Shift Happens

               After watching the video "Shift Happens", not only was I left surprised but also somewhat puzzled. Although it’s great to see so much advancements and developments, at the same time, it makes me wonder what caused all these changes and how much further it will be able to go. We’ve started progressing so quickly and considering the high speed at which we are moving, in the near future we can do numerous things, thanks to technology. Essentially, the whole world will be transformed and made more convenient. For example, just as phones were created and people could community easily without actually having to meet each other in person, similarly, more advanced technologies will be created to provide comfort to the people and make things easier. The numbers of technologies that have been created are countless but they certainly are changing the world we live in. 

                Our education system needs to provide higher and more advanced levels of education to today’s students in order to keep up with the standards. As the video stated, “We are currently preparing students for jobs that don’t exist yet” which means as the population grows bigger, more competition will occur. With that being said, each student needs to be educated so that they are able to use their knowledge and skills to secure their jobs. Furthermore, the American education system does not have as high of a rank as the Indian or the Chinese do. Thus, it’s also important to emphasize raising the educational criterion. 

                Today, the changes in information processing and availability are improving our lives in many ways. As I’ve mentioned earlier, technology has made our lives more comfortable and easier, but it also has made some negative. Simply because technology makes everything convenient and saves us loads of time, it has also made us lazy. For example, without technology, we had to do certain things manually but with the technology, we do everything by clicks which take away the skills that we once had. Despite of these negative impacts, the positives are much more. One aspects of information processing which I love is that it helps us connect; not just to our friends and families but to people who live in other countries. It exposes us to different culture, traditions, and ideas which thus, contribute to globalization. We come closer and united to people by becoming aware of their existence and the difference that they make. 

                Some of the ideas that we have learned that could be applicable to the facts and trends presented in the video is that we are in a postindustrial society, postmodern world and globalization is taking place. As the text states, we are entering a phase of development beyond the industrial era. This new social order is described as information society, service society, and knowledge society or the postindustrial society. We have moved further than the traditional forms of industrial development. We are in an age where we are constantly progressing in every possible way and the rapid change impacts everyone. As mentioned in the video, we live in exponential times with technology surrounding us everywhere.  From google to text messages, we are heavily influenced by technology and rely on them very much. In the near future, we will be able to include technology into our every lives even more and make possible what seems impossible today.

Urban/Suburban/Rural Life

I have lived urban, suburban, and rural life and the experiences in all three of them were quite contrasting. I grew up in the urban city of Moscow with a big population living busy and fast paced lives. The city was very crowded in the mornings with people going to work, school, or simply shopping. The buses and subways were packed with people; usually diverse groups of people.  Although Russia is not such a wealthy nation; Moscow is one of the most expensive cities in the world.  Due to urbanization, the prices for buying or renting apartments have raised tremendously high although if one drives to a rural area just couple hours away from Moscow, one could get that same apartment for much cheaper price. However, because people prefer living at the center and being close to development, Moscow has become expensive; especially to foreigners and tourists. Contrary to the examples that the text book gave as the introduction of the chapter which tells us of the situations with white shirts in China and Germany, it is different in Moscow. Although the city is populated and industrialized, there wasn’t as much pollution that would have gotten your clothes dirty. Most of the companies and factories were a bit far away from central Moscow so that the people weren’t as much impacted by the pollution. One aspect of Moscow that I was very much in favor is the fact that the whole city is accessible by foot or by the metro. Unlike in here, one could have easily gotten out of their home, walked to the subway and taken the metro to tour the entire city. From Moscow, I moved to a little rural area in Southwest Virginia which was nothing comparable to the way of live in Moscow. It was a very small area with a smaller size of population and fewer developments. The area had lots of trees and was a much greener place in comparison to Moscow. Additionally, the area wasn’t diverse at all and it consisted of predominantly white majority and a minority group of foreigners. From there, I then moved to DC metropolitan area which is much more populated, diverse, and globalized. DC region is a conurbation which consists of cities such as Arlington, Fairfax, and Chantilly, for example. One thing that I’ve realized since moving to Northern Virginia is that the people who live in the Southwest have much lower living standards in comparison to here. Economically, Northern Virginia is much more advanced and people live more glamorous lives while in the Southwest, majority of the people weren’t as rich and they didn’t own expensive cars or huge houses.  

Who Has the Power?

Although the popular belief is that the power is in the hands of the people, that may be true but it’s certainly not the common people who wields power. Even though Democracy is about the rule of the majority and gives the people more rights and freedoms, in today’s society, it’s not the people who exercise power. Being able to vote is not exercising power but a right that Democracy gives to people. Although people influence some of the decisions that the government makes, I think that ultimately it’s the government that holds and wields power. Most closely, I agree with Joseph Schumpeter who said that democracy is the rule of the politician, not the people. The politicians not necessary represent the common people but rather the power elite. The power elite which consist of wealthy families and those who have attended prestigious universities heavily influence and run the government. The government is what holds the power and makes decisions accordingly. In today’s society, it’s the power elite who occupies the highest level of power and have the ability to make key decisions which influence domestic and foreign policies. Furthermore, business leaders who run large corporations and families of great wealth form a capitalist class that greatly influences government officials and experts through lobbying, campaign contributions, and the appointment of top corporate leader to important government positions also influence the government’s decisions. Thus, the elite power which essentially makes up the government wields the most power because they have the most wealth and power.

Is Wal Mart good for America?

The question whether Wal Mart is good or bad for America is a bit controversial. As the world’s largest retail store, Wal Mart has a big influence on the economy and millions of people’s lives worldwide.  Wal Mart provides one of the cheapest and most convenient products that attract huge numbers of costumers. With the one stop shop, more people prefer shopping at Wal Mart. Especially with the tough economy; people cannot afford to spend extra money on a product that’s available at Wal Mart for lower prices. Furthermore, being such a large company, Wal Mart provides millions of jobs to people worldwide. As the company grows biggest and attracts more customers, it needs more workers to run the company. Therefore, hiring more people and providing them with jobs. Not only does Wal Mart employee workers within the US but also in countries such as China. In China, millions of workers are employed by Wal Mart in companies that export the cheap products that they send to America. In such way, Wal Mart benefits America and the economy; helping reduce consumer spending by providing merchandise at lower cost and employing workers within America and low wage countries.  

On the other hand, Wal Mart hurts the economy by taking the opportunities away from smaller businesses. The low prices destroy other businesses, which causes economical issues for them. Furthermore, he products are all imported from other countries (China mainly) which causes US money to flow out of the country. In my opinion, Wal Mart is not such a great benefit to America. First, the quality of the items sold in there is not that good; they either break quickly or stop working properly; this equals, in the end, paying for something you’re not able to take advantage of. Second, Wal Mart is becoming a barrier for local small businesses and many of them cannot survive with Wal Mart coming to their town. Thus, supporting local economy becomes difficult when there’s a competition such as Wal Mart.  Finally, as the video stated, Wal Mart lowers the standard of living through the cheap quality products. 

Domestic Division of Labor

Although majority of the women work outside of their homes nowadays, they still do lion’s share of housework. Despite of working full time, women still shoulder the burden of most of the housework. Even without completing the task chart, I knew it already that most of the chores in my house are completed by my mother, while my father does very few ones. When my siblings and I were younger, my mother was the one who took the responsibility of raising us while my father was mostly at work or abroad for business. From cooking to cleaning, my mother always completed indoor tasks while my dad was the breadwinner. In my opinion, that aspect of our household is due to our culture in which the women mostly stay at home to complete domestic tasks while the men work outside. Ever since we have moved to United States, I’ve realized my dad has started to help out my mom with her chores. For example, nowadays, he’s been helping out with some basic tasks such as transferring certain items from one room into another or drying the dishes. In other countries that are male dominated, the men do not assist the women even with the very basic tasks due to the culture in there that represents men as being strong and assertive; essentially teaching the men to work outside. That segment of the culture has turned into a misconception that the men shouldn't help with house chores and that's the women's work only. I think it's important that both, the men and women, help out equally in running the household together.

Extra blog: My religion

For the additional blog this week, I decided to write about my religion and some issues that it’s facing today. I am a Muslim and I am a typical girl, just like the others. Often, people associate Muslims/Islam with terrorism and violence. However, being a Muslim, I find that completely wrong and what the media displays is completely false.  Islam, the word itself comes from the root of “Salaam” which is an Arabic word for peace. Thus, the meaning of Islam is peaceful submission to God’s will. Living in a Muslim family, I’ve witnessed how peaceful Islam actually is and the way that we are thought to lead life is all about attaining peace. For example, when we great each other, we say the equivalent of “peace and blessings be upon you” instead of simply saying “hi”. The Qur’an is about humanity and guides the Muslims on how to lead righteous lives. Recently, I’ve been reading the Qur’an and have discovered how it teaches us to respect other religions and teaches us to coexist. In fact, I’ve read some books about the founder of Islam, Prophet Muhammad and have learned that he assisted his Christian neighbors in building a church. Such examples are just a few, out of the many. In short, I’ve learned humanity from Islam and I respect all the humans, no matter which religion, race, or country they are from.

Being a Muslim, I am no different than other girls my age. I go out with my friends, enjoy watching movies, keep up with fashion, and play sports, just to name a few of my activities. Islam hasn’t taken away any of my rights or oppressed me, as the media shows. Although I do not wear the hijab, or the Islamic scarf, I am a moderate Muslim and believe in modesty. I pray 5 times a day, read the Qur’an at least once a week, and fast during the month of Ramadan from dawn to dusk. Islam also emphasizes other values such as helping the poor, respecting your parents/ elders, and leading humble lives.

I believe that no matter what religion or God you pray to, it's important to have a clean heart and good intentions. The more you pray the more peace you obtain. Thus, religion is a bridge between the individual and the Creator of the universe. Religion is simply a way of attaining peace and becoming closer to the God, and no religion should be judged based on the actions of its minority followers or what the media displays. I feel that Islam is a great religion, just as the other religions such as Christianity, Judaism or Hinduism; it is just not being represented properly. One day, I hope to finally see a world where all religions coexist peaceful, without discriminating or conflicting with each other, as it did once in earlier times. 

Week 11: Religion & Government

With all my respect and admiration for the world religions, I think that religion and government shouldn’t be mingled.  Each religion that we have in the world today is unique in its own way and each one of them has their own beautiful sides. Ultimately, all the religions teach the same idea. Religion assists us in understanding God and leads us into the right path; the path of humanity, peace, and good ethics. With the globalization and diversification of the world, we encounter more religions and interact with people who have different religious view than we do. Since not all of us believe in the same idea and not all of us have the same view of religion, it would be problematic if the government imposes one certain belief on its people. Thus, religion shouldn’t be a part of government because the government influences us. Since the government makes laws and regulations which we must obey, religion shouldn’t be a part of the government because in that case, the government’s decisions would be inclined toward the particular religion it’s following. America, being a free country, especially shouldn’t implement such systems because it’s a diverse country with people from different backgrounds, believes, and values. Contrary, religion plays an important role in government in most of the Middle Eastern countries. For example, in Saudi Arabia, the government follows the Sharia, which is the Islamic law, in all cases and turns to Islam for guidance in every issue. The reason why such system works in there is because most of the residents are Muslims with a very little population being followers of different religions.  But because in America, people follow different religions or not religions at all, it would be difficult to make a role for the religion within the government. Furthermore, religious freedom is a founding principle of America and therefore, religion shouldn’t be interconnected with the government. 

Race and Enthinicy

A Tale of Two Families

After exploring “A Tale of Two Families”, I came to conclude that racial identity once played an important role in the opportunities we come across. Although today, racial discrimination and segregation level are very low in the US; race still contributes to how some people interact with us and the way we/they are perceived as. In the story that I read on the site, I learned that race played a major role how the two boys were brought up. From the type of education they received to how much money each possessed, race made a big difference. If Byron, the African American boy, would have been white, he’s life would have probably been very different from the way it actually was.

The Social Construction of Gender

Differences between men and women exist worldwide, unsurprisingly, and the differences sometimes lead to inequality which gives men more power and dominance and therefore, places an inequality on the women.

Biological differences are inborn, clearly, because men and women are different physically.  Hormones contribute to the difference; androgens which are found in males make them taller, heavier, and more muscular. Meanwhile, the female hormones, estrogens, do not make females as tall and muscular. Such hormonal differences explain why males tend to be more active, aggressive, and overriding than females. However, these differences cannot be used as a justification to deny women any rights. I believe that cultural conceptions play bigger role in the gender inequality than biological. Since the dawn of civilization, men have been the strong, the aggressive, and the powerful. The women, however, always had the opposite characters, they were the ones responsible for completing the tasks that didn’t require as much strength, care for the family members, etc. Thus, the social organization has somewhat also contributed to the gender inequality as the men always had more power the women.  

Although today, women have more rights and opportunities than the earlier times, they still are somewhat discriminated. Currently, the women are holding important positions but when compared to the men, they still do not make as income much as men do.  And the women are not treated as favorably as the men are. Furthermore, in many parts of the world, the women are absolutely dominated by the men and aren’t even treated impartially. In many countries, the women face extreme patriarchy by the men which suppresses their basic rights. Moreover, the women also face sexual harassment which indicates their weakness in the society.

Not admitted by many, but men are favored in almost all societies. Although in the US and some other developed countries, the gap between the men and women are not as wide, women in the rest of the world still struggles to for equality. 

Global Inequality

Today, global inequality is extremely high worldwide and is impacting everyone, either directly or indirectly. The causes of inequality are extensive but are mainly tied to economic conditions of a nation and sometimes, depend on the decisions that the government of that country has made. The countries that are mostly impacted by poverty are the Northern African, Middle Eastern, some of the Southeastern Asian, and some South American countries. Clearly, there are enormous differences in the lives of the rich and the poor country’s residents. Foremost, in rich countries, the residents are much healthier and live longer lives in comparison to the residents of the poor countries. Whereas in rich countries, people enjoy the benefits of adequate health facilities and hospitals, very few poor countries have reliable hospitals. Moreover, residents of poor countries lack proper sanitations, drink polluted water, and risk contracting infectious diseases, which contributes to the low health quality. In rich countries, the people live a much more comfortable life with high technology whereas in poor countries, majority of the people struggle on a daily basis to survive. Hunger, malnutrition, and famine are major issues which the poor countries face. According to the textbook, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization estimated that 854 million people go hungry every day and that every five seconds a child dies due to hunger. Although hunger is an issue in developed countries as well, it is extreme in poor countries. One other problem in poor countries is the low education and literacy rates. In my opinion, education is an essential necessity in every country and those countries that lack education are at immense disadvantages. The countries that have low education and literacy rates have fewer chances of prospering and succeeding economically. Therefore, one could say that unless education is given importance and attention, the poor countries will become poor while the rich countries will become even richer. As the textbook states, education is important because it contributes to economic growth because people with advanced schooling provide the skilled workers necessary for high wage industries, education offers the only hope for escaping the cycle of harsh working conditions and poverty because poorly educated people are condemned to low waged, unskilled jobs, and finally, educated people have fewer children which, therefore, helps to slowing the global population for explosion that contributes to global poverty.

There are also several important reasons for which we should care about global inequality. Because countries today are much intertwined, what happens in one country leaves an impact on the others. For example, if due to any disruption, the production of an item in China is stopped, there will be a notable impact on the price of that item in the US. Moreover, global inequality is something that should be ended as soon as possible because if the wealth is distributed in an unequal manner, there will be a vast imbalance or perhaps, it would be better to say, there is an imbalance already. Predominantly, there will be an very rich class that will live luxurious lives while there will be very poor people such as those in Africa, who die due to starvation on a daily basis For such reasons, it’s crucial that the inequality is decreased and everyone has the chance of living peaceful and survivable lives without any harsh struggles. 

Social Class

Social class is an important segment of the society in America today. As the scholars stated in the text, wealth is what indicates the social class of an individual and depending on how wealthy a person is, their entire life is influenced by that wealth or the lack of it. For example, a child from a poor family might end up going to a school where the education quality isn’t as good as the school that a child from rich family attends. In such ways, the opportunities that people may have access to vary depending on their social class. People with better education are more likely to find better careers and settle down easily whereas it’s the opposite with the people who received poor education. As the text states, a person from a humble background has less chance of ending up wealthy than someone from a more prosperous family so the best chance an individual has of being wealthy is to start off as wealthy in the first place. Therefore, wealth, which defines the social class, means opportunity. In today’s society, money has become an important factor that defines who you are and what social class you belong to. Sometimes, due to the wealth a person possess, he may receive respect while due to lack of it, he may even get disrespected and be seen as a less important person. In such way, the social class may even promote discrimination and bias. Therefore, social class plays an important role today because depending on the class one belongs to, opportunities and experiences will vary.

One related example from my own experience would be a story of an old friend of mine. Although it may not apply to everyone’s case but it showed me how much social class matters to people. Back in my country, I have a friend who was proposed by a guy who wasn’t as wealthy as she is. Even though the guy was in university and working toward his medical degree, my friend and her family denied the proposal simply because they thought that the guy couldn’t provide her with a comfortable life. I do agree that money plays an important role in everyone’s lives, no matter where they live but people shouldn’t base their decisions on such factors. Money and wealth isn’t guaranteed and a person may be a millionaire today, but 5 years later, he might be on public wealth fare. Essentially, nothing is guaranteed, so it’s important that people realize that making decisions on such aspects is not a good idea but rather, one should see the qualities of the person who they’re thinking of spending the rest of their lives with. In my opinion, social class shouldn't be given that much importance in such cases. 

Additionally, I played Chintz or Shag game and according to the items that I chose, it stated which class that item belongs to. For example, the New Persian Rug that I choose represents the nouvea riche class while the aquarium represents the working class. I liked the game because it classifies your tastes according to a certain class but it doesn't necessary mean that because your taste belongs to a certain class, you will belong to that class as well. There's a difference between possessing something and liking to possess it. 

Week 6: Technology and isolation.

Today, technology plays an important role in many people’s lives and has influenced the way people live, either directly or indirectly. In just matter of a decade, technology has advanced greatly and is becoming a dominant part of our society. Technology, in an essence, has helped shape the world we live in today. From a simple tool to complex necessities such as vehicles and planes, technology has changed and shaped the world we are in. Technology clearly has enormous benefits and aids. In my opinion, technology hasn’t caused isolation among Americans. Although, due to technology, people no longer meet each other physically as often, but technology allows us to stay connected. In such a busy society where people don’t often have the time to actually drive to a certain location to meet friends; technology has made it possible for friends and relatives to communicate with each other through Skype, for example. Furthermore, technology has contributed to staying in touch with people globally via the social media sites and emails. With having access to internet, I can easily communicate with my cousins and relatives overseas. If it wouldn't have had been for technology, we probably wouldn't even know about each other. On the other hand, thanks to technology, people are able to travel around the world by planes, trains, and cars. In such ways, technology helps us stay connected. Technology may have changed the way people interact with each other but it certainly isn't the cause of isolation among the people. 

Week 5: The Criminal Justice System

One important issue which I think should be taken care of, and the society must deal with it through varied effective methods, is the youth crime. Personally, I think that the youth is an important part of the society because they are the makers of our future. Today’s youth is tomorrow’s doctors, engineers, and politicians, just to name a few essential professions of the society. For that reason, the youth should be given good care and development; they must be well educated and encouraged to be helpful. However, today, many teens go astray and commit crimes. According to the book, about 34% of all offenders arrested for criminal offenses in 2006 were under the age of 21, including, both, males and females. In my opinion, this is very unfortunate because each one of those young people could have contributed to the society with their skills and talents.  Furthermore, it’s even more important that they’re committing crimes and breaking laws, not just ruining their lives. Once they commit a crime such as theft, the next day they’d do something bigger and the next day 

they’d do something even more terrifying, and so on until they reach a point where they’ve become criminals.  

The youth are very bendable people who change their directions depending on what influences them.  For example, if a teen is surrounded by friends who do drugs, drink alcohol, and smoke, it is most likely that he or she does one of those wrong acts as well. However, if the teen is surrounded by friends who are focused on education and positive activities such as sport, it is most likely that he or she start performing well in school and even joins a sport. Thus, it’s very important that the teens grow in positive environments. I think it should be the responsibility of the government to provide parents, who can’t afford, with a better location to live so that their children are well developed. When the children are raised in a better environment, the chances are more likely that he or she won’t be influenced by gangs, drugs or violence. Furthermore, at the very early age, the kids should become aware of such illegal activities and not to become involved into them.  Awareness should be raised in elementary school up to high school that would teach the students to stay on the right path, make positive changes and stand up against wrong acts. In such ways, teen crimes could be prevented and thus, make the society a better place. 

Week 4: Nature vs. Nurture

The nature vs. nurture debate is one of the oldest controversies that questions whether our biology or nature is what shapes us or is it life’s experiences or nurture which make us up. According to my understanding and concept of this controversy, I say that it is nurture what shapes and makes us. I think that way because the environment in which a human being develops heavily influences him or her, probably even more than nature. For example, I know many people who have the talent and skill for singing yet their parents don’t even have a single clue about singing or vice versa. That shows that it’s the environment, not heredity, which impacts a person the most. Similarly, my parents and I have very distinct views and habits because they grew up in a different environment and at a different time that I. Therefore, there are the differences because each one of us were influenced by different factor. Although I cannot deny that nature doesn’t have any impact at all, I think that the environment plays a bigger role in the development.  I do agree that traits such as eye color or freckles can pass into the next generation, behaviors and talents, on the contrary, cannot. Therefore, I believe that the environment or nurture is more important because human beings can learn and be taught. For example, it is most likely that a person who receives a good education will learn how to read and write and become educated whereas his parents were illiterate and didn’t know how to read or write. 

Week 3: Clip/American Culture to Outsiders

In the clip, although in a humorous way, Americans are represented as nation loving people who are proud of their country and culture. Because the lyrics of the song consist of nothing else but “America” and the “States”, it gives us a connotation that America is somewhat self-centric and self-seeking. Although I do not agree to that because, personally, I found Americans to be one of the most caring and committed people in the whole world, it’s just that such was my interpretation of the song. From the view of British audience, I assume that they outlook Americans as people who love their nation and culture, but they laugh at that. It’s assumable that the American culture is spreading worldwide and is impacting them because of the punch. It shows us that the British are somewhat annoyed and tired of hearing about America. As mentioned in chapter 3, the French and Germans are becoming more concerned of the spread of American culture and English language and believe that a “cultural imperialism” is occurring. At the end of the clip, the American singer is punched by a British in order to stop his song about America. 

Week Two: The Milgram Experiment

     Another experiment similar to the Stanford experiment was the Milgram experiment that was completed in 1963 by Stanley Milgram. The goal of this experiment was to explain why and for what reasons the ordinary citizens of Germany could have participated in the mass extermination of millions of Jews. The experiment was conducted by a group of randomly selected people who played the role of teachers. The experiment exposed that people often obey orders even if it inflicts the innocent with pain. The experiment showed the effect of authority on obedience; people obey whenever ordered even if it hurts other.

      A group of recruited people were told that the study would show the effects of punishment on learning ability. The people were offered cash for participating and all of them chose to be the teacher. The teachers were asked to give electric shocks to the learners, who were Milgram’s assistance, whenever they made a mistake in memorizing the words given to them. The shocks ranged from 15 volts, slight shock, to 450 shocks which indicated danger, and severe shock. For each mistake, the voltage was increased until it reached the highest level. Eventually, after 75 volts, the learners (actors) would start complaining and asking to be released. After yelling and pleading to be released, the learners would complain of heart pain. At this point, most of the teachers hesitated to continue giving shocks. However, when ordered to continue, they proceeded with the next question.

     The resulted showed that 65% of the teachers continued giving the electric shocks despite of the learner’s pleads to release them while the rest disagreed to do so. The results showed that ordinary people were willing to inflict others with pain when ordered. To come to the point of ethics, in my opinion, this experiment shouldn’t be considered unethical for several reasons.  First, no one was actually harmed by this experiment. The learners who were actors were already aware of the procedure and were simply pretending to be hurt as the level of shocks went up. The result of the experiment showed the true nature of human beings and is something useful that may be used as reference in any related future experiments. Although today, the experiment wouldn’t be allowed because the teachers were deceived. However, according to my thinking, it’s not an important point. As mentioned in the book, people tend to behave unnaturally when they know that they are being observed and therefore, not telling them about the experiment is not deceiving them but simply practicing an experiment. Although, aftermath, the teachers could have experienced some emotional distressed, they should have been warned beforehand so that they could have the chance of changing their minds before the experiment began. Finally, at the end of the experiment, the truth was revealed to the teachers and therefore, ethics shouldn’t be a major issue. 

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I used the below site for some additional details that weren't given in the book. 

http://cnr.berkeley.edu/ucce50/ag-labor/7article/article35.htm

Week One Blog Entry: Introduction

Hi everyone!

This is actually my first time using blog and I'm very excited about it. To tell a little about myself, this is my second semester at Nova and currently, my major is Science. I'm planning on getting my bachelor's degree in Biology and going into the medical field. After 2 years at Nova, I'm going to transfer George Mason and for medical school, I will probably be going out of state.

Some of my hobbies are reading books and magazines. I believe that books are great friends that always teach you something new about this world. Whether it's a moral lesson or a method of completing a task, books are always a great way to spend any spare time I have. I also like staying up to date with news and therefore, I enjoy reading magazines and watching the news.

The reason why I chose to take sociology is because I feel like the society is an important part of everyone's lives and understanding how and why the society functions in a certain way is essential. Moreover, sociology seems like a subject that I would enjoy because I usually like all the social sciences. In fact, I was initially planning on majoring in International Relations, however, that didn't work out for me due to some issues.

Looking forward for this class!

Tahnaz