid of my acne and find the cutest clothes. There were times where I'd look in magazines and I would dream of being that flawless celebrity on the cover. It wasn't until later that I discovered those girls we see on the covers of magazines are nothing but fake. It was then I decided I didn't want to be like them because in life, people will tell us to look a certain way or act a certain way. Girls to be skinny and beautiful, guys to be masculine and violent. I've learned we don't have to be that way -everyone is human and if they don't like how people are, then they shouldn't associate themselves with those kinds of people. Because you are you and you shouldn't change for anybody - regardless of what they think.