Just Kidding! - Back to "Class"

And just as I thought I was going to be able to escape Junior Theme until we got our revised papers back... We are now starting the book The Great Gatsby. Starting today, we talked a lot about social class and how it is determined. Our worksheets read upper class, middle class, and lower class. It sounded too familiar.

It is my opinion that social class is determined most easily by income. I can't make the claim that wealth is how it is determined because I associate wealth with appearance, and as my Junior Theme taught me, appearance isn't everything! Most people live beyond their means and in a pile of debt because they decide to buy an expensive car or live in an area that they can't afford or wear designer clothes etc. Appearance just can't be the determining factor anymore. And what about something like education? Maybe that can be a form of determining class, but who is to say where to draw the lines? High school graduates versus college graduates versus graduate school attendees, etc. That's not really measurable because different schools provide different things. It's much harder to measure quality than quantity

Quantity is where the numbers of incomes play a role. It is easy to say that a person making x amount of money per year is in this class. That's what I did for Junior Theme, saying that a member of the middle class makes between $40,000 and $200,000 but that's a big range. And it also depends on the number of people that a person is supporting with that money. There's no simple answer. It is definitely thought-provoking.

It's a good thing I liked my Junior Theme topic, because it looks like it's not going away...

Take a Breath

As I edited my Junior Theme one last time in the library today, I couldn't believe it was over. My exhale of breath after clicking print on my Word document drew me some weird glances, but I don't care. I am relieved.
Relieved that now I can get a full night's sleep without my brain whirring trying to come up with new ideas.
Relieved that I will be able to have an intelligent conversation with people about something other than the decreasing size of the middle class.
Relieved that I can empty my notebook of all of the superfluous articles I never used.
Relieved that I will be able to eat a meal without a copy of a draft in front of me.
Relieved that I made it through Junior Theme alive.
Relieved that I can kind of have my life back.

Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed doing my junior theme. I had a good time finding articles as well as writing my paper. For me the boring and time-sucking part was the reading of the articles. Some of them drew me in and I wanted to keep reading, others disgusted me that people voice such strong opinions in a public place like the media, and still others bored me to the point that I fell asleep while reading them. Writing the paper itself was a burden, but I did it with the help of friends. We skyped as we wrote, asking each others opinions as we went. The editing process was less fun when I was reading my own paper, but I thoroughly enjoyed getting to read other people's papers that ranged from the development of the electric car, to school shootings, to the almost omnipresence of corn in food today. Research papers are fun, because they teach you about something that you wouldn't be able to learn from one teacher. You draw facts from many different resources
and you get to teach yourself in a way. And once it's over, it's the greatest feeling of accomplishment. And relief.

What Do You Consider Middle Class?

 My Junior Theme is about the decreasing size of the middle class in the United States.  As I continue to write my paper, it's amazing how much the readings that I have done have helped me become an "expert." I say "expert" because while I've researched constantly for the past few weeks, there are real experts who have spent years studying the topic.
    In class the other day when we were going over what to make sure you do in your paper, we talked about working definitions.  I realized that after doing all of my research I have only a basic idea of what I consider to be "middle class." I want to make sure that I base my working definition not only off of my readings, but also off of general people's ideas so that whoever reads my paper will understand.
    What do you consider to be "middle class"? It could be anything from type of car a person drives, to income, to race, etc. Let me know!

A Poem...

I like to write, and I wrote a poem about Facebook.  My uncle asked if I would consider putting on my blog, so here goes. It's kind of long though... Just a warning.

“Asocial Network”

Get home after school and
Rush to the computer
To see that familiar screen.

Welcome to Facebook!
People you may know
Add as Friend
Upload photos
Make this photo profile picture

Status: what’s on your mind?

1 new notification
Friendship accepted!
4 new friend requests
Confirmed, Confirmed, Confirmed…
Denied.

1 new notification.
Tagged in 1 photo
Like this photo

Friday night.
Been on Facebook since after school.
Everyone’s at the school dance.
Didn’t get asked...
Home alone with mom. Yay.
Maybe not, even she went out.
Stuck babysitting.

1 new inbox

1 new notification
You have been poked. Poked? …
Poke back.

You have joined the group “Harry Potter is WAY better than Twilight”

1 new notification
Your photo has been commented on
Like this comment

1 new notification
You have one new wall post
View profile
Wall posts
Like the post
See Friendship
Back to my profile
1,097 friends

Saturday night.
Been on Facebook all day,
Eyes hurt from looking at the screen.
No plans.
No texts, no calls.
How is that possible?
1,097 friends!
Family dinner.
Nothing to do,
Nothing good on tv.
So bored!
Back to Facebook

No new notifications

Chat
Status update

No new notifications

Add as friend
Inbox

No new notifications

Poke
Write on wall

No new notifications

Comment
Like post

No new notifications

Sunday day.
Still no contact from the “real” world,
Even Facebook abandoned me.
Life sucks.

Account deactivated.

Phone (finally) rings.
“Did you delete your Facebook?”

Are You Maya Moore's Mom?

Last week over Spring Break, I had the privilege of attending the Duke vs DePaul Women's Basketball game that was in the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA tournament this year.  The Duke-DePaul game was after the Connecticut vs Georgetown game in which the number 1 seeded Huskies almost fell to Georgetown.  (Connecticut would go on to lose in the Final 4 to Notre Dame a week later).

As I was in the bathroom washing my hands, there were two elderly ladies at the sinks next to me, one was African American, the other was Caucasian. The Caucasian lady was wearing a Connecticut shirt and she turned to the African American woman and said, "Are you Maya Moore's mom?" The woman looked incredulous, she looked down at her shirt and pointed and said, "I'm wearing a Georgetown shirt..."  The elder Caucasian woman quickly apologized saying she was sorry and that they looked alike.

I went online later that day to see if the lady had actually looked like Maya Moore's mom and she didn't at all.  Moore's mom is much younger. It was very interesting to see the stereotype cast upon the African American woman just because of her skin.  I'm not in any way implying that the Caucasian woman said what she said maliciously, I believe it was an honest mistake.  But isn't that still racism?  Does it make a difference that the women are probably two generations older than me?