Journal 1

2/2/04

Aim: "Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does." - William James

I agree because everything you do whether it's good or bad, still could affect not only you, but other people or things around you. And it doesn't necessarily have to be at that moment it could also be in the future.

Journal 2

2/4/02

Aim: What do we do to find happiness? [What's your philosophy on your existence]

I think that the general view of the reason we are here is to go to school and then to do something with your life or in the future. To be or go somewhere. I think happiness could be found when you reach your goal if you have one, or for some people when you have something that you like. I think that everybody's here for a different reason and everybody plays different roles.

Journal 3

3/3/04

Racial Stereotyping -> peoples different styles

Everyday in school I see students in so many different styles whether it's hair or clothes. This is seen not only in school, but everywhere. What people don't realize is that they unconsciously do use racial profiling in their comments. For example the way you talk. Today a white girl started talking back to people in a "ghetto" style, or also known as talking "slang". Well, some people just looked at her and afterwards commented on how she was trying to be too black and act Hispanic because the people she hangs around are mostly from those races. Even some of her black friends said that she was trying to act like them. Honestly to me it was no surprise to hear this and I'm sure I wouldn't be the only one. Why? Because not realizing it, everybody categorizes a certain group of people or a certain person at least once in their life. Does this mean that just because your from a certain race you have to talk a certain way or dress a certain way? Of course not. Everybody's different and has different taste no matter their culture. Another example is an incident that happened to me. I sometimes wear my hair slicked back in a bun. One of my friends came up to me and told me I looked Spanish, more like Mexican because of my hair. I personally didn't care what this person thought because he was joking around, but in a way with a truth. I am not racist because I know many different types of people, but I, like many other people wouldn't want to be called something I'm not even though I am Hispanic.

There are also different dressing styles. I noticed how certain people dress and how others view them. For example you hear in many places how black and Hispanic people dress "ghetto" with baggy clothes, or a certain brand clothes. You also hear how white people dress "preppy" and Asian people have a style "not like either." Well in this world this is definitely not true because there is so much diversity in taste in clothes. What I wonder is if different groups of people approached somebody at different times, would the person react the same with all or feel uncomfortable with only certain types? Personally I have a lot of pride in my Hispanic background so what would get me mad is if somebody denied what race is in their blood.