Social Class

In class we were watching a movie about different social classes in America. They interviewed people from elite classes like w.a.s.p.s and the complete opposite such as a family who lives in poverty in southern Ohio.  I found only one thing similar to what they were saying. It is frowned upon if you leave your class. Being a wasp, you are very rich and you have been rich your entire life. You would never even consider yourself being upper middle class. You look down on the lower classes because, you have more money, therefore everything about you is better. The lower class want to be middle class, but there is little hope for them. One son of the family in Ohio dresses as preppy as he can so at school he looks middle class. His mom isn't happy about it because she thinks he isn't proud of the true stuff he has in his life (ex. family or health).
I see similar things at my school. There are the very rich and the very poor. Everyone dresses based on who they hang out with, not based on the money they have. It is easily assumed all the preppy whites at my school are the rich ones. But, I bet if you ask all of them, they would all say they are middle class. They could me upper class, but because they see upper class people all the time, it is normal or average to them making them feel middle class. People dress down or dress up based on what they want to represent themselves as. In society today, it is all about the image, real or fake.

Drugs

                                                         Its just a flower... link
In class we learned how all crime is relative. Smoking tobacco is actually much more dangerous than smoking marijuana. However, when weed was introduced in America, it was seen as a threat to the tobacco industries. These industries had huge say in the government so marijuana was made illegal. Also, caffeine is a terrible drug on paper. With a long list of side effects  and warnings, it is the most accessible drug because any one can buy it in many different forums. My school now has a coffee stand. I would say the majority of students at my high school drink coffee or caffeinated drinks in the morning so it was probably a good investment. But why is the school making such a terrible drug even easier to get? It is all about the money. If it is legal and thereIts just a flower... linkis potential profit, my school and other school will jump on it. The United States can learn a good lesson from this. If they were to make marijuana legal, they could tax the hell out of it and I have a feeling it would have better sales than cigarettes. It could be the answer for the economy problem, but what would I know? I'm just a student who has no say in a country that is based off the people's voice.

equality?

After reading the story of Saints and Roughnecks, two gangs in the same town with different backgrounds.  I saw how society judges people. The saints were rich athletes that cheated and did well in school. The Roughnecks were not well off, didn't play sports and were "c" students without cheating. The Saints were looked up to in society where the Roughnecks were looked down upon. The saints committed worse crimes than the roughnecks but got away with it more than the roughnecks. The gangs also hung out in different places making it easier to see one of the gangs doing illegal things.

One Trillion Dollars link

My high school doesn't have a gang problem, but can easily be looked at the same way. The saints can be represented by all the white preppy, wealthy, jocks. They are the majority of the school and they pretty much run it too. The parents of these kids have very respectable jobs that pay amazingly.  When ever you hear about a wild party, its a saint, but it never gets busted. They are also the ones that get 36 on their ACT and never get detention once. Money buys these kids freedom, but does it buy them happiness?  The roughnecks are the minorities of the school. I'm not going to name specific groups so i don't sound racist, but they are definitely treated different. I'm not sure if it is just judgement by the deans or guilt by association. I remember their was an ipod stolen by a white kid in my gym class freshmen year. They questioned a lot of people, but not everyone. I was second behind an african american who was infamous for being caught doing bad things. He must have been talking to our dean for 10 minutes. I walk in  thinking this is going to be a long interrogation. The whole 30 second meeting went like this. Dean: "did you take an ipod during 7th hour gym?" Ben: "nope." Dean: "ok, have a nice day." I know i am not a perfect student. I have never been given a detention or any form of punishment while at the same time, there are kids that do equal things and get suspended.

adult

What is it that makes us an adult. On paper, it is when you turn 18,  but in reality it is when you aren't dependent on your family or friends to live. I am almost 17, I don't feel any closer to being an adult than I did when I was 13. I understand that kids want to grow up faster and experience things that they can't yet. But in all honesty, being a kid is fantastic. All we have to do is go to school and prove we learn something. We don't have to worry about anything. As a kid, I can sit back and watch the world go by without having a single thought of if I'm going to be alive tomorrow. It really is wonderful being able to live life like this. Then in a couple of years, i will most likely be graduating college. Where will I go? back home? i couldn't, I'm not a kid now and need to fend for myself. If all goes to plan, I will get a job right out of college and be able to support myself alone. If the economy keeps up, this plan is gonna look more like a dream. The day I can fully support myself and not have to ask my parents for help, I will consider myself a kid. However, I would like to be treated like an adult to help my process of becoming independent.