Valentine's Day

Valentine's day is wayyy overblown and really to me is more of a commercial holiday than anything else. I think the idea is good that people who have been married for a long time can celebrate their ever lasting love for each other. However, when I hear about people buying front row bulls tickets after dating for 2 weeks, I think this holiday has gone a little far. People's expectations are so high on what they will get materially for valentines day when really they should be focusing on how lucky they are to have a person to share so much with. Also, because of the size that valentine's day has blown up to here in American makes those who are single feel majorly "alone". Valentine's day is a perfect example of how materialistic America has become. I know i have fallen tap to the "If he doesn't buy me flowers it is over." However, I realize that's a really silly way of thinking. In addition, maybe the guy didn't grow up thinking flowers were so important to show emotions. I think if we focus so much on the material things we give and receive on Valentine's day we will forget the most important part which is to celebrate how lucky we are so have people we love in our life. Taking a few steps back, I've realized how material goods are such a big part of showing feeling in America and I'm not so sure if I like that.

Changing Roles

Family is one of my most prevalent social circles I'm in. However, because of how outer circles to this group have influenced me, my role within this group has changed. Before me or my friends could drive, my life was basically all about my family because I didn't have the opportunities to go anywhere my mom didn't take me. My family is a fairly strict family with strong faith and being surrounded with this I was a "ideal" child with a high faith in God and quite a bit of the typical "nerd". I also imitated my older sister almost exactly that I convinced myself that's who I was, but this was all just an act. As years passed my grandmother died so I started to question my faith which was not something I was allowed to talk about. Holding that in made me feel very distant from everyone in my family. I started hanging out with some kids that I knew my mom wouldn't approve of to rebel. They shaped a good part of my life because I started learning life outside of my strict Christian life I had been so narrowly guided in. This was good and bad because I learned somethings about how to be accepting of more people, but I also did things like pierce my ear and dye my hair that I probably wouldn't have otherwise. These new friendships made me very distant from my parents. I realized I didn't like this life either, the people were nice, but I wasn't like them. So I withdrew myself from society once again and tried to figure things out. My sports teams were a giant help in finding who I am today. I was always the super competitive shy girl. However, as some of the girls on each team started befriending me I became more comfortable in being who I wanted to be. This gave me confidence and has made me an outgoing person who tries really hard to help other shy people be confident. This eventually lead me to being captain of the team which taught me the influence I can have over others and that genuine people will care about what I say. I no longer follow the "perfect" daughter role, but I do try to be a good daughter while still being who I want to be.

Yes, I Spat in a Spoon

Today in sociology I spat in a spoon and was interested in the reactions I got. Two girls were asked before me, but both said it was too gross. Then I heard someone say "Ask a guy to do it." This made me wonder why is it socially acceptable for a guy to spit in a spoon, but not a girl. So I volunteered because I've always been the type of person who wants to break these stereotypes. I think one of the reasons I'm so against those that a job "for a boy" comments is because of how my dad raised me. When I would come home from school as young as kindergarten and tell my dad about how all the boys told me I wasn't as good as them at sports because I was a girl. My dad told me not to listen and prove them all wrong. Later that day a girl came up to me and told me what I did was disgusting. At first I was a bit offended she was judging me. Then I laughed and said someone had to do it. The more thought I put into it I realized that she was trained to think this way from her parents and society as we learned in class. I believe these judgments apply to so much more than our sex or our actions. It also applys to race, religion, sexual orientation and much more. I know that I for one was raised in a strictly anti-gay family and I believed that it was unacceptable for anyone to be that way. However, after having a teacher who was gay I realized that being gay didn't define who he was as a person. I think its a big problem in out society when we are so quick to judge. It's so important to step back and realize that a lot has to do with the society and family people were raised in.