Selfless New Year's Resolution

2011 is just around the corner and witht the new year fastly approaching comes the New Year's resolution of many Americans.  There are many people that make a New Year's resolution every year and others that do not believe in it.  Some people make a resolution and give up on it or fail to complete it while others always finish what they started.  In the past years, I have never made a New Year's resolution so I didn't know exactly what to do and wasn't sure if I would stick to it.  Mrs. Mowery came up with the idea to be Selfless in 2011 and tie it into your New Year's resolution.  This year my resolution is a selfless one.  I want to help kids with cancer by raising money for them and then donating it to charities that support kids with cancer.  I love kids and hope to one day become an elementary school teacher.  Kids are our future and I can't stand to see kids grow up with an illness or die from an illness.  They are missing out on so much of their childhood if they can't do everything other kids do because of an illness or those that die never got to live a full life.  I want to help kids with cancer because they deserve to have an awesome childhood and live a full life without worrying about some disease that may slow them down.  I hope that one day cancer is cured across the world because nobody deserves to live in that much pain, especially a child.

Deviance

When it comes to deviance I do not really know much about it besides the stuff that I learn at school.  I am a very good kid and I do not participate in any activities that are deviant.  While at school there are so many rules that we have to adhere to and you can also hear from other kids about all of the things that they do in their spare time that are deviant.  At the beginning of every school year we receive an agenda that has a list of rules and things that we are not supposed to do.  There are alwasy kids that break the rules and manage to get into trouble.  That is when they talk a nice trip to the principal's office or if they are lucky they get to stay after school to have fun even longer.  Even outside of school I can either see or hear students being deviant.  There are a good number of students at my school that party on the weekends.  I am not talking about the kind of parties that I participate in where we sit around watching movies and hanging out.  These are the parties where there is loud music, dancing, drugs, and alcohol.  The thing that makes me most angry is these are the kids that are seen as cool and popular because of what they do.  I think all of these things are disgusting and does not make a person cool.  In my eyes, my friends and I are the coolest kids in school because we no how to have fun while not being deviant.

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is one of the most famous American holidays we have.  There are so many things that go great with Thanksgiving and just belong together.  My family is just like most families in American in regards to the activities we partake in and the food that we eat.  Thanksgiving is like a ritual and a social norm that most families participate in every year.  My family has the traditional Thanksgiving.  We gather at my grandma's house where we all gather around the table and get ready to eat.  We have all of the regular foods like turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes with gravy, corn, sweet potatoes, and pumpkin pie for dessert.  After eating all of the women wash the dishes while all of the men go into the living room to watch football.  Once all of the food has settled we go outside and play some backyard football.  We are a very loving family but sometimes it gets heated because nobody wants to lose.  After football we come back inside and sit around and talk to each other.  After that we leave to go over to my other grandma's house for supper.  We participate in all of the same activities except for backyard football because it is dark outside while we are they.  I love Thanksgiving and all of the holidays because I get to see some of my relatives who I don't get to see very often throughout the year.  Oh yeah, and the food is pretty sweet too.

Crime Blog

Normally after somebody commits a crime they are upset and wish they had never got involved but no me.  I on the other hand am glad that I was involved in a so called crime.  I think I really learned from the experience and it was a lot of fun.  The crime that I was an accomplice in was putting a cinder block behind the tire of a pizza man's car.  Now that may seem innocent to some people but not when you are 15 year old kids that have never done anything like this before.  You also have to take into account that the manager of this pizza company was overly dramatic and a little bit crazy.  We had it all planned out perfectly.  I would get the pizza and stall the pizza guy while pretending to search for money (I knew it was in my pocket the whole time).  While I was distracting him my two friends snuck around back and then to the driveway where his car was parked.  They found a cinder block and put it behind his tire so he would not be able to back up.  I paid the man and he went outside to get in his car.  While we watched intently, he tried to back up about 5 times until he got out to check what was going on.  He found the cinder block and moved and then left like nothing happened so we thought we were in the clear.  Little did we know that they called the police and a squad car pulled up outside the house about 2 hours later.  The pizza company claims that we ruined the car's transmission and will have to pay the damages.  My one friend and I went downstairs to be questioned by the police officer while my other friend hid in a closet upstairs because he was afraid the cop would search the house for other people.  He took all of our information and said they would call our parents but never did.  Even though the police had to show up and ruin the fun it was still a hilarious night and one I will never forget.  It goes to show you that not all crimes are bad because you can end up actually having alot of fun.

Bucket List

1. Drive 200 mph in a really nice car (either a Lamborghini or a Ferrari).
2. Attend a FC Barcelona game at Camp Nou.
3. Attend a Chelsea FC game at Stamford Bridge.
4. Attend a Manchester United game at Old Trafford.
5. Attend an Inter Milan vs AC Milan game at San Siro.
6. Attend an England game at Wembley Stadium.
7. Attend a World Cup Final.
8. Meet Michael Jordan and play basketball with him.
9. Meet Lionel Messi and play soccer with him.
10. Travel all across Europe visiting Spain (Barcelona, Valencia, and Madrid), England (London and Manchester), France (Paris and Normandy), Italy (Milan, Rome, Venice, and Florence), and Germany (Munich and Berlin)
11. Take a road trip across the United States visiting New York City, Los Angeles, Boston, Chicago, Philadelphia, Denver, and Seattle.
12. See the Grand Canyon, Statue of Liberty, Great Wall of China, Eiffel Tower, Rome Coliseum, and Berlin Wall.
13. Marry the girl of my dreams.
14. Go skydiving and bungee jumping.
15. Play a game of basketball in the Dean Smith Dome at the University of North Carolina.
16. Spend a night in jail.
17. Live in a foreign country.
18. Invent a million dollar product and start my own company.
19. Buy a mansion with a pool, basketball court, and soccer field.
20. Become a YoungLife Program Coordinator.

Race Blog

In today's popular culture, the difference in a persons' race is evident but not always recognizable.  Take music for example.  Most of the time a rapper is going to black but not always.  Eminem is one of the few famous white rappers.  Just like with country music.  Most of the time the singer is going to be white.  In sports like basketball and football the dominant athletes are normally black.  You rarely ever see a white superstar in sports like basketball or football.  The game of soccer is more universal so it caters to more races.  There are superstars of all different races across the world that play soccer.  This affects my life because what if I would want to become a rapper or the best wide receiver in the NFL.  I'm not saying it is impossible but it would be alot more difficult.  There are still opportunities for me to play soccer and sing country music.  Hopefully this does not affect my future but it possibly could.

Social Class Blog

When you think of celebritites or famous people you always associate them with money and living the good life.  But some famous people didn't always have it easy.  Many celebrities grew up in poverty and low-class families.  They did not have much money and probably when they became teenagers they had to work jobs just like I have to.  Then one day they made it big and everything changed.  Now they have so much money they don't know what to do with it at all but back then they were happy to have a couple of dollars.  Take Michael Jordan for example.  He grew up in Brooklyn with 5 other brothers and sisters and both of his parents worked full time jobs and his dad even worked two.  They barely got by and each kid did not have much money spent on them but Micahel was okay with that.  He turned to basketball and became the greatest basketball player ever and now has tons of money.  I do not have it as bad as he did or other celebrities did growing up.  We have always lived a comfortable lifestyle but by no means are we rolling in cash.  I hope one day I become famous and won't have to worry about money.  But if I was famous I would do it different than most, I would actually donate some of it to charity.  If you have the money why not do it.  I hope to one day become famous but if not oh well.  I am very pleased with my lifestyle and do not need to change social classes.  I just hope one day we can live in a world where there are no social classes and everybody is treated equally.

Aging

In some cultures elderly people are seen as wise and are regarded very highly in society.  In other cultures they are seen as weak, useless, and not being able to keep up with the technology.  In the United States they are seen as both.  We try to take care of them and be there for them while they are in their fragile states.  We have nursing homes for them and often times family members take care of them.  They are also seen as very wise and provide us with great life lessons.  Sometimes old people are also seen as a waste in society because they do not contribute.  They do not work and always need health care and medication.  I believe that old people should be seen as important because they helped make our lives better.  I love my grandparents and I would hate for other people to think they are not helping in this world.  My grandparents have helped me grow into the person I am today and I am very proud of that.  They have all contributed to the way America is today and we should be thankful.  My grandma is always saying, "we won't be around forever."  In my mind, I wish they would live forever because I love them dearly and they are not useless in today's world.

Gender (Blog 3)

In the past, women have been regarded as the lesser sex and men were always the higher sex.  The men were always the leaders of the house and made all of the decisions.  The women were told to stay home and watch the children.  They also had to do all of the household chores while the husband was off working and making the money.  Now, men and women are seen as equal.  The man does not always have to be the one to provide for the family and the woman does not always have to stay home with the kids.  I know that when I have my family everybody will be treated equal.  I will let my wife do whatever she wants to do.  If she wants to go to work that is fine with me and if she wants to stay home with the kids that is fine with me too.  I believe that everybody should be created equal.  In my life, I see some people that live this way and others that do not.  For example, my parents both work and both help with chores around the house.  In other societies their lifestyles reflect those of the past instead of the present.  The society in America is always changing and I am the kind of person that wants to change with it.

Gender (Blog 2)

In our culture and society, gender is specifically divided up by what you wear, how you act, and what you do.  There are certain duties that you learn are your responsibility over the years.  Like for women, they learn that they are in the smart ones in the relationship and they know they always have the upper-hand.  For men, we are the ones that are supposed to ask the girls to marry us and we are supposed to be there to protect them.  Protecting women is always one thing that I have always been a little quizzical about.  Don't get me wrong I can take care of the occassional bug on the wall.  But when it comes to checking what just made that weird noise in the middle of the night does not seem ideal to me.  I would much rather just stay where I am and not venture downstairs to possibly find a criminal trying to harm me.  Besides what guy am I supposed to take down and protect my wife from.  I'm not very muscular and have no clue how to fight so the only person that isn't going to whoop my butt is a midget.  That is one thing that I never really favored but that's just something all guys have to do because that's what they have always done and will always have to do.

Social Inequality (Gender)

All around the world men grow up with field hockey being a main sport but not in America.  In America, field hockey is seen as a women's sport. In high schools across America there are field hockey teams for girls but never any for guys.  Maybe not never but only if you go to a very expensive private school can you find men's field hockey.  America has men's field hockey at the international and Olympic level but we are not very good compared to other countries.  Maybe there are guys at high schools all across America that want to play field hockey but dont want to be the outcast and be the only guy on the team.  It is the exact same for girls and football.  You are allowed to play on the team of the opposite gender if there is no team for your gender.  But kids will never do this.  They are too afraid of what people might think or say.  Everybody thinks America is the land of opportunity when really everybody is too afraid of what others think to go and seize their opportunities.

Chapter 3 (Blog 4)

Every culture has their own way of living and that includes what they eat.  Certain dishes and meals are specific to one country and one culture.  These dishes are influenced through a country's culture.  The dishes are prepared with local products that are in abundance in that part of the world.  It all depends about what grows in the region and how expensive it is.  Some countries can adopt food from other countries and make that dish their own way.  Like in America we have all different types of cusine: Chinese, Japanese, Italian, Mexican, and French.  Out of all of those cuisines found in America only a couple of restaurants are completely authentic.  We are constantly adopting and sharing food from other countries.  I am very greatful that we have food from other cultures in America because without it food would get very boring and it tastes really good.

Chapter 3 (Blog 3)

In America, sports are a big part of life and are important to many.  Whether you play a sport or are just a fan you are apart of it.  There are many people who play multiple sports or follow multiple teams.  It is your culture or how you were raised as a child as to what sports you like.  You are influenced at an early age about which teams to cheer for or which sports to play.  You may favor a particular team because they are nearby and are considered the "home" team.  I'm sure many other people in your area also root for the "home" team so they influence you.  In other countries sports may been seen differently.  Maybe they are not as important or maybe some sports are more popular than others.  Whether or not you are a die hard fan or just somebody who likes the colors of a team's jersey, you are apart of something Americans are very proud of: their sports.

Chapter 3 (Blog 2)

In our culture we have many different religions.  In America the most common forms of religion are Catholicism, Christianity, and Jewish.  There also those people that are atheist.  Tonight i was at a youth group event and it made me think about all the different religions around the world.  In other cultures people of different religions hate each other and actually fight over it but in our culture it is not a big deal when people are different religions.  At the high school everybody gets along with each other in regards to religion but not in other regards.  In other cultures religion is a topic of arguement but not here.

Chapter 3 (Blog 1)

If you walk down the hallway at school or at an event where there are alot of kids you would notice how they greet each other.  There are many different ways to greet people and it all depends on how well you know that person and what social group you fit in.  Some people shake hands, others hug, others fist pound, and others high five.  There are many different ways of greeting just in our school.  There are many different ways of greeting around the world.  Our greetings may seem odd to other cultures around the world.  Some of our greetings could even be disrespectful in other cultures.  Every culture around the world has their own characteristics and they are different than every other culture.

Chapter 1

Soccer is a game played by many all around the world.  To have a great soccer experience it takes a lot of money and resources.  Only countries with high incomes can afford to have great soccer programs.  It costs a lot of money to pay coaches and to create fields.  It takes a lot of money to buy all of the equipment needed to be a successful soccer player.  In the United States we have enough money to afford youth coaches, equipment, referees, soccer fields, and a professional league.  In other countries with less money it is hard to develop as a soccer player.  Only the countries with a lot of money are superpowers in the soccer world.