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When reading the JCB preface it wasn't like any introduction to a book I have read especially in Textbooks. When reading this introduction it not only explains what will be in the book but it describes how you will be thinking about the information from a sociological stand point. It makes me think back to high school when various different social issues were very prominent at the time and of course I seen many of these issues on social media for example there was a large emphasis on police brutality especially on African American people. I seen the videos on Social media and of course it was horrible and disgusting, when seeing these videos i had always thought why, why would anyone treat a human being like that. Now that i realize what sociology is I hope by having a deeper understanding of this study it will allow me to look back on these different social issues like police brutaity and have a deeper understanding of why, what made these people think it is okay to do what they did.

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When reading the beginning of this it was similar to the JCB Preface but instead a lot longer and not only described what sociology really is but broke it down on a deeper lever for example on page 11 Henslin describes how sociologist not only want to understand what happened in the past but also understand why people did what they did. I think this example is extremely helpful because as someone who just graduated high school I look back and realize how in school especially in history we learn about different facts and are taught to remember them but we aren't taught why they did these certain things or what society was like that back that back then, when looking back I realize how understanding why people did what they did back then would have made a large impact on the way I thought about history especially from a sociologic perspective. When looking at the juvenile delinquency section I look at Stockton and realize that where theres are gangs in Stockton it tends to be in poorer neighborhoods in Stockton which makes me look back at the book and realize how big economics plays into juvenile delinquency.

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The first thing I can remember ever buying was a barbie doll. As a child I was very girly, and still am, so I was obsessed with everything and anything barbie. At 7 years old I remember being so excited about all the birthday money I had because it wasn't money my parents gave me it was money I had gotten from other people so at that age it had felt like I earned it even though I really didn't. I remember walking in to Toys R Us with my mom and being so excited, I immediately went to the barbie section so I could add to my collection of Barbie's. This purchase definitely lasted me a very long time because I continued to play with Barbie's until I was about 11 years old. My purchase was influenced by a numerous amount of things at the time the Barbie movies were very popular and as a kid seeing commercials for the movies as well as for the toys I knew I wanted to have these toys because the children in those commercials had them and they made Barbie's seem like they were the most fun fun toy to play with. My Cousins were also very obsessed with dolls which was a very big influence on me because at the time I was very close to my cousins who are all girls and were around the same age as I was. Every time I went over there we were playing with dolls and every time they came to my house we were playing with dolls which is why I stayed so interested in them for so long, because I had those influences around me.

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While reading this chapter I realized what sociology is, at first I was very confused but this Sentence on page 7 really made me realize what sociology is, "His main focus of attention is not ultimate significance of what men do, but the action in itself, as another of the infinite richness of human conduct. " When reading this sentence at first I was confused but then as I kept reading it aloud I felt I had a proper understanding of what sociologist really do, sociologist look at the way a person may act not to judge them but to examine, they look at what influenced that person to do what they did, they look at the influences around them, the community around them. With this understanding and while reading further into the reading henslin mentions how people who grew up in Sunday school should stay away from sociology because they stay in this bubble and don't see the world from different point of views and as someone who is very religious and grew up in church I completely agree. While growing up in church it is very clear that there is a set of rules if you do things correctly you go to heaven but if you break one of the rules set in the bible you go to hell, as harsh as this sounds it's comforting in the sense that you have a set of rules to follow and as long as you follow them you will go to heaven. Religion shows you how to live your life according to that higher power, You can ask questions but with the questions asked there is only one answer but in sociology there is many. With that being said as someone who grew up in church I can definitely say a degree in sociology is not something i would pursue because having to examine the different social aspect of the world would challenge these religious beliefs which is hard for someone thats grown up in church and lived by these beliefs.

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Sociology isn't just about having a proper understanding of why an individual does what they do it's about understanding the social influences, public issues, and the history behind it which is what I have came to discover while reading this chapter. When looking at someone else for example seeing a homeless veteran I tend to feel bad for them and of course I wonder what went wrong in their life why is this their circumstance, I tend to take more of and empathetic approach like many others do but I never think about how did society play an impact on this persons circumstances, or even how did the economy play a role in how this veteran become homeless. This chapter definitely challenged the way I think about social issues because it goes further than just why it gives you a million different reasons of why this could be happening it focuses on outside circumstances. While taking a physiology course last semester it is easy to see how the two subjects could be connected in many ways for example many personal experiences an individual may have could be influenced by different social factors like mental health and issues like social inequalities. Many of the issues discussed in this chapter helped me think about my own life for example having to balance work in school when looking at an issues like this I know not only think about how this could be my own fault, I know there are bigger issues like economic inequality and how much education really is, these two factors play a big part in my life and many others as well.

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A food that serves as a totem in my life is tamales. Growing up in a Mexican household tamales are something we don't have often but during the holiday season it is the most common and something I look forward to. The ritual that surround's tamales is the entire family being in the kitchen making them which involves, making the masa, the filling, and wrapping the husks. This ritual holds a special place in my heart because when the whole family is in the kitchen it's filled with laughter and so much joy because everyone is happy and together, it also allows me to connect to my Mexican heritage on a different level which I find so special. If I was to look at this from a Marxist point of view I would look at the labor that is required from the agricultural workers who are in charge of growing and harvesting the ingredients for the tamales, I would look at how bad the conditions are for them as well as how much money they are making which is most likely very little for how hard they work. I would also look at the different restaurants and grocery stores that sell tamales and see how they sell them to make money which takes away the cultural aspect of tamales because they are doing it for their own well being not to spread the Mexican culture.

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When reading this section of "Down To Earth Sociology" I was very confused because I had never heard of a group like this which was odd because if a group was this extreme I would have thought I would have heard about it and when I finished the chapter I still hadn't realized what the author was talking about, it wasn't until watching the lecture video, "Culture 2" that I really understood. When realizing who the "holy-mouth-man" was it all came together. The way the author pulled this chapter together definitely made me think because as Americans we are so used to whats normalized in our culture we believe that when we see people do things that aren't normal to us we think it's weird but we never think about the fact that what we do is probably weird to them as well. This chapter really connected well with the text book "Introducing Sociology Using the Stuff of Everyday Life" by Johnston, Cairns, and Bauman, because in this text book the author talks about the different cultures and what they eat for example on page 30 the author talks about how in Cambodia spiders are eaten quite often and they became very common during the Khmer Rouge's regime because of the food shortages. To many people this may be weird and something they would never try because it's disgusting to them but to many Cambodian people this is normal for them and at one time was something people ate because they had to. When reading these two chapters it made me think about the way I look at certain cultures and how I never think about why they do what they do because there is always a reason and that reason may be extremely important to the individuals in that culture.

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After reading this chapter I now realize how much of an impact nonverbal communication has on not only me but other people as well. Through out the reading the author puts a large emphasis on how much things like gestures, body language and how close someone is to another person is like another language that is different for everyone across the world. One of the ideas that really stood out to me is the study of personal space. In the book the author talk about "The language of the eyes(111)," this really stood out to me because when going out to tourist spots in California I notice many of the tourist stare a lot and it always made me feel so uncomfortable because as Americans as the author explains we are taught its rude to stare so when we see people from different countries stare we still find it rude but I had never taken into consideration that where there from that is probably normal for them and is something everyone does where there from. This topic connects with many of Henslin's previous chapter that talk about how important culture is in shaping human behavior because in every country they have cultural norms that is something they are used to for example language it's different in many other countries just as nonverbal communication is, it varies in every country but it is what makes the people in that country them. Reading this chapter has mad me realize how important it is to learn about human communication especially in different communication. It serves as a reminder that as Americans we are not the only people that exist in the world and it's important to have an understanding of the cultural differences and how they vary across the world. This reading has made me think about the way I communicate and how it may come across to others.

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When reading through this chapter I learned about the different social aspects that go into sympathy. To many people sympathy is something that should come natural but when reading through this I discovered that sympathy can be determines by social rules and expectations. Something I found very interesting is when the author explains that sympathy is determined by when, how and who the sympathy is given to. An example of this is determining how serious the situation really is because if you give to much sympathy it can come off as very fake but if you express to little you can come off an insensitive. When realizing all of this it made me realize how much effort I put in to other people's feelings for example when talking to someone about what there going through I tend to want to share my experience's to show that I understand and can sympathize with them but at the same time this can come off as very self centered. After reading this chapter I now understand how much of an impact emotions play in maintaining relationships in my everyday life. I now am more aware of how I give and receive sympathy in my life and how I will start to be more aware of this.

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Today I studied the Nacirema people. They are very interesting and have very interesting ways they consume their food. They have special places where the Nacirema people wait in formation as if they were instructed to. Once it is their turn they receive some sort of cooked flesh that has a sort of dough wrapped around it which is then wrapped in such colorful paper. When they consume this food it is usually very fast and they eat it within 2 bites. They don't seem to enjoy their meal. When they receive this cooked flesh they receive a cup in which they fill it with some sort of bubbly substance as if it was some sort of magical potion. Once they are done they throw what seems to be trash away and leave very fast. What I am describing is Americans eating a fast food burger and drinking a soda.