Family Forever

The United States Bureau of the Census defines family as, "two or more persons, including the householder, who are related by birth, marriage, or adoption, and who live together as one household."  From this definition, it can be broken down into topics such as nuclear or extended family.  I don't believe, however, that family can be as cut and dry as specified by definitions.  The word "family" is interpreted different by every individual, with each person having his or her own unique meaning to this word.

My version of family mainly falls into the category of an extended family, but it broadens from that as well.  An extended family is the nuclear family, consisting of parents and children, as well as other relatives like grandparents, aunts and uncles, and cousins.  I consider this as my family because these are the people I can go to whenever I'm in need and they will ALWAYS be there for me to help and care in any way that I need.  I also believe that close friends can be considered family.  Over the years, I have developed close friendships in which the principles coincide with those used between me and my extended family.   As Tracy Lawrence sings in his hit, "Find Out Who Your Friends Are," it's someone that will drop everything to come help you.  Friends who are willing to go the extra mile for you I consider a part of my family.

Unfortunately, many Americans do not view family as I do, and many are not fortunate enough to share the positive experiences and love with their families as I have the opportunity to do.  In some cases, a family has been broken apart by things like drugs and alcohol, divorce, and even death.  Things that have the ability to tear a family apart affect all those involved, crippling the ability to have a positive family lifestyle.  In an instance of a teenager leaving his home and family to join a gang, the teenager's family life may have provided an inadequate amount of love and support for him.  By going to join a gang, he has the ability to be a part of a family where everyone watches out for each other.  Gang life may be the only way a teenager feels secure and loved because his family wasn't there for the support and care this boy dearly needed.

Whether one's family consists of a nuclear family, an extended family, a group of friends, or those "brothers" in a gang, family means something to everyone.  Family are those people who are with you, and vice versa, through thick and thin.  I am extremely proud of my family and all we have accomplished together.  Both sides of my family have a rich heritage that I am continually trying to embrace more and more in my everyday life.  Someday I wish to honor and represent my family by having a tattoo of my family crest or the ambigram tattoo from one of my favorite basketball players, Andy Rautins, embedded into my skin to show that they're always with me.

 

As it says on Andy Rautins' tattoo,  FAMILY FOREVER!!!!!!

We are Everchanging

Everyday, whether we consciously know it or not, we are altering our appearance in order to present a positive image of ourselves to those around us.  Using impression management, we attempt to form characteristics and attributes that others expect or want to see in us.  Being advantageous is human nature; we all do it.

Lately, I've been writing desperate love songs.  Haha kidding, the song lyrics just decided to flow with what I was writing.  Anyways, this last week I have found myself creating sub-personalities in an effort to better communicate and bond with groups that I've interacted with.  I saw my personality alter a little bit from being with the baseball team and later within the New Student Mentor program.  Although I'm not changing who I am and believe myself to be, I am creating an impression that provides me with greater advantages into whichever group I'm interacting with.


With respect to my relationship with the baseball team, I feel that I've had to use a dramaturgy performance in order to achieve the requirements of that situation.  Sometimes it seems I need to place myself in a different role to connect and achieve the goals set forth by myself and the group. I feel the need to go off a script in an attempt to interact and form relationships with other players.  There is a stereotype of what a baseball player should look like and how they should act; I, frankly, don't represent that stereotype.  I will be the first to admit that I am not great at baseball, or any other sport for that matter.  However, I will be quick to back it up that I am a great athlete and sometimes being an athlete is better than specializing in a single sport.  It's taking time, but I am using my abilities to fit the requirements of the stereotypical baseball player.

I was recently accepted to the position of New Student Mentor and have had only one full group interaction with other NSMs.  Even with only having the one group meeting, I was quick to realize that I don't have to use impression management to create a favorable outlook on myself.  One thing that the NSM position believes strongly in is that one will not be judged on what they look like or how they act.  We are all beautiful individuals and no one has the right to influence us into being anything more than we are.  Meeting these complete strangers for the first time was quite nerve-racking at first, but as the day (and night) went on, I became so relaxed and confident with myself and my abilities that I was willing to share anything with anyone in the group.  Social status, race, gender, disability, or wealth have no effect on the person we see someone as in the group.  Embarrassment is not something that occurs often within the NSMs.  We are people who make mistakes and are willing to make fools of ourselves to have some fun! 

Being a part of a group such as the NSMs will do wonders for me because I will tear away from the impression management process instilled in me by society.  There may be a need one day to achieve a favorable outcome in order to meet requirements of a situation, but today in this college setting, I don't believe that I need to be tied down by what society wants me to do and how they think I should act and think.  Where I come from, what I enjoy doing, what I wear, and how I act are all things that no one but me should have the right to say I need to change.  I am me, that's all I want.

The Old Ball Game

While reading Chapter 2, I discovered a short section of the chapter dedicated to the sport of baseball and how even it has sociological meaning in the world today.  I've played baseball my whole life and am continuing to do so at the collegiate level, but never took it for anything more than a game.  However, baseball creates a perspective of how individuals participate in social life and how social structure has an impact on our everyday lives.

Sociologists state that, as fans, we look at a baseball game from a micro level of analysis.  We see many different people performing different actions, all in order to benefit themselves in a positive way.  Our tendency has become to see only the important aspects of the game, the hitter, pitcher, wherever the action is.  Our attention is on who and what is happening that has great importance to the game.  Each player or person associated with the direct functionality of the game has his own role in which society has placed upon him.  The batter is, in our eyes, personally responsible for scoring runs, while a pitcher is responsible for getting batters out.  Managers get blamed when a player does poorly, as does an umpire when he makes a tough call when the game is on the line.

This aspect of viewing the game is more prominent in today's society than in the past.  Today we have broadcasters and analysts directing our attention to what THEY  think is important and should be viewed by fans at home.  Fans are not given the opportunity to view and think for themselves; many times have I seen someone go into a debate about a sports topic going strictly off of what the sports caster had to say during and after the big game last night.  Camera angles and the availability of instant replay eliminate the chance for viewers at home to construct their own beliefs and thoughts through the use of a sociological way of thinking.

The most prominent way of eliminating this issue is for people to get off their lazy asses and go out to enjoy America's past time.  Visualizing a game taking place in person gives a fan a unique, personal perspective on how the game is taking place around him/her.  A fan at a ball game also is provided with vast opportunities to celebrate in the rich history and traditions of baseball, such as the 7th Inning Stretch, batting practice, the Wave, or the feeling of standing up to cheer as your team pulls off a great comeback leading to victory.  Again, however, society has changed in such a way so even an in-person fan experience is effected by sociological ways of our culture.  Cost of a ticket is becoming almost laughable to attend a game, as are the prices the facility charges for concessions.  I guess the team has to pay the multi-million dollar contracts somehow!  Advertisements have consumed many ballparks and turned them into giant billboards, made to attract and promote products with no connection whatsoever to the sport of baseball.

Attending a baseball game has clearly changed from what it was in the past, but if one can overcome the giant sociological blanket that society has placed on us, they are in for one heck of a treat!

Experience this first hand and come cheer on your Hamline Pipers!
http://www.hamline.edu/athletics/baseball/2012/schedule.html