My reaction to this letter changed as I kept reading. The outcome of what this prisoner portrayed was shocking to me, but it is very moving. This short letter brings so many thoughts to my mind about prison, life, and what you make of it. Being in prison, you have a life, as he explains, filled with space and objects. He reads, communicates, and engages in hobbies and activities. But is this really living? I cannot fathom the pain and torture of knowing I will never know another life but behind my prison cell. This letter makes me think of the insignificance of material items, which are glorified and so popular in our society. Great value of life and living comes from relationships, experiences, and emotions from things other than objects. This prisoner has come to the reality that he will no longer be able to experience those feelings, to be able to live that life. His life is planned for him, and he is supposed to make the best of his situation. To outsiders, the common thought may be that prisoners put themselves in there so they should come to terms with their situation. But, honestly, I can never think of coming to terms with such a thing. This prisoner opens my eyes to how important my relationships are, with family friends lovers and anyone I encounter. I feel so lucky to have people I care about and to have people care about me, and I embrace these relationships. Happiness should be found in who and what you are surrounded by, not what you have. The title of this letter, “if prison has taken anything away from me…” is very interesting in context to the letter. At first, I was thinking about the material items and objects that were taken away, but towards the end the prisoner went deeper into life and mentioned the more important thing taken away, which is love. It is hard to imagine a life with no real companions or no one to share experiences and emotions with. This letter makes me appreciate everyone in my life and all they have done for me.

The theory discussed in this letter, of “labels”, is something we are surrounded by and taught all of our lives to avoid, but it is somehow always present. From a young age, we are taught to treat others how we would like to be treated, and never to judge a person. But why do we find this so hard? We find labeling everywhere we go, from labeling someone as “black or white” or even on campus as freshman and seniors. It is in our nature to label, but sometimes I think we overlook the true person and get stuck on the label. For these lifers, I can see the problem they face in their lives with labeling, and the struggles they probably go through because of it. When someone finds out they are a “lifer”, it is natural to automatically think they are bad people, killers, and have no morals in life. This isn’t fair judgment, though. These lifers are people too, and their label shouldn’t override their true personalities. Even here at Penn state, you can see how quickly people are to judge from “labels”. Telling someone what town, or even what state you are from, automatically gives you a label or judgment. If you are involved in Greek life, you have given yourself a label. On the first days of school while walking on campus, I was quickly labeled “a freshman” because of my confusion and things I did not know. I don’t think labels will ever leave our society. It is normal for us to label others, it can just be a form of description, but I think we tend to take it too far and fail to see people’s true colors and personalities. The quote we have heard all of our lives, “Don’t judge a book by its cover”, is actually something we should think about in our society. We shouldn’t take peoples “labels” so seriously, and we should try to avoid labeling others. The power of words is stronger than we know, so we should use them wisely and understand what we are saying when we say it.

This letter from this particular lifer focuses on one of the main losses to someone in prison, your family and friends; something us on the outside take for granted. This lifer also indicates that even though physically they are gone from him, the true ones stick around. Your personality and the way you treat others has an obvious affect on how they will treat you and think of you. This lifer talks about how other inmates are harsh and unkind, and how it is obvious to him that they have no family and friends to keep in touch with. Overtime, though, even though this lifer seems to be kind and caring, his interaction with the outside world has decreased and isn’t what it used to be. This makes me wonder, how much of an impact to you have to make on a person’s life to stick with them through these times? If I were a lifer in prison, how long would it take for me to only have a few people contacting me every so often, as opposed to all of my family and friends? At first I think it would have to do wit the crime committed, how harsh or terrible it was. But this lifer illustrates that it is how you have treated these people and how you have touched their lives. He seems as though he has forgiven himself for whatever he has done to be placed a life sentence, and his close family and friends have also. This opens my eyes to how I should treat people everyday, and especially the ones that care about me. Family and friends are very important to have and shouldn’t be taken for granted.

This article is interesting and is very believable. Religion is a topic I normally don’t like talking about, because it is based more on opinion rather than fact; but the firm religious believers don’t agree. This article states that organized religion will be shut out because of people being unaffiliated of a group. Religion was used overtime as an escape and to answer unknown questions, and to provide some sort of faith and security. As science is improving, the questions that found answers in religion are now shown by scientific data and fact, which can draw more people as nonbelievers. So the advance in science and technology is increasing overtime, which is going to be more attractive to the younger generations. As the older generations, the firm believers, die out, people will stop parenting their children to be one kind of religion. This ties to the sociological concept of groupthink. For the most part, people are believers and practice their religion because of how they were brought up. Not many stop to question the religion and explore new options. People also say they are of a certain religion and beliefs, but not many actually go out and practice it as they used to. For example, my grandmother is a catholic and goes to church everyday, reads the bible, etc. My mother “says” she is a catholic, but I can only find her going to church on Christmas. If more and more people are coming more “unaffiliated” in regards to religion, more and more people will be drawn to that, hence decreasing the spread of religious organizations. People will start thinking “for themselves” and declaring their own religious beliefs, but the sociological invisible strings are having them drawn to being unaffiliated, since that is the majority view. Overtime something that was once treasured and so firmly believed in can be eliminated due to sociological issues.

This letter really makes me realize how every decision that is made in our lives impacts us in some way. It also helps me realize how important freedom can be. This man witnessed a murder, and now has to spend the rest of his life in prison. Although he did not commit the murder, he now lives in regret of everything he could have done to stop it; he should have done the right thing. But who says what the right thing is? Only being fourteen, and seemingly having a troubled/unstable childhood, his thoughts and actions of what is right and wrong were probably skewed at the time. Everyone knows the right the to do would have been to stop the situation, call for help, or even prevent it from happening in the first place; but who knows how you would actually react in the moment? He may have been in such shock or disbelief, he may have just been selfish, he may have just not wanted to be involved, or pretend it didn’t happen. But in the end, whatever the motives behind his actions were, he is paying for it. It is important to read this letter and understand how precious life is, and after all he has done, he seems to try to move forward and move on with his life. The man says he doesn’t forgive himself, which I don’t know if I ever would be able to either, but he is trying to become a better person and actually be a man, not the boy he was. He was a boy who was probably confused, and didn’t realize how much life meant, and how his actions actually made a difference. We need to use our freedoms wisely, and do so with morals and understanding.

This video, though comical, demonstrates human beings and their decision-making. The sociological term ‘group think’ corresponds to the basis of this video. It is like copying what others around you are doing. Although humans may think they aren’t conforming and are making independent free decisions, the invisible strings of society prove them wrong. I have two takes on this video, and the concept that it portrays. The first way in which I think of it shows how people want to fit in and that they think what the majority of other people think or do is right. In the video, the man in the elevator didn’t stay the way he was facing; he conformed to the others by turning around. They mention in the video his individuality; by turning around and following the others, he is conforming and has lost his individuality. Humans conform and copy what others do to fit and to seem right. My second take is more optimistic. Yes, this video portrays humans conforming and ‘fitting in’, but it may be for different reasons. This man may be using logic and thinking “there is a good, real reason they are all facing the other way… maybe they all know it will open up this way.” (For example) It may not be because he needs to fit in, but maybe because he is using intelligence that if all of these people are doing it, it must be for a good reason, and therefore he will do the same. He is doing the same not because he wants to follow and stray away from his individuality, but because he has a change of though. Following a crowd will always be normal for all humans, maybe it is because of all of the judgment people place on others, everyone is insecure and no one wants to be wrong.

I think there is often confusion and misunderstanding on the notion that money brings happiness. I think the right way to put it is that stability and comfort brings happiness in terms of finance. When people don’t have the daily stress of worrying about paying bills and not making ends meat, I can guarantee they will be much happier; but even though they’re stable doesn’t mean they are rolling in millions. It is easy for someone who is financially comfortable to see the lottery as being greedy and evil, but what about those who just need extra money to help their kids through college or for expensive hospital bills? I think the relationship between money and happiness is controlled by the psychological and societal factors of each person. For example, the outcome of winning the lottery is in your own hands. What you purchase and how you handle your money will determine your happiness. If you blow all of your money on materialistic items and don’t really know what you’re doing with it, there can be negative aspects. It is like the scenario Sam mentioned in class about the lower class couple getting a huge amount of money and not being able to adjust properly; they couldn’t distinguish reputable, expensive art or home décor from the cheap things they purchased. This shows how your social status can affect your happiness and the affects of the lottery; these people lived in a different world before this money and they did not know what to do, or how to handle it. On the other hand, the CNN article mentions a man from Georgia who won $5 million in the lottery, and it has only changed his life for the better. He used his money to help out his sick sister, did some upgrades to his home and cars, and invested the rest. His smart financial decisions led him to happiness. The first woman mentioned in the article experienced troubles due to threats and family and friends trying to control her money and ruin her life. Although she wasn’t greedy with her money and made smart decisions, she still found herself in a troubling situation. The strings of society in this situation relate to the social status and standards of her associates; family and friends. If this happens I think its time to find new friends because they are just greedy and selfish and don’t really care about you. Although it seems like this is out of her control, the strings were affected by her actions to associate with these people. Money can be life changing, for the better or for the worse. In the end, it all depends on the type of person you are; greedy, intelligent, selfless, selfish, for your financial future.

This video and this lifestyle all come down to society and what sociology teaches us about free will and the invisible strings. To us, this lifestyle choice seems unrealistic and crazy; I don’t think many would agree or participate in this sort of life. But for these people, it works. Since it is so common in their area, it is not looked at as bizarre or abnormal, but it is practical and makes sense. Looking at this lifestyle from their point of view, I can understand why they choose to live this way. People have to adapt to the circumstances and culture around them, whether we like to admit it or not. Having this lifestyle is practical for their way of life; it helps keep population down, everything gets done, and everyone is happy. They also still have some free will. Although this lifestyle is common and many conform to it; they don’t have to. It is a group decision and although younger brothers don’t have to conform to this lifestyle, most do. This video and situation is an example of cultural differences and different societies. Although we don’t always see it, our society and the people around us influence our lifestyle and decisions. As Americans, we may choose to have only one husband or wife and we may think of this as the only satisfying choice, but in reality the invisible strings tell us this is normal and it is what we have to do. For the people of the Himalayans, though, this is a choice they make because of the life they live, and it seems normal to them. Society has influences on all parts of life, and although this situation of polygamy may seem abnormal for some, it provides an overall happy life for the people involved.

This lifer, like most others, has come to the point in his sentence to think about what he has done and spend countless hours trying to figure out why he has done it. Along with feeling guilt, shame, and regret, these lifers also try to feel forgiveness and sometimes try to give themselves a diagnosis of why their actions that led them into a life sentence in prison happened. This lifer has targeted his sexual experiences as the downturn of his life. It is interesting that this lifer, possibly unknowingly, is using sociology to figure out reasoning behind his actions. Although most people think about the cause of an action to be a clear answer or something psychological, they don’t realize that it can stem back from any part of your life, the ‘invisible strings’ and hidden structures that make us who we are today. This lifer was key in using sociology in figuring out his past and why he is who he is today. He went through everything from family ties, upbringing, home life, friends, and the place in where he grew up. Once he came to his sexual experiences, though, something changed him. He realized at the time these acts seemed normal for his age and innocent, he is now realizing how much of his normal morals were out the window during these times, and how these actions changed his respect and honesty (something that was instilled in him from birth). If we can all think about factors of our lives in this sociological way, we can understand the hidden structures and understand why we do the things we do, and our chances of doing other things. It is important to be aware of how everything you do in life comes back to you and affects you, something this lifer is doing a bit too late.

This article poses many points and reasons for the lack of travel by Americans, but I think some are much more prevalent than others. I think that cost is the largest issue with travel. The article says airfare alone is over 1,000 dollars to travel to Europe. If Americans want a vacation, but don’t have a lot of money, it is much easier to travel to an all-inclusive resort just a few hour plane ride away where you can potentially spend under 1,000 dollars (although it wouldn’t be too luxurious.. but it’s a vacation). If people think like me, if they go on a vacation they want to go all out. If I go to Europe, I want to make the absolute best of my trip, being that it may be one of the few times I am ever there. This requires much more than the 2,708-dollar trip to Ireland stated in the article.
I also agree that the diversity in the United States also prevents people from traveling. Even though I really want to travel all over the world, it is important and interesting to me to see all my country has to over, also. This can also be an expensive trip. Some Americans have so much pride and are so into our country that seeing all of our country first is much more important than what the rest of the world has to offer.
The fact that other countries are much more laid back, give more vacation time, and don’t pressure you to go to school right away, are factors to contribute to why Americans don’t travel, but they are factors we don’t control and cant avoid. The only ways to safely avoid these social rules are if you have money, or if you are willing to take the risk of not having any money or career future. It’s sad that this is how our culture is, but by living here we know what we’re up against and it cannot be avoided.