American Culture

Too many times our talents are wasted because as a culture we value money over happiness. We believe the more you devote yourself to a job, the more money you will make and the happier you will be. My mom always tells me to find a job I love, regardless of the pay, and I'll never have to work a day in my life. You have to be passionate about what you do; otherwise you won't put in 100% and be dedicated to what you're doing. You'll end up being miserable. In thrive, it is highly recommended to find a job you are passionate about, that works with the right people, and that addresses your talents. Do those few things, and you're setting yourself up for a happier life.

Many of us value time, yet we don't value spending, or making time for the right things. Our priorities aren't straight because as a culture our lives are so rushed, we tend to forget that making time for ourselves is important too. In Tuesday With Morrie, here's a man who is scheduled every minute of the day, not able to make time for someone he truly cares about. Mitch holds off proposing to Jannie not only because he doesn't have time, but he also fears love. Americans are afraid to love and show their love because we fear the whole idea of becoming vulnerable; trusting someone by slowly taking down the wall we've had built for so long, only to be abandoned or hurt. We fear the idea of how easily a person can come into our lives and make us happy, but also how easily that person could leave and take that happiness with them.

Death is another aspect we fear because again, it's the whole idea of someone we love leaving our lives forever. Materialism and death connect in a weird way. We believe that once someone is gone, the whole relationship is gone. A person may not physically be there but all the memories you shared, all the things they did to touch your life, you still love them regardless of their physical presence. We tend to forget this because we're so caught up in the idea of physical items bringing us happiness. As a culture, once something is lost or broken, we can easily replace it. Once a person passes, they're permanently gone, which is why we fear this idea so much. Morrie is a great example because he didn't dwell on what he had or hadn't, but the relationships and people he interacted with, sharing all his experiences with the people who meant something to him. People look at death as an ending point, but it's a natural part of life and it's a journey to a new beginning for everyone.

Community Service

I volunteered for an organization called Orphans of the Storm, which is an animal shelter located in Riverwoods. I attended an off site adoption event showcasing the cats and dogs at Northbrook Court on Saturday from 11AM-4: 45PM and Sunday from 12AM-5PM. Overall, I was extremely excited to volunteer because I adore animals and I knew it would bring joy to my life helping these innocent animals find a home. I realize that they also need affection and care, as well as humans do, so I decided to help donate and become a part of the event. You would expect many people to be open about adopting an animal, but as time went on, I realized that there are many different reasons why people can't adopt such as allergies, other pets at home, or they're simply not old enough. Obviously there are many other reasons, but acknowledging those circumstances, I started promoting donations towards little things such as extra newspapers, blankets, animal food, etc. The shelter is always in need of extra materials to provide the animals, and if someone is interested but cannot adopt a pet, or just has those supplies at home, why not help the cause? 

The people I came in counter with had many different attitudes, ages, races, and genders, but one thing they all had in common had been wealth. I appreciated the people who had given me the time of day and listened to the information I had provided. I felt reassured and grateful when donations were given to the specific dog that I was speaking about, or giving care to. Taking the time out of their day to give attention to the animals and donate their money to a good cause had brightened my day and I couldn't help but smile. While I was volunteering, I thought of how great it is to give back to my community and how thoughtful some people are to open organizations like these and support such causes. People who try to make a change in the world are the most genuine kind of people in my eyes. The supervisor was an extremely sweet lady named Jackie Borchew, who encouraged not only the volunteers, but also the others viewing the animals. She contributed to the wonderful experience I had, and could be contacted at Jackie@orphansofthestorm.org. The tasks i was instructed to do didn't take very long, they were practically effortless especially because I felt like I was doing something for a good cause, a great reason, rather than feeling forced to finish a dreadful task that would go unnoticed. On my way home, I had been in an uplifting mood, which followed through with me the rest of the night.  

Culture

When growing up, you learn certain rules, values, or behaviors to live by due to your specific culture. You don't know any other way of living because you've only been exposed or adapted to the environment around you. Nothing seems out of place, everyone around you also conforms and views the things you do to be "normal." Everything that is normal is a result of people and their cultural relativity.

Arriving from one culture to another could be quite overwhelming for an individual. Everything around seems so different, so new. They struggle to grasp the idea of things by taking everything in all at once. Some may feel like they have been living the wrong way and that's a result of cultural shock. Experiencing a new culture that pushes ethnocentrism can enhance this feeling. When others strive to make that individual behave the way they do, it's typically done through non-material culture such as rules, languages and gestures. These aspects vary from culture to culture, and because of this, it may make one feel as though it is necessary to conform to the cultural relativity, just to fit in. When my Hispanic friend told me he had a headache, I asked him if he wanted Ibuprofen. He then looked at me funny and said no, you. I looked at him with the same weird look and asked him why, thinking why wouldn't he want to help himself? He then told me in his culture, medicine is looked down upon and that the healthiest form of medicine is being natural; letting the body heal it. Due to the American culture, always quick with prescribing drugs and taking drugs when problems occur, it was my first instinct to just tell him to take a pill. Now looking back at the situation, he had not fallen into my ethnocentric idea; instead, he used a traditional rule from his culture.

The parts of non-material culture include folkways, mores and taboos. A folkway is the way of acting with more traditional rules, but not being judged. A more is something very serious that is supposed to be done and if it's not, the consequence will result in being judged. That something serious is like a moral or tradition. An example is if you decide not to wash your hands after you use the bathroom, people are going to judge you by viewing you as an unsanitary person. You would think that someone would want to after using the bathroom, but some do not and that's what distinguishes it from being a more versus a folkway or taboo. Now, a taboo is something so serious that even thinking about it would make you embarrassed. An example of a taboo from the story "Social time" is that here in America, people arrive at appointments earlier than they're supposed to because even thinking about being late makes Americans nervous.