Final Post =(

It is funny to think that just one semester of sociology has impacted my life more than other classes at Stevenson, but it really has. I really have started looking at things with a new perspective and I am trying to change certain stereotypes I have. The person I am has not really changed, except for some of my values. I still think that the culture I grew up in really influenced the person I am today. I surround myself with people, friends and family, who I want to be with. My friends and family really make up the person I am today, and I still think that you are who your friends are. The biggest influence of my life is my family, especially my mom. She works more hours in a day than most people work in a week. She is one of the hardest working people I know, and she makes me want to become a better person and want to work for everything I have. My family's values and my friends values also influence mine to the highest extent. I did not realize that some horrible stereotypes my family and friends have, have rubbed off on me. After learning in sociology and going to the Uptown Cafe, I am really trying to change the stereotypes I have learned. Growing up in a prosperous community, I think social class has impacted our lives more than others. Before sociology, I did not really think of social class as a very important thing in America; to my surprise, it is what some people base their lives off of. I think if we stop making social class and materialistic things so important, than determining a persons social class will slowly fade away. Because of this class, I look at other social classes much differently and my view about the poor or even the extremely wealthy has changed drastically. I think people are too quickly to always put others in a certain category in America, and it is really horrible. When we watched the movie Crash, it was a little disturbing and shocking to me, because I did not realize how extreme racism still is. The movie really made me look at myself and see if I have done some of the racial tendencies some of the characters in the movie did. It is a horrible thing to say, but I have in the past and I am ashamed to say it. I really hope that I can work on not judging people based on appearances anymore. I know everyone is equal and should be treated equally, but it is hard for me to think that i still have implicit racial thoughts. Sociology has really showed me that I have to change the way I view others and the way I am viewed by others. I would never want anyone to judge me by just looking at me, and I hope that as I grow up, I will change into a better person. Because of my community service experiences and how I learned that one small act impacts others lives in a huge way, I think i will be more inclined to volunteer as I get older. In Sociology we learned that even though community service is an act that is suppose to help others, it also makes you feel better because you are helping others. I know in my life that I want to make others happy and make myself happy as well. That is why I plan on being a nurse when I am older, and helping patients in need. This is a very hard goal, but I really hope I accomplish it. I plan on being a nurse for cancer patients, and I hope that I help as much people I can even if it is in a small way. Sociology really made me change my view about how I look at the world, because it taught me that the world is not just black and white but multiple shades of gray. I hope that people will start accepting every one's differences, and then every one's values and how they view others will change as well. This class has really changed the way I view others and the way I want others to view me, and I hope I can start changing certain stereotypes I have. I really enjoyed the class and I think that this class has impacted my life more than I could say about any classes at school. =)