en-us https://www.intensedebate.com/users/3578491 Comments by AllisonLilly http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/12/02/voices-from-the-classroom-85/#IDComment232950281 In response to a fellow student’s question for this week’s blog posting about the American dream, I would say that the possibility of achieving the American dream exists more than it ever has before. The definition of the American dream is when people living in the United States feel that they have so much freedom to work hard and attain success and fortune in the end. Many people want to come to our country for this notion and phenomena that is associated with living in the U.S. But with more opportunities than ever to go to college, social media, expanded hands-on opportunities and the American dream is more attainable than ever. First of all, there are now more opportunities than ever to go to college. College is a gateway into a world of professionalism and opportunities because of networking, leadership opportunities and the opportunity to learn how to be a trained professional. With so many loans available, especially to kids with one parent and low income houses, money should not be a factor for students not going to college. However, this does partly stem from the need to achieve good grades while growing up so the student could get into college. Overall, however, money should not be a factor in the decision to go to college or not. Some people could use use low income status as an excuse to not go to college, but college is one stepping stone toward making the American Dream into a reality. Additionally, newer technologies online like social media tools such as Twitter and LinkedIn allow young people living in America and across the globe to communicate directly with professionals in companies. Young students can Tweet at people they may want to network with, or at least follow professionals to learn more about an industry or skill. LinkedIn is beneficial nowadays because professionals can find each other and read each others’ biographies, as well as communicate and connect with them for various professional reasons. Both of these tools allow a direct line of communication from the person trying to achieve their goals with someone who may be able to help them out. Lastly, the amount of hands-on activities that people can get involved in now is remarkable compared to in the past. Many places have open-door policies with internships and job shadowing because they find value in training the next generation of professionals. Most companies welcome motivated individuals to help out with open arms. For the individuals themselves, learning about different industries and meeting as many people as possible that can help them be successful can all help in achieving the American Dream. Mon, 5 Dec 2011 06:29:09 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/12/02/voices-from-the-classroom-85/#IDComment232950281 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/11/01/voices-from-the-classroom-59/#IDComment217934472 I think it depends on the body language of the people around me who speak other languages as to whether I find myself feeling uncomfortable or not. I like to take in context clues of the situation to decide whether or not the other culture might be talking about me or someone that I am with. If I use situational clues to determine they are talking about me, I probably would and do feel uncomfortable. If the conversation appears that it is a routine, daily conversation or clearly about the situation that they are in, I am completely fine with them being around me. However, if they are looking at me, pointing, giggling or staring at me, I would assume they are talking about me and not their own conversation. Some people may not appreciate or agree with my approach in giving the other culture a chance that they are talking about random variables in the situation and not that person. Defensive, racist prejudice or even less accepting people may not tolerate people talking in other languages around them in the least bit. If someone tries to talk to the other culture in English and they clearly do not speak English, some people may snap and say judgmental or racist things to them. As with most situations in life, people feel uncomfortable at the unknown. If a language is unknown, it alerts people that the person is foreign, and therefore from unknown lands and unknown situations. Although it should not, this type of situation scares people and makes them feel uncomfortable in the environment or situation that they are in. Additionally, people with prejudice or racism that is instilled in them throughout childhood would definitely not know how to react to people speaking different languages around them. I have an instances that this scenario reminds me of in which I have encountered. First of all, I have gotten my nails and toenails done a few times in my life. This usually takes place in a salon full of Asian males and females. I am never sure exactly where they are from, but if I had to guess, they are from Asian countries. These salon scenarios include the employees usually chit chatting amongst themselves while working on the nails and toenails of patrons. The employees always have their heads down because they are performing their job, so it is usually unclear as to whether they are talking about the patrons or about other matters. They are either skilled at disguising what they are talking about or else they are not talking about patrons. I like to believe they are not talking about patrons, but some people are probably harsher on the employees than I am. This is a reminder that all citizens of the would should be open minded to other cultures, and the world is really going in this direction, but there is still a lot of progress to be made. Mon, 7 Nov 2011 02:12:49 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/11/01/voices-from-the-classroom-59/#IDComment217934472 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/10/06/voices-from-the-classroom-40/#IDComment205417147 There could be a variety of reasons why men have no problem wearing comfortable clothes out to bars while women wear short, tight clothes and uncomfortable high heels. This is due to the notion of the men-centered world where women and men alike only look out for the needs and pleasures of men. Fist of all, girls are very competitive with each other over how they look and appear when they go out. In my opinion, this goes back to the biology of Charles Darwin’s theory of natural selection where the fittest animal will be the one that is desired to reproduce with. In females, they want to be the ones that attract the most attractive males when out in the social scene as well. Females do this by wearing short, tight outfits that show as much as their naked body as they can to attract the opposite sex. They wear high heels to make their legs look longer and leaner, and thus more feminine and attractive. All of this is a way for females to appear as feminine and desirable as possible, but there is also a major element of teasing when females dress this way and do not go home with a male. Also, for men and women both, there is a long history of fashion where men wear pants to dress up and women wear dresses. However, when did it get to the point of women dressing so sexually? Why don’t men have to dress in a way that shows off their muscles, hair and skin? Is it because men are more primal creatures that instinctively pursue something sexual in front of them and therefore have a greater chance of reproduction, where women aren’t usually the ones actively seeking sexual partners? Additionally, it is an extreme American tradition to dress the way females do compared to other places around the world. For example, my roommate wore a long-sleeved dress with a coat out to bars in Europe and she could tell that she was receiving a lot of unnecessary attention. If she wore the same outfit in America, she would feel almost conservative with her outfit choice. When did it get to be like this? Additionally, males don’t seem to care about how they look as much because they seem more into the actions going on in the situation. They aim to go out to bars, drink with their friends and hopefully meet a female to have sex or sexual relations with after the bar. Their minds are on the situation more than their appearance because they are constantly looking for sex. They do not care much about how they look because their minds are on the end result (sex) and the process of getting to the point of having sex with a partner. Mon, 10 Oct 2011 04:52:49 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/10/06/voices-from-the-classroom-40/#IDComment205417147 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/09/27/voices-from-the-classroom-21/#IDComment201859175 I do agree with the girls in the blog with the question about how and why society sees women and certain races are more innocent than others. First of all, women are portrayed in all types of media as being maternal, passive and innocent. This is seen in commercials, television shows, movies, magazines and more. Females are usually paired with pastel colors, but mostly pink or purple. A lot of media plays soft music and the females use soft girly voices. Girls are typically associated with grooming activities like hair and nails, and also seen a lot with babies and kids. Males are associated with loud, rough music, masculine colors, the outdoors and being overtly manly and masculine. I bring these examples up because since women are portrayed so innocently in the media, people start to see them that way in public too. An example of this would be the movie that Sam showed in class about the young kids stealing a bike and the pretty blonde woman stealing the bike. Women are seen as helpless, so many men stopped by to help the blond instead of the kids. The question would be raised, however, what if that woman was fat or of another race? Why are skinny, pretty white females portrayed as so desirable, and therefore innocent? It seems like society and police are almost afraid to accuse pretty women of wrongdoing for fear of looking stupid and like bullies. Other races, like Asian, are also portrayed so innocently when it comes to being accused of wrongdoing. This could be because in media they are seen as smart, nerdy and lacking of common sense and street smart. In the United States, people assume that they are educated and working in high paying math and science jobs, so they do not think they are capable of committing crimes or causing much harm to society. Asians are perceived as being quiet and sticking to their own groups, which is very much a part of their culture. This is why Americans see the ones living in the United States as harmless. European cultures that also have white skin like German, Swedish, and Russian would also be seen as people who do not cause much harm and are innocent because they are portrayed in movies as sweet, fun-loving people who are affluent. If they are in the United States, people may assume they don’t know any better than to just work at their jobs and not cause much harm to the United States. No matter the reasoning, women and certain cultures are seen as innocent groups in society because of how they are portrayed in media. Sat, 1 Oct 2011 19:42:09 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/09/27/voices-from-the-classroom-21/#IDComment201859175 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/09/20/everyone-respond-to-this/#IDComment197754494 As presented to the SOC 119 class this week, the class was exposed to something brand new and extremely profound in the scope of the world today. Although it was difficult to hear some of the things that Professor Richards and Professor Shuman were saying, I do agree that it is completely important and necessary for our young generation to learn about these global challenges and look down instead of up, as Sam would say. An example of how the United States can look down instead of up lies within these forward-thinking, entrepreneurial groups associated with Haiti and their current state of affairs. It is very moving to me how passionate Sam and Professor Shuman are about this, and it shows how important it is to get young people involved early in helping other nations that need United States’ support. As most people in our class probably come from Pennsylvania and surrounding east coast states, bringing these issues up in class and group discussions proves to be extremely innovative, cultural and forward thinking compared to many other Penn State classes. I looked at two of the entrepreneurial ideas of the Yvrose project of sandal and dress making and the Suze Fleuriza business of producing and selling peanuts. Neither of these business have a lot of capital or a large amount of resources, but both are flourishing and driving as much revenue as they can with their small amount of resources. It is motivating to me in so many ways to watch these entrepreneurial ideas take very little resources but make the best of them as possible. For some, especially the peanut business, the woman has to put so many hours of time into her business, just to make a little bit of money off of it. However, it is also intriguing that since there are no cafeterias in schools, women would be able to feed their children with their business and also pay for their children’s schooling. It’s a double positive coming out of her business, even though it takes her so much time and effort to generate a little bit of revenue. It’s also extremely motivating to me about how proud Yvrose is of her work on the sandals and other work, even though she doesn’t have a place to show it off. It makes me feel like I want to go down and help her build a studio or other means to show it off. However, not being able to display it does not stop her from being a creative, driven person in her apparel. I can understand being so driven and creative, but I feel so much more fortunate than these people for being at a university in Pennsylvania. That is precisely while I admire the people in both of these stories; they have similar goals and attitudes as me, but they make the most out of what they have and are so appreciative of what they have. That is so motivating to me, and I am so appreciative of learning about these inspirational people. Sat, 24 Sep 2011 01:42:20 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/09/20/everyone-respond-to-this/#IDComment197754494 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/09/15/voices-from-the-classroom-11/#IDComment194347893 There are many due factors as to why I am at Penn State University, and I attribute them to both “nature” and “nurture.” In fact, I did not apply to one other school besides Penn State because I was so sure I wanted to attend this University, whether I got into University Park or the Penn State Altoona campus. First of all, I really did not know any other colleges besides Penn State as a child growing up. This is because my parents had been fortunate enough to both have the opportunity to go to Penn State. Not only did both my parents attend, but I am now a third generation Penn Stater! My grandfather on my mother’s side, as well as all nine of my mom’s brothers and sisters attended Penn State. Leading into the grandchildren, two older cousins, my older sister, and four younger grandchildren (including myself) are now at Penn State. I bring this up because it shows that there was really no diversity in my family about school choices or preferences. It was just so well-known that everyone roots for Penn State, recommends Penn State, and suggests Penn State as a great University because that is all they knew. Since I was surrounded by that constantly, I, too, did not know any better or worse than Penn State. Therefore, it was my natural decision to attend since I was not exposed to anywhere else growing up in Central Pennsylvania. I accredit this reasoning for going to Penn State part of the “nurture” part of growing up. Also going along with the “nurture” part, I was brought up by educated parents in a neighborhood with mostly educated neighbors, also in a family with other educated people. I was put into situations with friends and play dates whose parents were also educated. My parents showed me television shows and played computer games with me that enriched my educational experience at a very early age. Because of all of this early learning and teaching done by my father who was able to watch me during the days growing up, I ended up in advanced academic classes all through school. I was in the gifted program and ended up taking AP courses as well. If my father was not able to be off with me throughout my childhood to teach me necessary reading and math skills, I may not be where I am today. That foundation was necessary in my learning development through my life and into my college career at Penn State, or else I may not have even gotten into college. As for the nature part, I believe I was born into a family with strong genes in both the physical and mental capacities. I am very creative, patient and calm like my bother but I have an analytical brain like my father. I am able to use all of these skills for my major of public relations while maintaining a decent GPA, and this is all because generations and generations before my parents, strong genes were passed down through the families for me to be able to attend college. Sat, 17 Sep 2011 03:59:32 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/09/15/voices-from-the-classroom-11/#IDComment194347893 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/09/07/questions-from-the-classroom-2/#IDComment191728717 When reflecting on my life and how I define myself for the purpose of this blog post, I was forced to think of my childhood and the adult influences on my life. Coming from a very large family, I know that it was my parents and many of my aunts and uncles who made me able to define who I am today. First of all, my parents raised me in the Roman Catholic church, so I define myself still as Catholic. This has been a deep question in my life recently, however, because I do not practice or attend church nearly as much as I should. I attend with my family on holidays at home, and I can say that I truly take in and appreciate mass when I am there, but at school I do not go very often. I also define myself as an educated middle class female from Central Pennsylvania. Although I have traveled across the United States, some Caribbean Islands and Mexico, I do not consider myself to be very cultured as far as trying a wide variety of foods and submerging myself in new cultures. That is a goal of mine someday because I am very open to new cultures, but I have not had the opportunities to submerge myself in foreign cultures as of yet. However, because of an internship in New York City this summer, I was able to experience other ethnicities, races and nationalities from around the world. I dove into the experiences of meeting people wholeheartedly and with an open mind, and I was able to make the most out of my time spent in New York. I would define myself as knowledgeable about other cultures because of how culturally diverse New York is, but until I am able to go an submerge myself in their own cultures across the globe, I do not consider myself to be cultured compared to what other world travelers are. I would also define myself to be someone who is passionate about the environment. I grew up in a family that was not excessive by any means, so I know how to be appreciative and concerned about the environment as well. I always tell people that my sister gave me “green hand-me-downs” because she has passed her love for the environment down to me, and because I look up to her and want to be similar to her, I now define myself as someone who lives as sustainably as possible for a college student. I am very involved in the EcoCAR competition and interned at the Campus Sustainability Office, and I am able to transfer my knowledge and passion to others since I define myself this way. I also define myself as a daughter, sister, friend, cousin, granddaughter, student, care-giver, worrier, warrior, successful person, American, French, Irish, German, Native American and Catholic. Sat, 10 Sep 2011 01:19:45 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/09/07/questions-from-the-classroom-2/#IDComment191728717 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/08/26/what-do-you-want-to-know-before-its-all-over/#IDComment189205675 After hearing so much about SOC119 and Sam Richards, I decided to take the plunge and try it out to both enlighten me and challenge me. Now in my senior year of college, I mainly grew up in Central Pennsylvania and was not exposed to many other cultures. My high school was primarily white and included no Asians and no one from the Middle East, for example. Although I was not being directly affected or was involved with different cultures, I felt as though I grew up in a family that was always open and accepting of other people, and I felt that it made me more accepting and open to others in college and in professional settings. However, when I got to college, I realized that some people are not as accepting of others and it was visibly evident in the things they were saying and doing. This prompted the question for me in which I hope Sam answers throughout the course of the semester: why does the impact of parents weigh so heavily on their children’s openness to others, and taking that a step further, how can these viewpoints be changed for the positive or negative as the children grow into adults? Since so many people are not accepting or open of others, I’d also like to know what makes people so attracted to other cultures, races and ethnicities. My parents grew up with very large families in very crowded neighborhoods in the baby boomer time period. Because of this, they were exposed to many different kinds of people and had to be adaptable, know how to share, and realize that their brothers and sisters also had needs. I think because they were not very sheltered, they imposed their open-armed ways upon me as a child, and even though I grew up in a primarily white school, I also adopted some of their values about being open toward others. When I got to college, I realized I was just a bit more prepared to face other cultures than others because of comments by girls who lived on my floor, but I also knew I had a lot to work on. They seemed very close-minded about some of the other girls on our floor who had just arrived from other countries. Those initial reactions to girls the same age as us made me realize that they were not very accepting of people who were different as them. I’d like to learn more about the interactions between parents and children and why even by college years and adulthood, some humans are not accepting or even aware of other cultures. At the same time, some children who grow up in both close-minded and open-minded homes are only attracted to other cultures. I have some white friends who will only date black men, and I know some white men who will only date Asian women. At the same time, I know some black men who only will date white girls. I’d like to explore more about how being raised in different households may result in some people having preferences about dating different cultures. Sat, 3 Sep 2011 02:05:43 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/08/26/what-do-you-want-to-know-before-its-all-over/#IDComment189205675