Community Service Blog #2

Earlier this week, on wednesday and thursday after school, I chose to complete my final 2 community service hours by helping out at my church- North Shore Unitarian Church. In order to volunteer and help out I agreed to write our Order of Service pamphlets for the next few weeks. During each sunday sermon, members of the church are given these pamphlets to give them a preview of what will be occurring that morning. These pamplets help church-goer's follow allong with the weekly sermon with ease. In the past, before I chose to volunteer for my church, I never really paid attention to the Order of Service pamphlets- nor did I truly appreciate all of the little things that must be done each and every week to prepare for service. It truly surprised me how long it took to finish each of the pamphlets, a detail that seems so small to me when I attend service myself. This experience really made me appreciate my church, and all of the hard work that is put into our congregation, and making everything run smoothly. On a larger scale, it also made me realize how in society, every job, even those that may seem unimportant or low skilled, has a value and should be treated as such. No ones work is unimportant or useless, as it is the small details that make a community great. 

We are the 99% Movement

Why desire for economic security is not being met- 

He is unable to find work as a carpenter, and fears he will not be able to retire. 

More fair situation-
Programs enacted to ensure helping those without work, and equal opportunity to retirement for all.  
Relates to social class-
A once working class citizen who was reduced to poverty and close to unemployment due to  difficult economic times, is unable to retire comfortably due to this drop in social class.
Chose this image- It startled and saddened me that a man who worked his entire life may now not be able to retire in his old age due to the difficult times.

Why desire for economic security is not being met-

Is unable to pay for his cancer treatment because he does not have a job or proper health insurance.

More fair situation-

If health insurance were available for all.

Relates to social class-

All citizens should have an equal right to their health and safety regardless of social class- everyone deserves the chance to live.

Chose this image-

It is difficult for me to imagine people turning away the sick to suffer or to die because they are too poor, or not of the proper social class. I believe regardless of financial status everyone should be treated the same medically, as this is the humane thing to do. 

Why desire for economic security is not being met- 

She is unable to afford college, and cannot find a job, making it very difficult to get by.

More fair situation- 

If everyone had an equal opportunity to a college education, and there were more jobs available for the unemployed.

Relates to social class- 

Without the ability to pay for college, she will likely be unable to every move out of the lower class.

Chose this image-

It is sad that not everyone will be able to go to college, something that most students at Stevenson simply come to expect, and that someone so close to my age is dealing with big issues like unemployment for their future. 

Budgeting the Working Poor

Budgeting the Working Poor

    In class this week I really enjoyed our group projects- figuring out a way for a family of a different social class to budget their lives and deal with the unexpected financial difficulties that life brings. My group was assigned a family in the Working Poor, a family of 4, with a baby on the way that only made $25,000 a year. Figuring out a way for this family to make ends meet was a struggle, and definitely made me more mindful of the difficulties that other social classes may face. 

    One thing I noted while working on this activity, is that it is often hard to choose where to invest your earnings. There were so many things that seemed important to provide for our family- and yet we knew that we could not afford it all. Making those decisions, deciding what mattered most, was a very big challange. Another difficulty was taking into account the "life happens" moments. At first while budgeting we intended to put all of our money to use- but through this activity we learned that this is not always the best option- you have to save money for a rainy day, because you never know what life will throw at you. Although at first it seemed impossible to get by on what we had, we soon realized that government programs for the poor were invaluable to us. I had never known much before about food stamps, or medicaid, but this project really helped me to see their importance. Without programs like these, families in the working poor, or in poverty, would not be able to get by. I am grateful that we have these initiatives in place, to help those who are down on their luck. 

Women in the Media

Women in the Media

In class this week, I most enjoyed the video on women in the media. Although I only watched half of it, I found the video very enlightening. I never realized before how much the media tries to make women hate their bodies, in order to sell more products. Sadly I would have to say they are doing an effective job. The women we see on screen or in advertisements are so skinny, so beautiful, and seem so flawless, that it makes us feel as if we can never compare. I thought it was wonderful to hear that throughout the world women are taking a stand, in an attempt to right this injustice. I find it wonderful that certain magazines ridding themselves of models, and instead choosing to depict real women on their pages. In addition, I think that a law should be enforced, as fore mentioned, warning readers when an image has been photo-shopped or altered in any way. If everywhere in the world people started adopting policies such as these, we would not have such a distorted sense of what is beautiful. It's shocking and disgusting how much the media can alter a girls body image and sense of self worth, and is something that needs to be changed, in my opinion. 

Baby X

Baby X

This week in class, I thought it was very interesting to read the "Baby X" article- a fictional short story written about a child raised with no definite gender. I think in theory, this is a wonderful idea. In my opinion our society focuses much too strongly on gender norms. We should each be able to simply do what makes us happy, act without worry of what others will think. It is silly that there is a stigma against little boys playing with dolls, or little girls loving hotwheels- each child should be able to be themselves, without worry or self conciousness. But although I think this is a lovely idea in theory, in reality I think it would be far too confusing for a child. When I was a kid, my parents essencially raised me without a religion. I was taught dozens of different creeds, and was told that I could use that knowledge to decide what I believed. As I look back, I think this idea was awesome-instead of merely being fed information without a choice in the matter, my parents gave me freedom to do what I liked. But this was not the way I felt as a child: I hated that I didn't fit in, that I didn't have an answer for what I was. I hated that other kids were christian, or jewish, or muslim, but I was nothing. And although now I understand the intention of my parents was never to make me feel this way, I couldn't help it. And I think the Baby X would feel the same, maybe even more so because it was a more extreme case. 

Family Socialization

Family Socialization

This week in class we were given the assignment of interviewing a member of our family, and taking a more in depth look at how this person has socialized us. For the interview I chose to speak with my mother- a person who I believe has strongly impacted and shaped me into the person I am today. She stated that before I was born her main expectation for me was that I be healthy, but also hoped I would grow to be friendly, smart, and caring. From a young age she tried to teach me to always be kind and inclusive,and never leave anyone out. She reminded me of my a birthday party, when I had wanted to invite all of the girls in my class except for one, who I thought was strange. My mom told me frankly "you will invite her, because I am not raising my daughter to be the mean girl". Looking back it surprises me how cruel children can be, myself included, without meaning to. I am glad that my mom instilled this value on me, and it is something I will try to encourage in my own children. Another value she tried to endorse was volunteering, enrolling me and my brother in scouting at an early age, and promoting the ideal of giving back to the community whenever possible. A tradition that she tried to demonstrate was close knit family. As a child her grandparents lived down the street, and played a large role in her life, so when my Dad's parents became elderly and needed a place to stay she welcomed them with open arms, trying to give me a deeper sense of family ties and a close relationship with my grandparents. This has taught me to always value the time you are given with your family, close and extended, and to never be ashamed of them, because they truly mean everything. Finally, my mom says she sees connections between us most in our love of reading (something that was promoted in my household from a very young age), and our involvement in girl-scouting (an organization through which I still volunteer in frequently).

Chicago Marathon

Chicago Marathon

As part of my community service final, today I chose to volunteer at the Chicago Marathon. This was the second year I helped out at the marathon, along with most of my cross country team. Each year it begins horribly, waking up at 3:30 to catch a bus leaving Stevenson at 4 am, we are all tired and cranky from the start. But the atmosphere of the race soon wakes us up and fills us with excitement. This year things were a little different for volunteers, a little tighter due to the bombings at the Boston Marathon last year. Security was increased, to make sure everyone would be safe. It's sad that it was necessary, but I'm glad that it was able to make the marathon a better and safer place for everyone. We set up tables, poured water, handed it out to runners at the 6 mile station, and did clean-up. I always love watching the elite runners zoom by, running at a pace that I, as a varsity track and cross country runner, can't even keep up for 1 mile. It's insane to see how much training and hard work that all of the runners put into this day. And its not just the fast ones, its every single one of them, pushing through all 26.2 miles with such admirable perseverance and determination. It inspires me, makes me want to do it someday. What I really find interesting are the runners who take the effort to thank us repeatedly for giving them water. They are the rockstars, completing this amazing feat, yet they still take the energy to tell us we are awesome and thank us for our time.

The Lost Boys

The Lost Boys

My favorite part of class this week was by far watching the documentary on the Lost Boys. It was a topic I knew vaguely from past social studies classes, but that I had never really looked at in depth until this week. What I found most striking was the selflessness of the boys, who had suffered so much in their lives. It made me realized how truly privileged I am, even though I don't always see or appreciate that. The boys in the film suffered through hardship after hardship,facing starvation, poverty, and the death of their families. But when they finally made it to America and to a better life,instead of leaving it behind, all they wanted to focus on was helping and reaching out to those back home, which was something I found incredibly admirable. If everyone in society could operate with this same level of compassion and kindness, the world would surely be a better place. Many would have simply taken the chance for a improved life and forgotten about the one full of hardships, and full of death. But the lost boys were stronger than most, and were able to persevere and to help each other to all improve their lives. Watching this documentary made me want to strive and become a better, more selfless person, someone who puts the well being of others before their own personal gain.

China

I'd consider myself a fairly well cultured teenager; my mom is from the United States, but my dad was born in Turkey, and as a result I have had many opportunities throughout my childhood to travel and see the world, something I am truly grateful for. And when we travel, my parents hate to simply sit at a resort; my mother making it her goal to introduce us to as much of the local culture as possible. But while I have viewed and observed many countries in Europe, I have never been to a truly Asian nation (Turkey being on the border of Europe and Asia, but with more of a European culture). Learning about Ms. Brownstone's experience really opened my eyes to a culture I knew very little about.I learned of their morals and virtues, which proved to be somewhat different than in the United STates. One key idea that resinated with me throughout the reading was the concept of "Saving Face" or attempting to appear 100% qualified, even when you may be unsure. In China, and the School that Ms. Brownstone taught at, if children asked her questions and she admitted to being unsure, her students would begin to think she was incompetent. This sense of saving face also is carried into standardized academics. Brownstone staed that in China, a child can never achieve a truly perfect grade/test, lest it make them seem important. Qualities like these, a lack of freedom, and a lack of true support from faculty/teachers, make me relieved to be an american student. While at the same time, in an attempt not to be ethnocentric, I can understand why our culture too would be a lot to take in for a foreigner.

Homecoming Research

Homecoming Research

This week in class we began planning our group research projects. My team decided to investigate if students feel social pressure to attend our school dances, or if they genuinly look forward to attending them. This is an important subject to me as an active member of Stevenson's Student Council. If there is a reason students are not enjoying dances, I can figure it out through this survey, then address the issue in a student council meeting, and attempt to correct it so that dances are as enjoyable as possible for everyone in attendance, and are deemed an overall success.

The Ocean Liner

This week in class my favorite activity was the ship wreck simulation. I was one of the characters aboard the "boat" where 7 out of the 16 passengers had to be kicked off. It is very interesting, looking back on how we handled the situation. For most of it, it seemed as if there was very little thought put behind who would go and who would stay. A name would be mentioned, and everyone would attack. It didn't matter whether or not that person should have been spared, there was an argument that could have been made against each and every one of us. Every time someone else was called out I felt a sense of relief, they would die, and I would have a greater chance of survival. Even if I didn't fully agree with their sentence, I would always raise my hand against them in the group vote, because although they may not have deserved it, it was better them than I. It was selfish really, but I could see most others were doing it too. When put in a life or death situation we throw mindfulness out the window, and tend to only protect ourselves.

Doing Nothing

Today at lunch I stood up, halfway through the period, and proceeded to do nothing. I stood near the edge of my lunch table, where my friends sat eating, and merely stared ahead. At first no one noticed what I was doing, and continued to eat their lunches. After awhile a few of the students I had been sitting with noticed my absence, and I explained to them my assignment. But aside from my friends, no one else seemed to mind what I was doing. A few glances were thrown in my direction, but no one really cared why I was standing purposeless in the middle of The Point. Everyone around me was busy, chatting with friends, scarfing down lunches, or scrambling to finish homework. If they noticed what I was doing at all, it didn't matter to them, because they had more important tasks at hand. I know if I was in their place I would have reacted the same way. We are all so busy, especially at Stevenson, and are always rushing to make the most of our time. Although people may briefly have wondered what I was doing, they were not troubled about it enough to get up and approach me. They remained in their own worlds, absorbed in their friends and their lives, and uncaring about what was happening around them. Sure, the experiment showed me that teenagers can often be oblivious to the world around them, but it also showed me a group of students having fun and enjoying themselves, trying their best to make the most of their time in high school.