Blog entry # 3: Teen suicide/ different cultures

In the article “Teenage wasteland” by Donna Gaines talks about the youth culture and how it relates to the teen suicide. Gaines states “One teenager commits suicide it is a personal tragedy, but when groups of teenagers form a suicide pact and successfully carry it out; suicide becomes a matter of public concern” in making this comment, Gaines urges us to think that indeed teen suicide has become an important problem that has to be solve. This story took place in Bergenfield New Jersey in March 11; where 4 teenagers commit suicide. This was as the book “experience sociology” states about communicating culture a symbolic tragic. The book also explores the central role of culture in social life and who we are as human-beings. According to the statistics it is one of the principal deaths in ages 15- 24 among Americans such as it states the book of “connect core concepts in health” which is in the graph bellow. I believe that those that commit or attend suicide are in a deeply depression, depression to not be accepted, and depression to be judged. Many teens are misjudged according to the society to being seeing with the “wrong people”, others are judged because of the cloths that they use, or from what culture they come from. According to the article, wasteland was the place where many of those teenagers didn't have a good life went to. In Gaines’s view “Teenage suicide won't go away until kids' bad lives do. Until there are other ways of moving out of bad lives, suicide will remain attractive.” In other words until our society is not better for everyone better things will not happen.

blog entry #2 : Alcohol, drugs and violence!

The alcohol and the drugs are the major topic in today’s society. Every day on the news you see something relate it to alcohol, drugs, violence and death. Is this that society that we wanted? I personally believe that nobody dreams about having this type of society; but why we keep destroying it? Why we keep using those bad habits that instead of helping us are consuming us into death and hatred? One of the readings that relates to my blog today is Association Is Not Causation by RICHARD J. GELLES AND MARY M. CAVANAUGH. This article is about how the Scientifics do research and how those research is based on data’s. It emphasizes “that there is no simple link between substance use and family violence. The relationship cannot be explained simply by stating that alcohol or certain drugs. Also the use of alcohol and/or drugs is not the sole determinant of whether or not an individual exhibits violent behavior. The influence of substances on the likelihood of violence is mediated by social factors, such as income, education, and occupation; cultural factors, such as attitudes about violence, drugs, alcohol, and the effects of alcohol; and personality factors” this fragment means that if you are very drunk or very high on drugs doesn't means that it is a valid excuse to abuse of others such as kids and women. In my point of view alcoholism is a bad habit that begin with the own family. Many kids already experienced the taste of alcohol or being high and most of them think that it is right, that it will make them more mature. Many of those kids are influenced by their parents because they just are fallowing what they are seeing. Another source that relates to this topic is from the book experience sociology chapter 2 page 40 which says that in order to have a data to get its efficiency you have to research your methods which means that you have to collect and analyze your information.  

Blog Entry # 1: who I am?/ what is sociology?

One of the class activities that it is related to this blog was a video that we saw in class called “connected but alone” by Sherry Turkle. In this video we can see the connection between symbolic interactions theories which is a shared symbol that it’s used every day and the society. She emphasized that’s sociology is very power that change who you are!

Who I am?  Is a question that goes around many times and never it has a specific answer. My name is Denise Sanchez. I was born in the United States but raced in the Dominican Republic. It was a little hard to adjust to this new life, but nothing in life is easy and we have to adapt our self to survive like Charles Darwin once said “It is not the strongest or the most intelligent who will survive but those who can best manage change.” One of the values that my mom taught me is that we need to be social solidarity- the collective bonds that connects individuals; helping those that are in needs. My goals for life are finish with the career of nursing to start working and go to a medicine school to study pediatrician. The person who really influenced my decision is very important to me, he is my grandfather about 6 years ago that he died but I'm still with my decision, I promised him I would fight to fulfill my dreams and that I am going to fight for those in need of help and that I'll never give up. One of the social event that shaped me was when I came to the united states to study for first time which was my 8 grade, I saw how many of my classmates were bully verbally for the fact that they didn't know how to speak English. This affect me because for that reason I was afraid to participate in classes, hopefully with the time I learn that “the pray can become the predator” meaning that in order to demonstrate I was a good student I had to lose all my fears. Something that looks different when I see it from a sociological imagination or sociological perspective is how the events through life can change on how we see the world, I mean I was truly blinded before I saw it with my own eyes, how our same kind judge anybody for no reason and bully them just for fun. I believe that my own “biography” can be influenced by my personal “history” I mean isn't us who create our own history by making choices? Aren't our choices that form the path in which we walk every day?