Justice System

The justice system in the United States seems to work against criminals in every single way. While more people who are jailed deserve to be, the odds will never be in their favor for nearly the rest of their lives. A startling statistic shows that 2/3 inmates will end up back in jail shortly after their release, and many people end up going back numerous times. Prisoners get stuck in jail's vicious cycle and the government doesn't seem to be doing anything to prevent this. My aunt and uncle used to work in a police department for over 15 years each. I visited them often, heard many stories, and even got to sit in a jail cell and see what it was like for prisoners who have to live their. From my aunt and uncle I learned how people at the station would come to know many prisoners because they were repeat offenders and were constantly getting in trouble. It's sad to see how these people can't ever seem to get their lives on track once they leave jail and aren't provided nearly any services to help them get rehabilitated and readjusted in the real world. I feel that it would be great if the government could try in some way to help inmates who really have a desire to better themselves so they can be productive members of society in the future.

Saints and Roughnecks

The two different groups, Saints and Roughnecks, will most likely always exist in high schools. Roughnecks are the "bad" kids with a reputation for always being in trouble, whether it be in school or outside of it. Saints are the kids that are well-liked, athletic, involved, and everyone thinks are model children. In reality, these kids are just as bad and act out just as much as Roughnecks, but it goes unnoticed or is ignored. When these kids get older, they learn to take on the roles that society has told them to, and so the Roughnecks will most likely end up not doing much with their lives, while the Saints will go on to succeed and be average citizens. I can definitely picture kids right now that have been in my classes at school who are both Saints and Roughnecks. I feel that everyone knows of notorious trouble makers and also knows "good" kids who get away with doing what the Roughnecks get caught for. I believe that while some Roughnecks may really just be bad kids, many feel that society dictates what they have to be and shapes who they are for the rest of their lives. If people ignore the wrongdoings of some kids and punish those of others, the kids who are always getting noticed and have poor reputations will eventually think that they have to keep those reputations and act out even more.

Age of Independence

Teenagers have always struggled to figure out what is expected of them and how they should behave on a daily basis. Adults expect teens to be very passive and refrain from all sexual activity, as well as be irresponsible and reckless. However, teens today are more assertive, challenge adults, and are often engaging in sexual activity much before adults would ever like to recognize or admit. It is difficult for teenagers to figure out whether they should listen to adults and act the way they tell them to, especially since adults do the complete opposite of what they expect teens to do. I usually have weekly battles with my parents over how they want me to act and how I want to act. One of our more recent fights was over being allowed to go to a concert in Milwaukee and my parents' concern for me being on the road at night being "reckless". I feel that parents and kids are always going to fight over how teens are supposed to act, mainly because adults are from a different generation that has very different ideals and values than the teens in today's society.

Body Image and the Media

The huge impact that the media has today on women is extremely negative and damaging to their self-esteem and body image. Every commercial and infomercial on t.v., in magazines, on billboards, on pop-up computer ads, and more are telling women how they should change their bodies and what they can use to do so. It is sad to see just how many forms of media are constantly telling women they aren't good enough and should change to either get more friends, find a man, or be happier with themselves. What's odd is that one of Americans' biggest values is individualism or independence, but these ads teach women to be anything but different. The media today is telling women to become clones of one other with perfect physical features, which is not in any way promoting women to be individuals. When I was younger, I can remember numerous occasions where my older sister would look at the women in magazine advertisements and say, "I want to look like THAT!" Little did she know that the women in those ads don't even look like that. Women base what they should look and be like off of computer generated images that are in no way real. How can we look like models if the models themselves aren't actually that pretty and perfect? It would be ideal if American women would take a step back and realize that there is no such thing as "perfect" and they should be happy and comfortable with themselves just the way they are.

The Un-TV and Consuming Kids

Most Americans don't realize how engulfed they really are in consumer culture, but the truth is that nearly every average American is surrounded by media influence 24/7. The statistic that more homes in American have a television set than a telephone is mind-blowing. People care more about watching their favorite shows mindlessly for hours than communicating with other real human beings. The Un-TV activity was a great way to see how people can sit around the television for hours and become mesmerized. Watching so much television causes us to be exposed to a greater amount of advertising, product placement, and other tricks of the marketers to make us want to buy their products. The same can be said for kids watching TV, as mentioned in the video Consuming Kids. Children are much more vulnerable to advertising and fall into the trap of marketers more easily because their brains are like sponges and absorb these messages better than adults. This relates to socialization because everything the media shows and teaches us shapes who we are and influences what we believe and what we like or want. When I was in 1st grade I used to have a blue Rugrats lunch-box that I loved and refused to go to school without. I used to act out Rugrats scenes with it and it was a huge hit at my table full of my 6 year old classmates. Thinking back on this, I know that the lunch-box was no different than any other lunch-box and I too had fallen into marketers' trap by thinking I had to have the Rugrats lunch-box because it was the "best".

The Growing Man

Whether people want to believe it or not, humans instinctually rely on others to survive. As babies, we need constant human interaction so we can grow up and be able to make proper connections and bonds for the rest of our lives. When we get older, we rely on others to share good times with us and to be there to help us during the bad. As we approach the end of our lives, we rely on others to keep us strong and help us make it to the end. Many people dislike the idea of relying so heavily on others, because one thing that Americans value greatly is our independence. Independence is one of the many values that our society cherishes heavily, because people like keeping to themselves and pride themselves on being able to handle their lives and be successful without help from anyone else in a private manner. A connection I can make to this concept involves my grandma. Her father died when she was only 17 years old, and she had to take care of the rest of her family and her mother until the end of my great-grandma's life. Throughout her entire life she has always prided herself on being so strong and independent. She recently fell very ill and now relies on my family to help her do even the most basic things that she never needed help with prior to her sickness. It took going through numerous surgeries and being forced to get help from others for her to realize that everyone needs the help of others at some point; that's just the way we are made.

Tuesdays with Morrie-Work

In Tuesdays with Morrie, the main character Mitch is so wrapped up in his job that he misses out on the great things in life. Mitch never can commit to marriage with his long-time girlfriend because his job is more important and he never has time for her because he is always busy working and making deadlines. At his graduation, Mitch promises his professor Morrie that he will keep in touch, but never finds time to do so due to his job until he finds out the Morrie is dying. This shows how much Americans value materialism and only focus on getting a good job and making a lot of money. I can somewhat relate to Mitch because I greatly value hard work and success and I always have. All my life I have pushed myself in school and worked as hard as I possibly could to get good grades. My parents have always told me that it's all right to take a break every now and then, but I personally have never let myself do less than my best because it isn't who I am. Even though I care so much about success and school, I know that it isn't worth it to let the other aspects of life pass me by, so I have always tried to find a balance between pushing myself in school and finding joy elsewhere in life. Success doesn't always come from making a lot of money or climbing a corporate ladder; sometimes success comes from living a happy and healthy life and simply doing what you love.