In Sociology we learn how individuals interact within groups and also about how societies are structured.

In my opinion I don't know enough about what Sociology is but it reminds me of Psychology due to how similar the mental & social part of it is.

One of the reasons I have decided to take this class is because I have always wanted to be a nurse and this class will help me to achieve my career goal.

I hope this course will allow me to learn valuable information and skills that I can apply to my everyday life and career as well.

I plan on getting the most knowledge out of this class by showing up to class early and on time and also by focusing on the task at hand.

I somehow stumbled upon a huge gathering. A woman appears on top of a huge and tall animal, I can only describe it as having long hair, a bushy tail, a big body, four legs, a long nose and a big mouth. She gets off the animal and the noise of people chattering soon comes to a stop.

It seems as though they respect her, they all lock eyes with this young woman. I listen as she speaks and many shake their heads up and down as though agreeing with her. Her speech comes to a stop and I can feel the vibrations of everyone clapping. They gather around her, like some kind of ritual. They wrap their arms around her and give her square boxes, big and small, like some type of peace offering.

She's wearing a big blue circular dress, she is the only out of hundreds of people. She stands out, a leader for sure. She begins to pull people in and she begins moving in a strange matter. Both her and the people seem to be enjoying this body ceremony.

After the odd movements are over, a small child walks over to the woman. The child hands her a stiff, well preserved little girl about 3-4 years of age. The woman smiles and a wave of fear strikes me. I decide it is time to leave.

All of these things have been pretty hard for me to fulfill since I usually study, attend school, do homework. I do most of the main requirements as a student but I find it tough to do other things that come with being a well rounded student.

School also plays a part into how I experience role conflict. Trying to manage school and work is a big issue in my life. Learning how to time manage had been such a headache.

I must go to school 2 days out of the week during the morning, then go to work about 2 hours later, and still find time to do homework/study. I also still must find enough time to do personal tasks and to get enough sleep.

I am constantly trying to switch up my daily routine so I can figure out what works best for me. I will continue to make an effort in everything I do especially when it comes to school. I'm sure that I will find the perfect balance and accomplish all that I set my mind to.

So naturally I followed in their steps, I thought that's what a normal kid should talk and act like. At some point I caught myself being very judgmental towards people who didn't fit the "correct" stereotype.

It was things like that in which society says people shouldn't be that big or that the color of your hair determines if you're professional or childish, that really made me think. Is this the way we're supposed to be? I found myself questioning many decisions, wondering if I would be judged as well.

I always kept my natural hair, never cutting it too short because I didn't want to look like a boy. I always asked my mother if she could buy me brands from Nike or Jordan because I was scared I'd get bullied. Being a person felt, feels and will be hard. There is and will always be standards to be met. Being different is not the same as being accepted.

In this world we follow the example of those "above" us. I believe we have the potential and right to do as we please but I also think that too much free will and acceptance can lead to chaos and trouble.

What all this tells me is that the majority of my daily products are made in China and some in Canada.

This shows how China's dominant role in global manufacturing is due to its efficiency and scale, but this also points to growing trend of diversification in manufacturing to other countries like Canada and India.

I think that almost all items will be made in China in the next couple of years. This goes back to when we had a talk in class about how big companies tend to have many workers and pay them about 90 cents an hour, just to make all of these products.

It also means many poor people are used to do hard labor while getting paid as little as possible and are treated in an inhumane way.

The poor are more likely to pay large amounts of money for property and sales tax, than any other group with more money/status.

The poor are just as "moral and law-abiding as anyone else, they are more likely than middle-class transgressors to be caught and punished when they participate in deviant acts. (shows how poverty can reinforce prejudice and discrimination)

There are 13 parts important functions that show poverty and the poor satisfy American Society. Poverty survives because it is useful to society, in some ways...

Reading about how poverty affects the poor has reminded me of my own poverty. It also brings up issues between race and ethnicity.

As a Hispanic/Latina woman in today's society, I face poverty in many ways. One being because I struggle to find jobs, I've been discriminated because of my sex and ethnicity.

However, I know I'm not the only one affected by poverty... For almost my entire life time I've been poor. My father had a good union job when I was born (2007), however about a year after I was born he got laid off. We had 2-3 houses and lost each and every single one.

After this loss my family experienced poverty, which means I grew up in a home where I didn't own name brands, I didn't have the privilege to visit amusement parks or get many toys. At one point we had to worry about what we'd eat.

My father's experiences with jobs were never the same. He had/has no 401k or any health benefits anymore. Being poor was hard, we lived off EBT plenty of times and we still received help up until the beginning of this year. The "One Big Beautiful Bill Act" has already affected me and my family.

Realizing how society views the poor and why we are taken advantage of in different ways shows me that I must see the world for what it is and do my best to move forward despite the way I was brought up.

After reading section 34, I learned that this chapter looks at the major forces shaping our future society. It focuses on social structures, origin and family. It also mentions how Race, Gender, and Class have effect on our experiences.

"Moving Up from the Working Class" made me realize that I myself am a Hispanic working class student, daughter and woman. I also have experienced the disadvantages and expectations that come with being a working class daughter.

In my family I grew up doing things like fixing up the yard and helping my father with construction work at his job, etc...

I also kept up with my schoolwork and went to school everyday. Yet, I was still expected to come home to clean, wash clothes, and help my sick/ill family members.

My brothers are both Hispanic working class males but they were never expected to clean or help our sick grandparents. They were barely even expected to do their "own roles".

Only one of my brothers helped our father with some of his construction work but still helped less than I did. However, both my brothers were applauded for. meanwhile I sat back and got told I wasn't doing "good enough".

I've persistently tried to "move up" from my social class origins and it has been difficult. There have been many obstacles and social expectations that stop me as a woman from achieving some of my goals. However, I have still decided to try and move forward.

Think of them as a society within a society. They maintain their top-tier status by attending fancy private schools ad elite universities like the ones listed in the book. This is the key to passing down money and valuable social skills and connections. This allows them to keep their advantages generation after generation.

Additionally, Higley points out that this influential group has a major impact on how the U.S. economy and political system operate. Their disproportionate influence means they can shape decisions and policies in ways that benefit their own interests.

This concentration of resources and power allows them to continue building their wealth and solidifying their dominant position, which in theory can create a big gap between them and everyone else.

Social inequalities usually fall on the poor due to this and also because the poor are more accessible.

The American upper class have group awareness and consider one another equals. They decide who is "in and who is "out of proper society. This is the sole purpose of Social Register.

I learned that the main purpose of the Social Register is to restrict social intercourse for members by deciding who is "in" and who is "out" of proper society. It is clear that the American upper class has attempted to separate itself socially from the hoi polloi basically from birth to death.

Short-term and long-term economic success of the upper class is fundamentally important to maintaining the style of life that differentiates the upper class from the other classes in society.

Back in the late 19th and early 20th century the American upper-class society was overwhelmingly white, to them no amount of new money could buy its way into "proper" upper=class society.

The upper class also wanted to project their values onto their offspring to continue their status in society. They did this by enrolling their children in to private preparatory schools so that their children could be raised away from the distractions of the large cities and their hordes of newly arrived "aliens".

I realize how much bigger it all is, there are people who are starving and scrapping by with pocket change, while there is also the 1% of Americans who take home almost a quarter of the national income today...

What this has taught me is that socialism is not what we think it is, most of us get caught up in our small lives when in reality the struggles we face come from a much bigger issue in society today.

This also taught me to look at the bigger picture and to acknowledge that there are different perspectives and we must continue to change and try our best to face reality and move up in life.

The chapter speaks about the experiences of a young man (Clarence Page), he talks about how the circumstances that we inherit at birth affect what happens to us in life.

It's true, if we are born into wealth our experiences may be easier and if we are born into poverty the harder life will be. This is because money runs the world. But that's not the only example...

Page mentions how in the 1950s he saw his first water fountain marked "white" and "colored." That was when he first learned what the phrase "colored" meant. He also realized his limitations due to his race when he wanted to go to an amusement park and was told by his parents "little colored kids can't go there".

Growing up Page had friendships with white schoolchildren, but one day his white friend mentioned he had been to LeSour-desville Lake. His friend asked if he had ever been there, Page replied "Colored can't go there" his white friend said "Oh, that can't be"... His friend finally realized that he'd never seen any colored people there and was surprised.

Due to his experiences he often wished he was white. Over time he learned to be proud of his black identity. However, the ancestral desire of his ethnic people to be "just Americans resonated in him. He could never forget how persistently the rudeness of race continues to intrude between him and that dream.

Ezekiel also spoke about how there was a time when Klansmen rode through black neighborhoods, burning and killing with impunity. The smallest accusation that a black man harmed a white woman unleashed a mob of angry whites.

He also mentioned a North Carolina Klan, apparently they found out he was Jewish and stared at him and said "I have no use for a Jew. Keep Hitler's dream alive: Kill a Jew."

The Klan also had wooden booths set up and mass confederate flags up, the racists had taken over the "handsome symbol". There was also music on the loudspeaker, they used the word "nigger." They were getting joy by being able to say "nigger" out loud.

Ezekiel added that he had misunderstood and could now see the amount of fear in which these people live, and their belief that a Jewish powerbase was out to endanger them...