This video correlates with my understanding of how this concept was explained in class because it underscores how much value individualism has been placed in our society and is the root of how our culture functions.

Two interesting things I learned in this module were that our reactions to things our society deems negative and consequences against those negative things are a part of its social norm. For me, I always just thought it was the thing that was targeted by the societal norm (i.e being straight is more favorable than gay). I didn't realize that our reaction and the actual consequences were byproducts of that societal norm.Another thing is that there is a huge difference between attitudes and beliefs that I hadn't know before. Attitudes are a mixture of beliefs, values, and emotions. So, beliefs are just a part of the larger thing that is our attitude. I originally thought it was separate and you had your beliefs and attitudes; not that they influence one another.

In the "Structures of Social Life" reading, Allan Johnson talks about, how a feeling of loss happens when, "we’ve changed our structural position in relation to one or more social systems and changed our connection to all the patterns of social life that go with that position". This made me feel seen and heard, as if I wasn't alone in this. Growing up can be so insanely difficult sometimes and when I think I am on the right path, something happens or there's a shift in my relationships and I feel like my entire path is crumbling. As my relationships shift with my parents, friends, and partners, it makes me feel like my ultimate goals and paths shift too-like nothing is ever stable. Johnson makes me feel like it's okay to have these feelings because they're normal and a product of my environment.

This video really relates to Allen Johnson's phrase, "We can only save ourselves". Prince Ea talks about how we have only been on this planet for 3 seconds if the Earth's age was shortened to a 24 hour span. In our short time that we've been here we have destroyed our planet and these byproducts are because us, we are the danger. This video is an impactful way to connect to Johnson's argument that our rhetoric and way we view the planet's environmentalist issues are because we have placed value on these specific aspects on our planet and this video leans into that fully.

Allan Johnson talks about the "self" and how when we start to use language as a bridge to understand people's experiences and how they relate to us, we finally start to understand our own "self". When I was younger, I remember not understanding my grandmother because she didn't speak English and didn't feel a great familial connection to her. As I began to understand Romanian and even speak it, our connection grew and my empathy toward her being an immigrant and not understanding day to day life in America grew too because I experienced a sense of not understanding with her. I can attribute this empathy that I gained that became a part of my "self" as an experience I only learned through my grandma and her experiences and our connection through language.

What I didn't know about was the structure of surveys. Even though surveys can get a lot of feed back and can formulate a study of a lot of people, there is some bias in who responds and how strongly the person feels on these topics. Another thing I didn't know about was the fact that even though experiments are useful, they are not necessarily perfect because they fail to replicate precise natural environments

Two interesting things I learned are first Durkheim says that crime is not just inevitable but also a necessary and integrative element of any healthy society. This was interesting to me because the conventional view that crime is purely a social pathology to be eradicated. Instead, he's arguing that crime plays a crucial role in public health by prompting societal reflection and evolution. This, to me, also shows that crime and deviance contribute to the adaptability and resilience of society. The second thing I learned, is that crime exists due to the diversity of individual consciences within a society. Variations in physical environments, hereditary backgrounds, and social influences lead to differences in personal morals and behaviors. This is really interesting because I did not understand that diversity makes absolute moral uniformity impossible, ensuring some level of deviance and crime will always exist. This also highlights the complexity of social cohesion between individual differences and collective norms.

To me, gender is a really touchy subject because I have had to go through my own journey of understanding my outwardly expression and how it with mesh with my gender identity. When the performances article was talking about different mannerisms and how small behaviors like how you hold your hand out when smoking a cigarette or to show your nails differs between men and women. It resonated with me because no matter how hard I try and escape gender norms and push forward into being my own person with no binary strings attached to me; I will always have a connection to the female sex and will always present as such.

Weeks discusses the evolution of sexuality, emphasizing its transformation into a major target of social intervention and organization. He says that sexuality is not a biological phenomenon but a socially constructed and a culturally specific concept that varies across different societies and historical eras. I think this has a connection with Laura Kipnis' ideas in her article "Against Love: A Polemic," where Kipnis talks about how modern societies force norms on intimate relationships and sexuality. Both Weeks and Kipnistalk about how societies have increasingly defined and controlled sexuality through various institutions, including the family structure. Kipnis' also emphasizes the societal expectations placed on romantic relationships which connects with Weeks' exploration of how economic, social, and political changes shape sexual behaviors and identities. Both authors stress resistance against these kinds of practices, with Weeks discussing cultures created out of resistance and Kipnis examining how people push back against societal norms of love. Both Weeks and Kipnis provide a deep understanding of how sexuality is continually redefined within society.

The article was really eyeopening to me because it sheds light on the educational disparities faced by Filipino Americans despite being considered a "hyper-selected" Asian group. It crazy to me that while other Asian ethnicities, such as Chinese, Asian Indian, and Korean Americans, excel academically in the second generation, Filipino Americans struggle to attain similar levels of success. The second generation of Filipino Americans hold a college degree, a significantly lower rate compared to their other Asian groups simply because of societal standards. Systemic factors contributing to this educational disparity, including lower rates of post-bachelor's degree attainment among Filipino immigrants and their limited representation in high-paying STEM occupations. And the fact that this injustice is because of them being identified as Latinos and denied the advantages of being seen as model minorities is so wrong on so many levels.

I was really invested in this module because there is a lot for me to gain from it since I am in the process of transferring to a four-year university. The "College Pathways and Post-College Prospects" article was really intriguing to me because I connected with it through the circumstances some face like having to take care of siblings or work that inhibits learning. John Oliver's video, however, played a huge role in my college picking process actually. I was deciding between going to New York or UCSB last week and ultimately chose UCSB even though my heart has always been set on moving to New York. The reason: John Oliver's voice played in my head talking about how there is over 1 trillion dollars in student loan debt right now. Even though New York is and always will be my dream, the education and price at UCSB is more worth it and this module genuinely influenced that decision.