Required: Counting Beauty

Mai Davika is a Thai actress and model. She was on the cover of Elle Magazine in March 2014. It's intriguing to me that Thailand is a country that is dominated by people who has beautiful tanned skin, but in magazines, it is mostly of models and actresses with mixed caucasian blood. There are magazine covers of full Thai models and actress too, but I believe that it's because they are already very well known and famous nationwide for their work. 

For the Men's health Magazine there are usually photos of men with a very well built body and the majority of the photos I've seen the skin tone varies. I noticed that they promote more of muscular bodies and females promote more of beauty and sexuality. However, in women's magazine, even though there are people of colors, their skin tone is of lighter shades. With males the shade of their skin didn't matter but the build of their body does.   

Henslin: On Becoming Female

Ever Wonder why females are always so conscious of their appearance? It's because we are raised to present ourselves in a certain way. In my culture, we were raised to believe that long black hair was the epitome of elegance and beauty. In some culture, females are raised to think that showing too much skin is bad; others, on the other hand, were raised to believe that being a good female is to obey their husbands. 

We were raised to believe that we will always need a man in our lives because we won't be able to do many things without them. We were raised to learn how to maintain our appearance and our temper so that our significant other wouldn't cheat on us. If our partners do happen to cheat, it would be our fault for not satisfying him. 

We as females look at other females with envy because their appearance is superior to ours. Why do we think this way? Because society had influenced us so much about how we should look that it made us forget how to be happy and how to accept the way we are. 

Henslin: On Becoming Male

Everyone thinks that a male should show no vulnerability, no feminity because being a male means you are a 'man'. Why did I say a man instead of strong, muscular, etc.? The word man has been so socially constructed that if you were to say 'be a man', anyone would understand what you meant. Man is a word often used to describe masculinity.

Often boys are raised to be a man. If a boy was to cry because he was pushed, someone would almost always tell him to 'man up', or that 'a man don't cry'. The toys they play with are limited because their parents and the adults around them would judge them for playing with 'girl's toys'. Even the colors are separated from masculine to feminine. From the very beginning, boys are taught to hide their feelings. 

When those boys grow up to be men, the majority of them don't understand the way they feel. Many of them would struggle with expressing themselves and wouldn't have anyone to confide in. What I learned in my Human Development class is that boys/men have the highest suicide rate in America. Maybe, just maybe, it has something to do with becoming a 'man'.         

JBC: Beauty/Ideology and Intersectionality

Beauty is highly socially constructed. Here in the U.S women are seen as unattractive if their lips are too thin, eyes are too small, butts are too flat, and boobs are too small. Social media had altered the mind of people so much that they judge and criticizes other's outer appearance to the point where people decided to change the way they physically look to fit into society's standards. South Korea has a pretty high percentage of cosmetic surgery. I remember coming across a video where the people on the streets in Korea were being interviewed about the subject of cosmetic surgery. A lot of people didn't seem bothered by the questions because it became so common. There are even parents who would gift their children with some sort of cosmetic surgery. One thing that intrigued me the most was that someone mentioned about having a higher chance of landing a job at interviews if you are attractive. Not only do they feel like they need to be socially accepted, but they also feel like it's necessary to even get hired!

JBC: Toys/Gender, Sex, and Sexuality

Pink toys are for girls, and blue toys are for boys; this thought is completely socially constructed. Kids don't know that dolls are for girls and cars are for boys. Once a child plays with a toy that's meant for the opposite sex their parents, grandparents, siblings, cousins will tell them that they're not supposed to play with them. A great example of this is when my nephew was still just a toddler he would always watch Peppa Pig. One day he asked his parents if they can buy him a set of Peppa Pig toys and they both told him not because it's meant for girls only. As time went by they gave in and bought him a Peppa Pig house set, it didn't make him less of a boy that he was. He played with his cars as much as he did with the Peppa Pig set. 

My younger brother, who has a different father, loves playing with my nail polishes, and makeups. At the time I was still a high schooler and made very quick judgments about his interest; however, I never asked him to lose interest in them. He stopped having interests in those items during his late child development stage. During his early adolescence, he started showing more interest in makeups, and nail polishes again. After a while, he came out as a homosexual.

I don't believe that toys can change someone's sexuality, but I do believe that there are those who show massive are interests in particular items probably knows their sexuality. Studies have shown that people discover their sexual orientation when they are of a young age.    
  

Required: Toy Store Observation

I went to Walmart to check out the toy section. I saw how the placement of the toys are well separated even when they're on the same aisles and shelves. There was one aisle where the toys for girls were on one side and the boys on the other. When you enter that aisle and look to your left it would be all pink and purple. At your right, it would be all blue and green. The left side is full of dolls, dollhouse, kitchen play sets, etc. and the right side would be full of train sets, cars, stuffed animal, etc. I noticed that on the Lego shelves the majority of legos packaging are in dark colors for the boys with Star Wars and Harry Potter theme. Right in the middle of the shelves, there are pink packages for with water slide, and store themes for the girls. Now, I believe that the Lego shelves were purposely placed like that because the pink lego packaging stood out so much. It was as if they want people to know that 'oh, we have some pink legos for your daughter too'. I could easily tell which toy was meant for which gender with the colors of the packaging, not only that, toys meant for girls had photos of girls, and toys mean for boys had photos of boys. The gender-neutral toys are set at the back and are mostly outdoor toys. I noticed that there were also two gender-neutral lego sets, on those set they had photos of all the legos in the sets. The car, business buildings, were of darker colors and the color of the house and present was of brighter colors. Even when it was supposed to be gender-neutral the sets clearly shows that the house and presents are the girl's job and the business and cars are the boys.

Required: Interview

Questions

1. What race are you?
2. How do you know? How do you make that decision?
3. How did you learn what race you are? Can you tell me about some of the early messages you received about race in general or your race in particular?
4. How do you decide what race other people are? Examples?
5. How do other people decide what race you are? Examples?

Me:

1. I'm Asian.
2. From generations to generations society have been calling us Asians. I can't call myself any other race because then it would've been wrong in the eyes of others. 
3. I learned about my race when I enter kindergarten. I would hear and see people ask each other what race they would and somehow it came to my knowledge that I was Asian.
4 &5. From when I was younger, I see people tell me I was Asian because of my skin color, hair, and facial features. Not only that, I think televisions were the biggest source of me discovering how to define someone's race. Their skin tone, hair, their native language and etc.  

First Person:

Very good questions. For me, race and ethnicity are 2 very different things. My race is, of course, Asian. I've determined that I am of an Asian race based on my physical and biological characteristics passed down genetically from generation to generation. Normally when we look at people, we'll say they're "Caucasian, African, Indian, Asian, etc." And this is all based on their physical appearance. Really, what we are doing is trying to figure out what race they are. If you really want to know specifically what ethnicity they are, then, of course, you'd have to ask and not assume. That's my unprofessional biased answer to you, Ms. Jenny

Second Person:

1. I am Asian. 
2. I know because the system says so. If you want to be more specific then it’s ethnicity you’re talking about 
3. I know because when I took state tests they always asked what race I am, but people base race on your physical appearance. Doesn’t mean that they’re all the same but race does generalize everything. 
4. And well since it is this physical thing, then just by the color of their skin or if that’s not clear enough, a certain facial feature
5. Well I look super Asian so that’s what people categorize me as

Third Person:

1. Asian
2. I didn't know. I was told I am Asian. So now I affiliate with the term Asian because of my ancestry and their origin from Asia. It was a way to identify what I am.
3. People would ask me what race or ethnicity I was and I wouldn't know how to answer because I wasn't built to know this as I was growing up. I only became aware that I was different when they'd call me Asian and other kids made fun of me with certain stereotypical features Asian people are known to have such as chinky eyes. I was categorized as Asian through the government system as well which helped my interpretation of an identity as an Asian person. 
4. Because race is considered a highly social construct, it is based on the differing physical features of people such as face shape and structure as well as skin tone.
5. People decide my race by my physicality. I have a yellow tone to my skin, eyes that are slightly slanted and round, that aren't hooded and deep socket, etc. It is also slightly decided through your family and history such as the geographical location from where we came from but that still ties back into physical features as the main characteristic of what race is.

Fourth Person: 

1. Asian
2. Because of my characteristic, traits, culture, and beliefs. Generation after generation 
3. Appearance, culture, language. As mentioned before appearances, culture, language, history..etc
4. You can tell by their native language if not then you ask. 
5. My skin tone, and hair. My native language, and features.

All of the participants agreed that their race is based on their features, from hair, eyes, skin tone, etc. Some even brought up ancestors and their regions, but where and who named those regions and gave us our race? As some of the participants may say it is constructed by society. Who said our eyes are slanted, and that our skin tones are yellow? Society. I do agree that many of us have never thought about what race we were until we entered school and realized that someone is labeling us as Asians, African Americans, or Europeans.   

Henslin: The Racist Mind

It was said that racism has no color, the hatred happens within whites, blacks, and many other minorities. Sadly, I do agree with this statement. There are certain situations where I have racist prejudices (attitudes/beliefs mainly negative stereotypes), but it never occurred to me until I read this chapter. Many people have racist thoughts; however, it doesn't mean that it is always in a negative way. Having prejudices is completely different from an act of discrimination (treatment/behavior towards an individual or group) towards another race. Raphael Ezekiel author of The Racist Mind, states that "Racism is a way of perceiving the world and a way of thinking". Do we really understand the world a little more when having racist thoughts? Ezekiel believes that with the influence around us we are bound to have some sort of white racist thoughts, but with these thoughts, we have the ability to learn and to observe that certain group or individual.

Henslin: Showing My Color

People were judged and criticized because of the color of their skin. This brings me to the beauty standards we had throughout the years. People bleached their skin to be 'whiter' and 'brighter' because having skin was part of the beauty standards. Now people started tanning because they think that darker skins are more desirable. Either way, you will get criticized for bleaching your skin because you are not comfortable in your own color, get criticized for tanning because you look too orange, too yellow, or it didn't look natural. I'm a born and raised Asian American or some may call it, a 'yellow' skinned person, and when people tell me to act like my race how should I respond? I agree with Clarence Page feelings towards the metaphor of the melting pot. She prefers the mulligan stew metaphor because whatever that was put into the stew didn't melt but they all added their own flavors into the stew. We should all learn to accept one another instead of trying to set a standard where we can't reach. We should all add in our own flavors into society instead of blending everyone into a melting pot. 

JBC: Music/Racism and Cultural Appropriation

Hip hop is indeed from the African American and Latino culture, which was cultivated when they were going through their toughest time. "...Cultural appropriation refers to the use of cultural elements (such as modes of speech, dress, or forms of music) by an outsider -- someone who is not a member of the cultural group historically associated with this tradition" (347-348). Iggy Azalea is a white Australian who made her way into the rap-music industry. She was criticized by many black celebrities with her use of lyrics. 

Although white folks are criticized for cultural appropriation due to the background history, there was also a case where even an Asian athlete, Jeremy Lin, was criticized with his choice of hairstyle because he was a 'Lin'. Former athlete, Kenyon Martin highly disapprove Lin's dreads and expressed, I’m confused, puzzled, in shock, disappointed in his teammates and the Nets as an organization for allowing this foolishness!!!”. He further stated, "you wanna be black. Like, we get it. But your last name is Lin". After the criticism, Lin replied, "at the end of the day I appreciate that I have dreads and you have Chinese tattoos bc I think it's a sign of respect". https://ftw.usatoday.com/2017/10/jeremy-lin-nets-kenyon-martin-dreads-instagram-respond-comment-hair

What I'm curious about is, is Jeremy Lin's case a form of cultural appreciation instead of appropriation?

JBC: Sports/Race

Race is a group of people who share biological characteristics that are deemed socially significant. It was said in this chapter that "...racism includes not only interpersonal racial bias and discrimination, but also the vast racial inequalities embedded in the organization of society, including racial disparities in housing, education, health, and incarceration" (157). Meaning that minorities, those who are not white, have the short end of the stick when it comes to privilege in America. This is why many minorities turned to assimilation. They chose to blend end and some even forget about their culture. However, there are those who still hold on to their culture and traditions. When my parents came to the United States through refugee camps they have their name written differently because it was hard for the Englishmen to pronounce. My Mother's name was Xwb Yaj and my father was Tsheej Vaj, but their name was changed to Sue Yang (mother) and Cheng Vang (father). Although someone's name was changed so Americans are able to pronounce them, within our culture we still call them with the proper pronunciation. I'm happy that there is more pluralism in the United States now, I'm not afraid to tell others that my family is Shamanism because I know that people are more amused about my culture than to discriminate me.   

Required: Youtube "Wealth Inequality in the United States"

We all know that money is distributed differently from poor to rich, but how different is the reality compared our thoughts and ideal? This video tells us that most Americans are already aware that the system is unfair; also, it enlightened us at how unfair it actually is.

 

This picture below shows what reality actually is from over 5,000 participants ideal and thoughts about the money distribution in America.

  

There is little to no money distributed to the bottom 20%. It amazes me how 1% of America has 33% more of America's wealth than the bottom 80% of the U.S population.

There are many cases of theft in Stockton. I believe the majority of them are from the bottom 40% of the U.S population because it usually occurs around the impoverished area. I would always hear sirens chasing after cars or getting to a destination from where I live. I can't fathom how many times I would hear someone (usually well off white folks) say that they don't feel threatened because they live on the 'better' side of Stockton.    

Henslin: The U.S Upper Class

Social Status is separated by the poor, middle, and upper class. Country Clubs were made for the rich so they can socialize only within the riches. Private schools are also created to separate rich students from poor and common students. Private schools attract rich families which in return gains them more money to fund programs and creates a more and better opportunity for rich students. I thought that social is only separated from the poor and rich, but I was wrong. There was a thin line that separated the 'old money' and the 'new money' elites, which was boarding school was created. With the need to socialize with the new riches their 'society' decided to accept them. I had never seen a rich person randomly walk around at a store or the mall. Maybe, it's because there wasn't any invisible or distinct line that separates our social status, but a wall that they built themselves to set them apart from us. 

Henslin: Morris and Grimes, Moving up

Dinner Table

Some people may experience culture shock when they finally move up from their previous social status; like realizing that you're supposed to use different forks when eating a fish and a salad. My culture shock is the dinner tables. I didn't start eating at the dinner table until I graduated high school. I always grew up eating on the floor or on a small bamboo crossed table with tiny straw wooden chairs. To me that was always the norm, I never thought of it as a class thing. As I got older I realized that in televisions and movies families are always eating at the dinner tables together. We did have a dinner table but there wasn't any chair that was meant to be there. The table was used as a space for our rice cooker, our big 5 gallons of water, and it was also used for cooking. Although we would eat on the floor my mother would never let us eat while on our knees. She would always say that eating in that position would make us poor and that we would become slaves. It was only a superstition, but it shows me just how fearful she is about our future, and how she didn't want us to experience the hardship she had experienced. I grew up eating on the floor, but now we're all eating at the dinner table.       

Henslin: The uses of Poverty

There would be a huge decrease in professions and employment if poverty ceased to exist. Welfare, public health, social work, etc. are all created around poverty. So many jobs were created because of poverty, but the poor are working and doing the 'dirty work'. All these dirty work are low paying, dangerous job. I never took notice of the functions of poverty until I read this chapter. What intrigued me the most is that the poor buy left-over products that others don't want. Also, they bring business to those who couldn't keep and attract any prosperous clients. There are many occasions where the poor are taken advantage of; for example, when their welfare purposely gets cut off during summer so that they would work at fields, where they are needed. Despite all the stereotypes and judgments; the poor, none-the-less, had a great influence on the functions of our culture.      

JBC: Coffee Class

I was never really a coffee person, and many people would act surprised when I tell them this fact. Why is it such a shock that I'm not a fan of it? Maybe because they probably think that I have a poor taste in beverages since I prefer drinking my carbonated sodas. From all my experience, I always get looked down upon for always getting the Starbucks Refreshers instead of coffees because I can always get juice from the 'store'. After reading this chapter, I'm starting to believe that maybe people do drink Starbucks coffees as a 'high class' status.

There are many movies where people who didn't know the differences between the many forks and spoons are made a fool by those of elites. There are also many conspicuous consumption instances, where the rich get angry because their expensive plates are being used when they are only for display. It's put out in our society that we are in the middle to low class if we have little to no knowledge about the life of elites.          

Required: 10 Items

T-shirt from Forever21 -  U.S
Nike Shoe - Indonesia
Pink sweater - Sri Lanka
Lance Camuto panties - China
Charlotte Russe skirt- Mexico
Aeropostale dress- China
Charlotte russe dress- China
BailyBlue  dress- Vietnam
Wet Seal dress- Mexico
Candies Outerwear- China

Out of all these items, only one was made from Forever 21. I remember talking about excessive labor and I believe that is what is going on when American companies take their work somewhere else. It is cheaper over there, the money currency in different countries are lesser than the U.S which means that the workers there get paid less than what they should earn. Companies don't have to worry about providing benefits and they don't have to worry about the rules that apply to them here in the U.S, which means that they can pollute the environment there all they want. I believe the reason why some shoes or clothes are supper uncomfortable is that the workers in the different country are alienating their jobs. They just don't care about the quality because they aren't getting paid enough.

Required: Fight for $15

The campaign fighting for fast foods to raise the minimum wage to $15 dollars leaves me dumbfounded. At first, I couldn't pick a side. Working in a fast food restaurant can take a lot of toll on your physical and mental health, and not only that they provide little to no benefits. I worked in a factory during the time of this campaign and my hourly wage was only $10.75 an hour. My friend who was working in a fast food restaurant was paid $11.50 an hour. With the little money that they earned working excessively, it wouldn't have covered for their insurance and monthly rent. I think that if fast food restaurants provided good benefits for their employees, then the employees wouldn't have started the campaign. I know some people who had ridiculed this campaign because they further their education to get a better paying job, but was paid under $15 an hour. They told me that their hourly pay started around $12 or $13 and wouldn't get a raise unless they earned it. When listening to my friend, it did make a lot of sense. If I can make that much an hour why would I waste money for an education to make less than a fast food worker?     

Required: Corporate Ideologies

My family and I try to stick to our culture as much as we can. There's no specific brand or said corporate that we stick to. To me and everyone around me we value our traditional clothes. Every time we need supplies to make our traditional clothes or want to buy traditional clothes, we tend to always purchase them from relatives or from markets. All the products will be made from overseas. The reason why is because we Hmong don't have a country, we are also known as 'hill people' by many and live in rural town villages. The traditional clothes and accessory we buy are majority hand made from them. The outfits not including the accessories range from 100 to 300 U.S dollars, including accessories would range from 500-700 dollars. A lot of the villagers still lives in wooden or straw houses.

 

Because they are village people, we are always looking to help and support each other, so there's very little hegemony. For example, if an outfit is sold for 300 the seller would profit about 10 to 20 percent and the rest would be sent back to the person who made the outfit. But, there can be sketchy people who would cheat off of those from overseas. News travels fast when something like this happens because we are always in connections with one another. 

(Left: Without accessories Right: with accessories)

       

(Left: without accessories Right: With accessories)

Our Traditional clothes designs are usually made with cross stitching or with folding fabrics. A more modern type usually consist of the embroidery made from machines. 

(Old fashion, more expensive)

(Modern: Cheaper)

Many Hmong people that was born and raised in the U.S had forgotten our traditions and our native tongue. We have been separated by wars and had migrated from places to places. We come together and celebrate Hmong New Year, this celebration happens in many countries other than the U.S. When we come together for the celebration a lot of us would dress in our traditional clothes and bond during those time. We can easily tell where their clothes are made from, just from the design of those attires. I believe that this is also the reason why we are willing to spend the extra money on our traditional clothes because it helps us remember who we are.    

Henslin: Caught Between the Ages

In this chapter, William Van Dusen Wishard highlights three trends that we experience when evolving into a new age. The first trend being globalization where "nations are incorporating planetary dimensions of life into the fabric of our economics, politics, culture, and international relations. Although this new culture is spreading worldwide, there is a fear of invasion. There is a noticeable contrast between the beliefs of the west and the east. The west believes in individuality and that humans can dominate the nature of this world. Whereas the east believes in relationships and that human is a part of nature. 

The second trend is the movement between two ages, technology development. Experts have a belief that the intelligence of an artificial robot would surpass those of humans in 16 years from now. The co-founder of MIT's artificial intelligence lab thinks that it is okay to devalue human if we can create something better, and more intelligent. What's even scarier is that they don't think it is wrong or aren't scared of the existence of humans, they believe it is the next stage of evolution. 

The third trend is a long-term spiritual and psychological reorientation. It is the content and quality of our culture that indicates what's going on in the inner life. "For example, we used to talk about 'heaven', which denoted the transcendent realm, eternity, the dwelling place of gods", Willam continues which has no spiritual connotation" (546). The words and topics we talked about had a link to our unconscious self, our inner self. Now we just speak of matters, vocabulary of technology, which is a sign of us devaluing our inner self.              

Henslin: Over the Counter at Mcdonald's

Working at fast foods we were trained to know what do and how to act properly wherever we were stationed at. Fast foods provide little benefits or none at all. When we were closing the store (Arby's) I had to wash all the dishes and equipment while the others had to clean their section of the store. I remember hearing an employee yelled exceptionally loud because he had sliced a small piece of meat off his index finger from the slicer that was used to slice roast beef. He didn't let the store manager know for he didn't have any benefits from Arby's; moreover, he was afraid that he was going to get fired. When the manager and our boss found out about the situation they let it slide. He was alienated from work itself, I believe the reason he wasn't fire was that he was always working and whenever he was called in on his days off he would almost always come into work. The town we lived in was also very small which means that there weren't many applicants so they need him to fill in those empty schedules. 

I can easily relate this chapter to my Fast Food/Work and Economy blog. "... These groups are willing to accept jobs that provide less than subsistence wages" stated by Leidner, on why Mcdonald's higher more teens than any other age range. I was always overworking on a pay rate of $7.50 and I didn't once complain to my manager about my work hours. When we moved to Iowa I thought it was only right for me to work just as hard as my mother. I was naive and easily went along with whatever schedule was given to me. I only wish I had known better.            

Henslin: Nickeled and Dimed

This chapter is about Barbara Ehrenreich, a political activist who decided to live her life as a divorced woman. Barbara first started with one job but she soon realized that she couldn't live off of one paycheck. She found a second job which helps her a lot more financially; however, taking on two jobs was harder than she had thought. She lived from paychecks to paychecks and had very little cash to spare.

Barbara mentions that "...the camaraderie of people who are, in almost all cases, far too smart and funny and caring for the work they do and the wages they're paid" (424). Many of these people didn't choose to live in poverty, but because of circumstances, they had no choice. My mother had just divorced my father for he was abusive and had an affair. She had to raise 7 of us siblings all on her own in a two bedroom apartment. We were all 1 or 2 years apart from each other with the oldest being in his early teens. There were times where my mother had difficulties going to work and she would carpool with the friends she made from work. They were happy to help each other for they knew it is another way to survive to live in poverty. I don't know how she did it, but we all survived the most difficult part of our lives.           

JBC: Fast Food/Work and Economy

People only think about the convenience of fast food and not much on what is behind the counter. There had been occasions where workers had voiced out their frustrations about the poor working conditions. Protestors protested for a higher wage because they felt like their pay wasn't enough for what they are going through when working in this field. I believe that many of those who work in a fast food restaurant; is working in excessive labor. Excessive labor is when someone is getting paid less than what they should earn, or when they are working more than they should have to. 

During my senior year in high school, I worked in a fast food restaurant called Arby's. I was a part-timer working 6 hours a day, but as time went on my work schedule became packed. I worked 6 days a week nearly every week. Every Sunday, I would work double shift with no lunch break. The only way I would be able to eat was to get a sandwich, and eat it at the back where no customer can see me. I was surprised when I got my check because my hourly pay was $7.50 an hour. My check that came in every other Wednesday ranged from $645 to $740. I made almost the same amount as our full-time employees. After I graduated high school, I decided to leave my job because I couldn't handle the working condition there anymore.    

 

Required: Presentation of Self

The way I am at school, and at home are a bit different. I'm pretty quiet on campus, I only go to my classes and to the lounge, I've yet explored all of Delta. I talk quite often in class because I like to get my opinion across and share stories. I haven't even made any friends at school, and I only have some classmates number for it is convenient. At home, I'm more talkative, relaxed, I raise my voice at the kids, and laugh more often. Besides at school and home, I'm also completely different at the club and bars. I enjoy drinking, dancing, and making conversation with people. I prefer meeting and talking to people at bars because I don't have to worry about what they will think about me, and I love listening to stories strangers have to tell. I feel completely content with being able to present myself differently depending on the atmosphere and location. It allows me to express every bit of myself in an appropriate time and place.

Required: Good Teaching Leads to Better Learning?

Last semester, in my English class I read an article about growth and fixed mindset written by a professor of psychology, Carol S. Dweck. A fixed mindset is of students who believed that their ability to learn and gain knowledge has a limit. A student with a growth mindset will keep trying to further their knowledge and they believe that there's no limit to their learning abilities. What's interesting is that the people around these students are the ones who influenced their mindset: teachers, parents, siblings, and tutors. A way to implant a student with a fixed mindset is with constant praising, telling them that they are good, smart, and that they did a great job, this will make them want to gain praises instead. Giving them rewards is also a way of influencing a fixed mindset because then they will only look forward to the rewards. To make a child or student gain a growth mindset would be when they solved a difficult problem and you tell them, "that's great you finally got this down, did you want to try a question that is a little bit more challenging?". When they're having difficulties trying to solve a problem, giving them courage like, "I know you can solve this problem, how about you try a different approach?" will encourage them to keep trying.

When a student is constantly given rewards and praises whenever they did well with classwork, tests, or homework, what will happen if they didn't do well? They wouldn't get the reward, and their pride would be hurt. This leads to them developing a fixed mindset. Whereas with encouragement, when a child fails their pride won't get hurt because they know that they can do it and they will try harder to achieve it. I believe that no matter how good someone teaches, it will make very little changes if they don't influence the students the right way.       

Required: JBC Shopping for "We-ness"

When I was in elementary school a lot of the cool kids my age wear brand name shoes. I was very conscious of how they viewed me because I was the only one who didn't own any brand name shoes. I remember attempting to buy a shoe that looks like a white Jordan sneaker, but that made me even more conscious because a couple classmate will ask me questions about them. The cool kids didn't take notice of me either and I thought it was a bummer that I was spending money just trying to fit in. I knew my family isn't well off so I never asked for anything more. What's important was that I discovered that I liked my cheaper glittery shoes better. When I got older I realized that the brand name didn't matter, the cost didn't matter. What matters was what I liked, they didn't have to be brand names or expensive as long as they fit my taste and are comfortable. Also, if I did get brand name shoes or items, they would fit my liking at a discounted price.  

Henslin: If Hitler Asked You....

The experiment that Stanely Milgram, a social psychologist, conducted shows that "...we Americans are an obedient people: not blindly, and not blissfully, just obedient" (270). The experiment consists of two people where one would electrocute the other from a range of 15-450 volt. The subject who does the electrocution was not the one who was strapped, so they had the decision to disobey the experimenter; however, more than 30 percent of the subject followed through with the experiment. After the experiment, he sent questionnaires to the subjects asking if they were happy or sorry about the experiment and the result was shocking. 83.7% expressed that they were happy, 15% said they are neither happy nor sorry, and only 1.3% was sorry about the experiment. "...People do what they are told to" Milgram continues "... so as long as they perceived that the command comes from a legitimate authority". Although it may not be to the extreme, we do obey those who we feel has the authority over us. For examples, we listen to our parents and do what we're told to most of the time: wash the dishes, takes out trashes, vacuum the house, and etc. We also obey many others which we may not even realize ourselves: our boss, work diligently; customers, help them with their needs; and professors, no phones in class. 

Required: Conformed to a Group, or Authority

When I was still in middle school, all my friends, we were influenced by our high school peers. We would do what they do because they were older, they had to know better, or so we thought. I learned to ditched school, skipped class and also took my first beer in middle school. We definitely weren't the brightest teens. One day my friends and I attempted to ditch class, sure enough, we were caught and was sent back to our classrooms. The looks from my teacher and classmates were piercing with judgments, a feeling I will never forget. Soon after, I was exposed to self-harm and took part in it for about a year until I realized how incredibly stupid I was. What made me come to my senses was that I never knew how far we took it until the school system checked one of them into a treatment center. I didn't have any hatred towards myself, and I didn't even remember why I did it. After freshmen year, I kept myself away from those situations. When I look back at myself, I couldn't believe how incredibly dumb I was, and now I can never imagine myself in those positions ever again.

My parents, grandparents, eldest siblings have authority over me at home; in addition, at school, there are my teachers, the principal, and the vice principal. I had to listen to them, obey their rules and try not to cause any troubles. Although I didn't cause any troubles at home I did cause a lot of troubles at school, hence my story in the first paragraph. 

JBC: Shopping/consumers Social Order

The difference between shopping and consumption really caught my attention because I never really paid any attention to the meaning behind them. Shopping is acquiring good from the marketplace, whereas consumption can be acquiring goods without the market place. An example of shopping from my personal experience would be buying clothes and personal necessities. Many of my traditional clothes are made and given to me by my mother, which is an example of acquiring goods. 

As a girl who enjoys using make-ups, I do believe that shopping can lead to social solidarity. I can bond with other girls about make-ups, we give each other advice about which product is good for us. We also talk about which brand we enjoy using, the conversation can advance to skin and hair care routine. Many men believe that we ladies stare at each other in a negative way but majority of the time it is because we admire something about what they had on (from clothes to make-ups).   

JBC: Coffee Shop Ethnography

In Starbucks located on Morada Lane off of highway 99, there's a little girl who seems to be of Hispanic descendent was dancing happily to 'Girl on Fire' by Alicia key. With this little girl, there's her young mother and a boy who seem to be her little brother. The mother is highly focused on her laptop tapping away while the brother is trying to finish his homework. At the end of that long table sits a woman who seems to be in her 50's, with her Michael Kors bag hanging off her chair she sat quietly reading her magazines. 

As the music track in Starbucks changes, a new person enters the cafe and while another person leaves. This coffee shop is surrounded by houses and the people who come and goes the feeling of a neighbor. The younger customers are dressed comfortably and the middle-aged adult looks like they just got off work. After the little family left the shop, everyone who entered the cafe by themselves sat by themselves and those who came in pair sat together at the tables for two. The staff, on the other hand, is enjoying themselves. I can hear them chatting behind the counter, and when there are no customers at the cash register, I would see them dancing along with the upbeat, groovy music. 

Because of the location and the little rain today, I assume that this Starbucks has more of a relaxing feel to it. There are no more than 10 customers sitting in this shop and if one comes to sit another seems to leave, which makes the cafe surprising quieter than I thought it would be. I prefer the vibe of this cafe right now, but I would definitely have to come to this Starbucks again during a different time and weather to see if there's any difference.      

Henslin: Thompson, Handling the Stigma of Handling the Dead

Morticians are aware that many people view them as profiting from the dead and from people's grief, but really they are providing a service desired from the living. We, as human, use to clean and cloth our beloved that is deceased and made their coffin because it was cheaper. As time went on we desired to hold a well-put ceremony for our loved ones that have passed and that's where morticians come in play. Morticians have a high salary and felt like they have to be far out of the community to be able to enjoy themselves because of how people view them. Those who give an odd eye at morticians are also those who would spend the money to hold a loving service for their loved ones. 

Henslin: Goffman, The presentation of the Self in Everyday Life

Our everyday life is a play and we are a fragment of this play. We're always wearing costumes, adding and taking away props to make ourselves look better. The props we use would be fit for the occasion we're heading to like, school, work, interview, or a party. When we're in a play the person we are is influenced by the stage and the people involved in the play. Let's say I went to an interview and I want to make a good impression. I would dress properly for an interview, carry props that are appropriate for the occasion, change my tone of talking, and sit straight without slouching. This is because I want to make a good impression, so they can 'act' according to what I want by giving me the job position I desire. In reality, who we are as an individual is developed by the people around us, by society. 

When we meet someone for the first time we would examine them carefully by looking into the way they dress, walk, and talk. Following along the way we predict their personality, we will act accordingly to what we believe they would prefer. Goffman believes that we should be our own distinct character and have moral rights to expect that others will treat and value us in an appropriate way; however, if we came to lie about our true self we deserve what ought to come upon us.       

JBC: Branding/The self and Social Interactions

"I" represents an impulsive part of ourselves. It's how we see ourselves, and it's also who we really are as a person. "Me" represents our social self, it is what we think others view us as. It is developed through socialization. When I'm by myself I love listening to music genres that my friends and family don't normally listen to, or the type that they find very annoying. In my head I picture myself dancing in the rain, in the house with the music on blast, even in reality sometimes I am completely focused on myself. When I'm around people who are the complete opposite of me, I tend to hold myself back and tone down my personality in-case it throws them off. I'm more cautious about what type of person I would be in the eyes of others. 

Branding is also a way of how people would like to identify themselves. Many people think highly of a brand and would like to have the newest release or the hottest item from that specific brand. There are those who don't put clothing brands as priorities and will settle for what would cost less and sometime they would be made fun of by those who wear branded clothes. Some brands hold values and have so many emotional connections with people that people use them to compete against one another. Let's take iPhones and Samsung Galaxy for an example. By far iPhones and Samsung are the two most well-known phone brands. People who had purchased these two products are always arguing and competing to see which phone brand is better. 

Henslin: Would You Hire an Ex-Convict?

Decades after decades the number of prison inmates had increased over 600%, and the thought of hiring someone with a criminal record had peaked Devah Pager, a sociologist professor's interest. She conducted an experiment where two white and two black male testers applied for a job position. They all had the same age, educational background, and work experience. One pair was assigned to have a criminal record. It was then that the result became clear between white and black males with and without criminal records. There a 34% callback for whites with no criminal records and only 14% callback for blacks with no criminal records. Those of whites with criminal records received 17% callback and blacks with only 5%. Even whites with criminal records received more callbacks than blacks without any criminal records. From these results, this displays a prevail in racial inequality.        

Henslin: Doing Sociological Research

In the world of sociological research, there are two major activities. One is conducting empirical research, and two is constructing a theoretical base. Empirical research is based on objective observation, which means that "sociologist must gather information that represents people's attitudes and behaviors accurately" (29-30). Because sociologist feels like one method of collecting empirical data is not enough, they start to combine methods to accomplish their goals. It includes conducting experiments, interviews, and using secondary sources or documents. The second activity is constructing theory. Sociologist must plant their data into visionary structures. These structures; in addition, will explain how facts are related to one another. Sociologist uses empirical research to match a theory; afterward, they would perfect the theory to match the real world. There are three prevailing theories in sociology are symbolic interactionism, functionalism, and conflict theory.    

The first theory, symbolic interactionism focuses on the study of how we communicate with one another through the use of symbols. Symbols, to us, is a representation of objects. One; human beings have a self; two, people construct meanings and act on the basis of meanings; and three, people take into account the possible reactions of others; these are the three main themes under symbolic interactionism. We as human beings use others as an example to reflect on ourselves and uses that reflection to see how others view us as a person. Functionalism, the second theory, believes that our society is a unified structure that is formed by many components. Each part of the structure supply a balance to society; if however, a component becomes unstable/dysfunctional it would affect other parts of the structure. The third theory, conflict theory, see's the component in society as always challenging one another. Racism, sexism, social class conflict and etc. is the outcome of the constant competition between social groups. 

When doing a research sociologist follows an eight steps research model.

1. Selecting a topic - What are you curious about?
2. Defining the problem - Develop a researchable question
3. Reviewing the literature - Make sure what you are curious about hasn't already been discovered
4. Formulating a hypothesis - A statement that you expect to find based on a theory
5. Choosing a research method - A way for you to collect data
6. Collecting data - Collect valid and reliable data, which may involve
• surveys
• secondary analysis
• documents
• experiments
• unobtrusive measures
• participant observations 
7. Analyze the results - From statistical test to content analysis analyze your data
8. Sharing the result - Write a report to share your discovery, and explain your procedures. Repeat your study.

Each method can deliver better results depending on the questions or topics of your research.            

JBC: Advertisement/Society

This chapter highlights the importance of not only advertisement, but it's production, content, and its reception through the method of sociology. Advertisements are everywhere around us, televisions, bus signs, outdoor benches, billboards, and on product packagings. Some sociologist thinks about the normative part of the world; however, many tend to make more connections with empirical observations. What are normative and empirical you may ask. Normative is a term describing a specific idea of how the world should be, and empirical describes an approach that uses data collections about the world as it is. 

Many believe that marijuana is good for us and uses them on a daily basis. It is true that marijuana is good for us on certain aspect but the truth of its side effect is that "... marijuana use has been shown to impair functions such as attention, memory, learning, and decision-making. Those effects can last for days after the high wears off. Heavy marijuana use in adolescence or early adulthood has been associated with a dismal set of life outcomes including poor school performance, higher dropout rates, increased welfare dependence, greater unemployment, and lower life satisfaction", explained in the article "Marijuana and the Developing Brain" by Kirsten Weir. This is an example of 'tradition', where many people have a thought towards certain things.

There's a difference between quantitative and qualitative data. Quantitative data are information presented through measures, and qualitative data are information introduced through words. Collecting these quantitative data may involve in surveys or questionnaires that can easily be turned into numbers. Although surveys have many advantages like having a great number of participants, it also has its disadvantages; answering questions dishonestly, for example. Qualitative data can be collected through Interviews or ethnography. The qualitative researcher may go and participate or choose to observe and collect data. From a small number of cases to wide social trends, there are many methods to collect data.

Down to Earth Sociology: The sounds of Silence

We have verbal, nonverbal, and preverbal languages. There are many forms of languages out there that helps us communicate with one another. There's a form of communicating called the whistle language. I remember bringing this up in class and talking about it to my professor. In my culture, we use leaf blowing as a way to communicate with each other as it was loud and clear.  Learning the tune of leaf blowing is learning the leaf blowing language.

This is a video of a man name Neng demonstrating leaf blowing.

Introducing Sociology: Contrasting Durkheimian and Marxist Perspective

My favorite food to eat is Kapiak. It is a thick, clear broth noodle soup. The noodles are always handmade from gluten rice flour and tapioca flour. The base is a broth made from boiled chickens. You can also add spices and herbs to enhance the taste. I love making this dish when a family member is sick and when it's chilly outside. This noodle soup is a Laotian food, it is usually made in a large batch and eaten with a group of people like families and friends. 

Mandatory Blog Post

A family in the S.U did not know that their mother is always meeting up with someone once a week. They will always meet up in a private room that no one is allowed to enter. Every time the mother gets home from meeting that person she always feels better, happier, and more lively. No one in her family suspects her of adultery even though they know that she's always meeting that person every week. Ever since meeting that person everyone in her family feels like it had strengthened their family bond.