Throughout this past week we have been talking about race and how it relates to society. i never knew that race was something that we all created in our own heads. but i don't think that its something we have created individually but society has shaped us to think about race in a certain way. This goes back t a few chapter ago when we talked about how society impacted the choices we make and how we live our lives. After reading that article i realized that race was not biological but instead something we create. I thought the story about how in Brazil they have many different names for a certain race that we might only call "black". This was an eye opener because i never knew why my old soccer coach never referred to the African American kid on our team as black. That coach grew up in Brazil and lived there most of his life and even played for the Brazilian National Team with Pele. He came to America and was a great soccer coach but his Brazilian ways came with him. He never called the African American kid black or even colored. He had a specific name for him and everyone on the team called him that. i dont remember the name but i asked him once what it meant and he said that back in Brazil it was a common name for the people of that color. I was surprised but also confused because i had no idea that your race changes depending on where you live or go.

Today in class we had the privilege to listen to the girl talk about her experience in the Marine Corp. I thought it was really interesting and she gave great insight on what life was like as a woman going through Marine training. The reason I found her presentation so interesting was because my great uncle went to college at West Point and decided to stay in the Army after his 4 years were up. Through the years he moved up through the ranks and now holds some prestigious position in the Army. I am not very close with this uncle so he has not told me very many stories but as I grew up my mom and her side of the family always wanted me to go to West Point and follow in my uncles footsteps. Her whole side of the family sees Jody (my uncle) as a hero. Through his service he has lived all over the world including germany, Chile, Uruguay, Panama, and various places in the United States. Although i didn't know how this girl was going to finish her service it brought back memories of Jody.

this past week we have been talking about social class. we watched the movie about the lady who lives in Ohio and works at burger king. this story was touching but i cant help to see how she can help herself. she doesnt have an education and grew up in a house with 21 other brothers and sisters. obviously she is at a disadvantage but she has to take steps to help herself. an experience i had with poverty was when i went down to the projects of chicago. it was a very humbling experience and i really enjoyed getting to see another side of life in the very bottom of the social rung. i was scared when i first got there but once i warmed up to the people i noticed that they were not much different than i was. i worked with them all day serving food and playing games with little kids. by the end of the day i was tired and ready to go home but i would definitely go back some day.