Community Service #3 & 4

3. Christmas Basket- 2 Hours

















I sponsored a family for Christmas through the Vernon Township. Me and my mom went to Walmart and picked out gifts based on a list we were given for the family. It was similar to Give-A-Thon, except we didn't get to know the children's names. It was a really good experience  because we got to get them necessary winter supplies, like coats and blankets, as well as getting them fun presents like toys and candles. It made me feel really good to know we were giving these people a Christmas to celebrate. This is something we do every year, and it is always so rewarding. We also gave them a card to wish them a happy holiday. I liked this idea because it showed that we made our gifts personal. I think it is so sad that there are people who don't have the means to celebrate Christmas, and I can't help everyone, but it felt good to know that I made the holiday happen for this particular family.

4. Give-A-Thon Leader- 4 Hours







This was my first year being a Give-A-Thon leader, and it is so different from solely participating. I got to raise money, buy the gifts, and drop the presents off. Raising money was really exciting for me because each thing I sold, I knew was another dollar that would go toward my family's gifts. I also loved buying the presents because, similar to shopping for the Christmas Basket previously, I knew the families were going to love what I got them. Dropping the presents off on Collection Day was an experience I will never forget. We compiled everything we had worked so hard to raise money for and buy, and dropped it off to be delivered to our family. Seeing our presents join the heap of hundreds that would go to countless families warmed my heart. I knew that we were going to give these families a holiday they would not soon forget, and that they would be so thankful. That makes all the hard work worth it. I will definitely be a leader again next year!

We Are the 99%

Why desire for economic security is not being met: She is in college and cannot get a job that pays more than minimum wage to afford health insurance or student loans

More fair situation: Higher minimum wage, more job opportunities for college students, make college less expensive, make health insurance more accessible 

Relates to social class: Younger people have little to no social mobility and until growing up to job-age often stay in lower class

Chose this image because: Nobody should have to fear for their lives because they can't afford to see a doctor.


Why desire for economic security is not being met: His jobs weren't understanding of his pre-existing complications

More fair situation: Better job security for leaves of absence, fairer time off policies

Relates to social class: The greatest mobility is downward. He moved from working class to underclass, but will probably suffer great difficulty moving back upward.

Chose this image: He is a young man who has had to face so much already in his life, which struck me because I have had to face much less.


Why desire for economic security is not being met: She can't get a job in her field because she is disabled.

More fair situation: Greater aid for disabled veterans with jobs, financial aid, etc

Relates to social class: She was, in a sense, punished for going to war for our country and coming back disabled. Her punishment was in the form of being moved down the social ladder.

Chose this image: I believe heavily in aid for veterans, since they are the people that fight for our everyday way of life. The least we can do is help them to maintain theirs.

Blog 8

This week in class, we talked a lot about social class. Something that was brought up a lot in class discussion was upper class versus lower class, and I noticed a lot of stereotypes being mentioned unwittingly. Upper class people were snobby, and lower class people were uneducated. These false observations stuck with me, and I thought about them while sitting around the table at Thanksgiving. I had all the food I could ever hope to ingest and a huge family to eat it with inside a beautiful home. I was overwhelmed by how "upper middle class" the scene depicted before me was. Be that as it may, I was not ungrateful. I didn't feel that those without this were lower than me. It is apparent to me that I defy the stereotype for my class often. I am constantly thankful for what I have. I believe in the value of money and learning it by being somewhat independent. Though I, fortunately, have never had to hold a job to help my family, I have had one before. I've earned my own money. My Mommy and Daddy didn't buy me an iPhone, I saved and bought it for myself. Because of a few nasty people, the image of the Middle Class as a whole has been tarnished, and people are made to feel ashamed for having money. It is something people don't like to talk about, because they will incur negative judgment for their classification. I think this is a sad thing, because America is supposed to be the land of opportunity, where a man can come from nothing and make himself a fortune. It's hard work, but those that are able to achieve it shouldn't be ashamed of it. It is a shame that there are people that are less fortunate and are not financially stable, but I think that as long as the Middle and Upper classes do their parts and help those less fortunate without being condescending, everyone can live in much more harmony. Perhaps there will even be less people in the Lower class this way.

2nd Community Service

2. Thanksgiving Basket- 2 Hours

This past week, I donated a basket of food to a family in need for the holiday. I spent hours at Walmart with my mom picking out non-perishable food items and a basket until we were finally finished. Though it took a lot of time and a sizable amount of cash, it felt good to know that we would be providing someone with a Thanksgiving meal. My favorite part of the trip was deciding to buy them reusable plastic plates instead of disposable paper plates and real cups instead of paper cups. It made me feel good to know that several items in our basket were things that would stay with them long after the holiday. This way, they will remember us in the future as the people that provided them with a Thanksgiving celebration. I do this basket with my family every year, and it is always a rewarding experience. We usually get a thank-you note from the family, which makes it that much more heartwarming. To know they are appreciative makes it an even more enjoyable experience. I have developed a personal attachment to this cause and look forward to doing it for many years to come.

Family Socialization

I spoke with my mother about my socialization. I learned  a ton from this interview.

My parents didn't really have any expectations for me before I was born, but rather they hoped that I would be born healthy and that they would be able to give me the best start possible. 

The lesson my father has tried hardest to impart on me is never to hesitate to take out your wallet. He says you should never hassle people about paying for things, because it's good karma and makes you seem like a generous person. In addition, my mother made sure that I was strong in my convictions and wasn't easily taken advantage of. They have always taught me to do what makes me happy, and the rest will fall into place. They truly believe if you have your happiness and your health, you have everything. 

The most important tradition to them that I carry on is our religion. We are Jewish, and though we aren't very religious in terms of practice, my parents always made sure I had an education that included the foundations of my heritage, and hope that one day if and when I have children I will do the same for them. They think that although religion does not have to be the most important thing in your life, it is a good moral compass to possess.

My personality is very much like my dad's, in the respect that I am very stubborn and a very good arguer. This leads to conflict between us sometimes, but we always make up because we have a very high level of respect for one another and we love each other. My mom says that I get my passion from her. If I love something, I put my whole heart into it and pursue it with zeal. 

I wasn't extremely shocked by any of the answers I received from this interview. These are notions I have been socialized to understand and expect. Most of the values I possess are results of my grandparents' and their grandparents' socialization. Similar to genetic traits, like the curly brown hair and blue eyes from my dad and my right-brained tendencies from my mom, family traditions and socialization are passed down from generation to generation. This is because we are socialized by the generation before us, and generally use this as a standard  by which we measure our own notions of right and wrong. My values are a way that I will be inherently connected to the numerous generations of Krays before me.

The Lost Boys

In class, we watched the movie "God Gave Up On Us". It was a documentary on the Lost Boys of Sudan. I experienced a sizable amount of culture shock while watching this film, paralleled by the culture shock the boys experienced upon arriving in America. I have become more sociologically mindful as a result of this film in the sense that I am acutely aware of struggles vastly different from my own. These people were forced to leave behind their home and everything they knew. I was reminded how lucky I am to have a constant home base to come back to at the end of the day. I cast so many things off as habits that they would consider luxuries. I guess I am somewhat ethnocentric because I see my way of life as correct, and theirs as foreign. In reality, both are correct, though vastly different. I am definitely a changed person after seeing this movie.

Another Week, Another Blog Entry

This week in Sociology, we talked a lot about Ms. Brownstone's experience living and working in Shanghai. It seemed to be a city of ethnocentrism. Her students also experienced culture shock by the mere sight of her curly hair. Everything about her was foreign and "not right" to them. She was constantly stared at and eventually grew tired of the experience. She said it was still a great learning experience and she recommended I study abroad. After hearing what Ms. Brownstone had to say about it, I think I just might have to! In America, we are severely ethnocentric, sometimes more than we would like to believe. I'm sure I'm guilty of this as well. I think it would be immensely powerful and interesting to be thrust into another culture that is completely unlike my own and be forced to come to terms with my surroundings.

Community Service #1

1. Diabetes Walk- 2 Hours
This past weekend, I had the opportunity to participate in a fundraiser for Diabetes. One of my best friends, Caroline, has Type 1 Diabetes, so naturally when she asked me to do the walk I didn't hesitate. I donated money in addition because I know how much she struggles with Diabetes and I hope they can one day find a cure. It was a really wonderful experience to walk together with my friends while coming together for a common interest. I loved doing the community service and can't wait until my next experience!

Week 2

This week in Sociology, we performed research projects. My group decided to study stress factors and see if they varied based on race and gender. I was inspired to bring this suggestion up to my group because earlier in the week, I was sitting at my kitchen table attempting to do homework, but I was too busy stressing out to actually get anything done. I wondered what the statistics were in terms of students having serious reactions to academic stress, such as suicide or self medicating. It was alarmingly high. I was outraged. An environment that is supposed to be preparing us for our futures is instead making us not want to have futures. No one is taught how to cope with stress. I went to Soc. the next day and was given the opportunity to perform some type of research, so obviously I wanted to conduct an experiment and be able to watch the data unfold in front of me. After we made a survey, I posted it on my Facebook and Twitter and got an overwhelming 74 responses...and I was the only one in my group that had posted it already. It was unbelievable. Upon viewing what people said, I was shocked to see that so many people stressed about the same things I did. I don't know if I'll be given the chance to go anywhere with my information, but I sincerely hope I get the opportunity to educate some of the higher-ups at SHS as to what they're doing to their students. Without students, our school ceases to exist, and they need to see the error of their ways.

Week 1 in Sociology

This week in Sociology, an activity that stood out to me was the "Abandoned Ship" activity. I participated as an elderly man in my late 60's and on my way back to New Jersey after a one month tour of Spain. I suffered severely from arthritis and was not capable of walking without a cane. We were celebrating our 50th wedding anniversary in a week and had 8 children and 29 grandchildren that all lived in New Jersey as well.

Me and my wife were the first people to be thrown off the boat, which angered me in the moment because I obviously wanted to survive and participate in the activity. In another respect though, we are always taught to respect our elders, which is the exact opposite of what everyone else on that boat did. There was a sort of mob mentality, and the sooner you threw someone under the bus everyone agreed, because as far as they were concerned, it was one less person to compete with.

The people that survived were the ones that had sailing experience and were more or less healthy. A pregnant woman and her husband were kept onboard purely because they were carrying another life. 

If I had played a different role, I probably would've thrown the elderly couple off first as well. The man's poor health would provide a burden for others on the boat, there's a chance he could die on the journey (in which case it's a waste of a spot), and he's been alive the longest. I would keep the youngest people on board because they have the most life ahead of them.

In life, we are taught that it is adults' job to watch out for kids and that kids should always be conceding to adults. This way, both parties are taken care of. But in a case like this, survival instincts kick in and all bets are off. The only important thing is that your name is not on the chopping block, and staying quiet ensures that you could probably go unnoticed until you were in the final 9 that would make the voyage. 

This activity really stuck with me because it showed how when the stakes are low, we stick to the social construct that we are supposed to be selfless and take care of each other, but when the going gets tough, we abandon everything we have been taught and it's every man for himself. It becomes less about who is a good person and more about who provides the biggest asset, or in some cases the smallest disadvantage.

Do Nothing Assignment

I completed my "Do Nothing Assignment" at the Vernon Area Public Library. On Friday, August 23rd I went to the library to start my homework with my friends before the weekend started. It's part of a plan I have to tackle Junior Year without getting overwhelmed by homework. After socializing for a little, we decided to head to a table and get down to business. As they all started their homework, I went to a corner of the library where I had a pretty good view of other people in the room, but where I wasn't in anyone's way, so that there was a smaller chance someone would interrupt me. I set a timer on my phone, and began. 

I was told to approach the assignment with a "Beginner's Mind", or a mind empty of preconceived notions. I am a constant and fast thinker, and clearing my head proved to be quite difficult. A friend of mine who practiced meditating a few times told me that a common practice to clear your mind is counting from 1-10 and then back down to 1. If you have a thought, you start over. After doing this a few times, I was completely disconnected from my thoughts. I let my eyes wander where I felt a pull, and ended up noticing the different speeds people did things at. There were so many different types of people at the library, and they all were working on different tasks at different paces. The variety was unbelievable. 

Next, I began to notice the way light reflected off of different objects. Some objects only absorbed the light, while others bounced it back and created a glare. Windows and computer screens reflected light, while poles and walls did not. This took my attention for what seemed like an eternity. 

I heard one of my friends laugh, and I was pulled out of my state of concentration, but only a little. I focused back in, and continued to drift. I was drawn again to notice the light. So many objects I never expected were reflective. Books reflected the light. Cell Phones. People's glasses. Nearly everything. Of course, there were a few token objects that did not... skin. Ceilings. Keyboards. It was so interesting to see this game of give and take the world was playing.

Time had slipped away from me, and I continued to be absorbed. Eventually, my 10 minutes were up. It had seemed so long at first, but once I was completely focused in, the rest of the experience flew by. I sat back down in my seat at the table, and was left to reflect. In a way, we are all constantly playing our own game of give and take. Some people have a balance. Others are all take.

The universe is a constant battle of give versus take. If one person takes too much, they are forcing another person to give too much. Sometimes, excessive "taking" is accidental, like a friend wants their friend to always listen to them vent, but is never very good at listening. Some people do favors for everyone they know without ever asking for favors to be done for them. If our gives and takes are unbalanced, we as people become unbalanced, and usually wind up with problems. Depression, anxiety, and alcoholism are all diseases when you have been giving more than you have been taking. Unfortunately, usually the most giving people are the ones that see problems like this. People who have done more taking than giving rarely see a consequence, because they aren't missing anything. These are the people that have massive amounts of money, but never donate to charity. The friends that always need a ride but never seem to be able to drive when you need one. 

We need to make a conscious effort to give as much as we take, and to take about as much as we give. It is the key to being a balanced and happy human being, and without it our whole sense of self can be thrown off.