In this chapter I read about sociological imagination and how it is used in daily life. Wright Mills defines sociological imagination as, “The awareness of the relationship between personal experience and the wider society.” In other words, thinking of asking and answering sociological questions. The situations people are in shape what they do in the long run. Sociology is just that looking at the bigger picture. Sure there’s many things that contribute to one single outcome but that’s where sociological imagination starts. Lets say one was robbed as the were walking down the street. To have the imagination you would ask yourself questions. Questions like, why were you walking in the first place, would the person have been less likely to be robbed in a better neighborhood, or of different ethnicity. Questions like so to get your mind wondering well what if. In having those what ifs, you now answer them. Whether or not the answer yes or no you have completely gone into the state of mind being sociological imagination. I really liked this chapter and in showing how a real sociologists thinks and reacts to new information.

There is two different way that sociologist look at sociology, that is quantitative and qualitative. Quantitative is data information about quantities therefore being numbers and qualitative is data descriptive and regards phenomenon which can be observed but not measured such as language. In the book Henslin states that he leans more to the side of qualitative. I would also have to agree with Henslin, I also do lean towards qualitative as well but I can also see how quantitative would be helpful in some situations. They compare cutting a chicken to sociology. Just like a chicken it can be cut and perceived in many ways, so can sociology. Cutting a chicken can be done in many ways but the way that I would cut a chicken would be by cutting the wings and legs off first. I then would start looking for the dark meat of the chicken because it is more moist then the white meat. After getting me some dark meat I then proceed to go get a little bit of white meat. A lot of people start with the white meat and move outwards towards the wings and the legs, but everyone has their own technique to cutting a chicken to their preference.

Sociology to me is the study of social problems and functions of human society. I have asked myself several times how does man kind work and I haven’t really been able to answer that question. For me to figure out and know what man kind is and how it works that means I would have to explore different countries and learn new cultures. In one of my previous blogs I shared that I am Latina and Filipino but aside from those two I am also Native American and Caucasian. Growing up being a mixed race I have seen all four cultures and different aspects from each one. I have been shocked from the differences in each culture. An example would be how these cultures handle stress. Native Americans would do this ritual where they would put hot steaming rocks in the middle of a tent and the Native Americans would sit inside the tent next to the rocks as others would throw cold water on the rocks causing steam to rise and the one individual sits in the steam. This helped relieve them of their stress and would release any bad vibes or energy that was going on with them. As for Latinos the way they like to handle stress is through drinking and spending time with family gossiping because it takes away the stress and gets them away from everything. A lot of white cultures usually do some type of workout or exercise when they are stressed whether it be yoga or lifting weights. Filipinos pray when they are stressed and get really really religious. They always want god on their side no matter what. Even though I have all four of these cultures within me, I would still like to know more about other cultures and what it means to those native of that culture.

In my last post, I posted about two main foods that served as a big part in my diet. These two are foods hold a big part of my life because I was raised to eat beans and rice. I was taught how to make rice from a very young age. I am still learning how to make the perfect recipe for beans but I’m sure I will master it soon. These two foods are a necessity for both sides of my family. Rice is the staple food in the Philippines. No matter what time of day it is or what meal, rice will always be on your plate. Filipinos will even save rice that you cooked the same day and use it for the whole week. If there is rice you didn’t finish it goes back in the pot. Latinos are more of the type to keep feeding you even when you said you don’t want no more helpings. Beans are used with almost everything in Latino dishes. You go to a Mexican restaurant you get bean with every single plate. Some relations between the two cultures are that not a lot of people know the Latinos ruled over the Philippines. A lot of Filipino last names are Hispanic and this may be where the two relate back to each other and why they have so much in common. Take the beans and rice for example, both of the cultures love to have rice and beans in their dishes, the Latinos ruled over the Philippines this does seem to have some sort of connection and relation to the dishes but this is just me and my personal opinion.

I love food and I love trying new kinds of foods from different cultures. A daily diet that you would see me eating consist of rice and beans. Those are two daily foods that I contribute into all my meals. Growing up as a Latina/ Filipino rice is a necessity for both of my cultures. Filipinos and Latinos are so much alike. They are both crazy when it comes to parties and are always so open to each other. I also have beans in my diet because just like rice it is a necessity for both of my cultures. Although there is one difference when it comes to beans and that is the type of beans they use. Most Latinos prefer to use pinto beans or black beans when it comes to making them. As for Filipinos they prefer to use a bean called pigeon pea. Yes, the name does say pea in it and that is because it is a pea that is considered to be a bean native to Africa. I do feel like a lot of people have this same exact diet or have one somewhat similar. Sometimes a diet isn’t just what you choose to eat it’s part of your religion or it is what you know to eat. You’ve had it for so long and it was put into your life since you were young and it stuck with you that all these years. It’s like a habit pretty much. For me I love this diet and I honestly wouldn’t mind eating it for breakfast lunch and dinner 24/7.

This week I spent a significant amount of money only for one item, a car. I have been saving up for a new car for quite some time now and I’m glad to say that it was well worth it. I spent almost $8,000 within a week and although I’m sad to see the money go I know that in the long run it would be worth it. I felt happy with myself because all my hard work and earnings went to something that can benefit me for future purposes. I was definitely stressed when buying it because buying a car isn’t very easy. You need to have good credit, you need to have full coverage insurance, know what car you want to buy how much of a down payment you want to spend and so much more. I can guaranteed you that if you were to walk into a car dealership right now with the determination of you buying a car that you would be coming out of that parking lot empty handed. This buying has connected me with workers from the car lot. The person who helped me was very helpful and showed me that I could trust them when it comes to buying a car. Buying this car definitely stressed me out but it also helped me out significantly because now I have a reliable car to get me to my destination safely.

While reading the preface of this book I was intrigued by what is to come while reading this book. I honestly had no idea what so ever that sociology is in a big part of our life. Sociology to me always seemed to bore me when talking about it. I am not very good with scientific studies so maybe that would be the reason I never found interest in it. Although after reading this preface and what is to come in the book, it definitely sparked an interest in my mind. While reading the book talked about how it can help with why we chose to follow what dreams we chose and to imagine the secret lives of commodities. It told us that we would mainly talk about consumer items and why this item or items is important to us, how it relates to our personal life or the lives of people around me. This book definitely seems like it would get my attention and make me gain an interest in sociology.

Continue reading “The first thing I bought was…”

Be yourself; Everyone else is already taken.

— Oscar Wilde.

This is the first post on my new blog. I’m just getting this new blog going, so stay tuned for more. Subscribe below to get notified when I post new updates.

This is an example post, originally published as part of Blogging University. Enroll in one of our ten programs, and start your blog right.

You’re going to publish a post today. Don’t worry about how your blog looks. Don’t worry if you haven’t given it a name yet, or you’re feeling overwhelmed. Just click the “New Post” button, and tell us why you’re here.

Why do this?

• Because it gives new readers context. What are you about? Why should they read your blog?
• Because it will help you focus you own ideas about your blog and what you’d like to do with it.

The post can be short or long, a personal intro to your life or a bloggy mission statement, a manifesto for the future or a simple outline of your the types of things you hope to publish.

To help you get started, here are a few questions:

• Why are you blogging publicly, rather than keeping a personal journal?
• What topics do you think you’ll write about?
• Who would you love to connect with via your blog?
• If you blog successfully throughout the next year, what would you hope to have accomplished?

You’re not locked into any of this; one of the wonderful things about blogs is how they constantly evolve as we learn, grow, and interact with one another — but it’s good to know where and why you started, and articulating your goals may just give you a few other post ideas.

Can’t think how to get started? Just write the first thing that pops into your head. Anne Lamott, author of a book on writing we love, says that you need to give yourself permission to write a “crappy first draft”. Anne makes a great point — just start writing, and worry about editing it later.

When you’re ready to publish, give your post three to five tags that describe your blog’s focus — writing, photography, fiction, parenting, food, cars, movies, sports, whatever. These tags will help others who care about your topics find you in the Reader. Make sure one of the tags is “zerotohero,” so other new bloggers can find you, too.