The Forgetful Generation

Today we briefly discussed “sociological imagination,” which is when your social behavior is affected by the environment and the time period that you grow up in. “The Outliers” article that I read for sociology concluded that the citizens of the town, Roseto, had a low chance of heart attacks because of their calm, family driven lifestyle. This low number of heart attacks was not because of something physicians typically expected, such as bad eating habits or little exercise.

In addition to our location in growing up, the time period in which we grow up is also significant in our social behavior. When I was in the second grade I used floppy disks to save my science projects. When my dad showed my ten-year-old sister his floppy disks from college she had no idea what they were. She just laughed at him telling him that he’s so old fashioned. When I was in the third grade I got a Walkman for my birthday and even though I have an iPod,  I still use my Walkman until this day because I don’t have some of my favorite rapper’s mixtapes on my iPod. Some kids on the bus will make fun at how bulky my Walkman is, but I personally like it because of its sentimental value and because I didn’t have to pay a lot of money just to listen to my music. A child that is born today will most likely not recognize a Walkman, and down the road they will probably not recognize an mp3 player either. In the future children will not recognize a computer mouse with a wire, a land line phone with a wire, or a cell phone with an outer antenna.

Throughout my generation our society continues to modernize leaving us with products that we never use again. We have gone from VHS players, to DVD players, and now blue-ray. As our society continues to modernize we gradually inch away from the beliefs of the Roseto citizens by spending less time with family or going outdoors, and more time with our newest form of technology. 

Silence is Golden.

Silence is never awkward unless someone makes it awkward. On the first day of sociology the teacher sat in front of the class in silence. It was awkward because everyone was staring (others were giggling) at each other, not having anything to say because usually on the first day the teacher offers an icebreaker. At the beginning of the school day we have a moment of reflection in which nobody speaks for about ten seconds. This is not awkward because you are supposed  to be quiet. Others can create an awkward silence when they tell a not so funny joke, and nobody laughs. The air will be filled with silence. All in all, silence is not awkward, if anything, it’s golden.

What's In A Name ?

  When I think about who I am I think about what defines me, and that’s my name. My name is Ghazal. Yes, like the animal. When I was younger I used to think my name was weird and I hated my name because people would mispronounce my name or misspell it. Teachers always mispronounce my name as “Guzle” or “Gaazle” whenever they called attendance on the first day of school. Every time I corrected them, they would ask, “Like the animal?” Now, I somewhat dread the first day of school, as the teachers still mispronounce my name, but I’m getting used to it. It seems as if the older I get the better the teachers get at pronouncing my name correctly, or maybe I’m getting used to the fact that they can’t pronounce my name properly. Now that I am older and I actually know the meaning of my name, I tend to like it a lot better. When I considering who I am, I know that I am unique because I have a name that nobody else has. Ultimately, I don't think anyone completely knows who they are. Every day lived, one will learn something new about onesself. As Oprah Winfrey said, "as you become more clear about who you really are, you'll be better able to decide what's best for you."