College in Reality

As college and picking out the perfect school comes around, I am learning so many new things. When I was younger, I had thought that you could go to school anywhere in the country and there were no set backs keeping you from this. As I am coming to realize, your educational future solely depends on your social class.

 Freshman year it had finally come to me that someone who is relying on welfare and is an average student, will not have the opportunity to go to a big name university because of the cost. It is unfair because not everyone has the same opportunities. Yet, on the other hand, someone who was born into a upper class family, will have all the opportunities to go to any college of their choice just because, well, they can definitely afford it.

Education should not be based on how much money you have, but how successful and determined you are going to be in the future. Just because I am in the middle class in society, I do not have as many opportunities to receive the best education after my final high school days are over.

 Do do feel as if your post high school education is solely based on money?  

Positive Acts of Deviance

As many people think, deviance is a negative term. Yet in some cases, there is actually the concept of positive deviance. The concept of positive deviance is an approach to behavioral and social change based on the observation in communities where peoples unsuccessful behaviors enable them to find better solutions. When people get mugged, they usually get something taken from them and run. But in Julio's case. he reacted positively instead of negatively. As Julio says, "I figure, you know, if you treat people right, you can only hope that they treat you right. It's as simple as it gets in this complicated world." You treat people the way you want to be treated and in the end it leaves a positive remark.

 I work at a small ice cream parlor called White Cottage. All the time do I see costumers voluntarily paying for other customer's food. After the multiple times I have seen it happen, I realized it was my turn. As my coworker got to work, she was complaining about how hungry she was. My coworker goes to school full time and plays softball in the college level as well. I decided since she works so hard, I can do her a small favor. I bought her a cheeseburger and an order of French fries. My positive deviance was a random act of kindness, and I did it without being forced too. 

After I had done this gesture for my coworker, I did not think much of it. My manager including my coworker said how nice that was of me. I had realized one small gesture can make someone's whole day. Also after doing this act of kindness, it made me feel like a positive person in society. It makes me feel great knowing I have the ability to make someone really happy. This experience has showed me that our society and culture is not kind at all. If just once a day someone would partake in a small act of kindness, people in this society would be much happier. Also, these acts of kindness would not be as surprising if people did them on a daily basis.  

Are We All Criminals?

When we were in elementary school, we referred to the criminals as "bad guys". As I was watching the nightly local news a week ago, I saw a familiar face. From that moment on I had realized we are deviants, even the not so innocent people I used to go to school with. My former book buddy in the first grade, is now a convict in the local prison. The high crime rate in society has influenced my peers to become deviants. My former friend and now convict, had no self control and felt the need to obstruct a police officer. The lack of self control in our society is the start of the deviant acts being tolerated and performed in society today.