Meta Blog Post #4

 Please assess "Middle Class Crisis"

In my first Meta-Blog Post (Bloggin' Ain't Easy), I stated that "Blogging makes me nervous. The idea of putting all my thoughts and opinions out there, for all the world to see, is enough to make my stomach turn." This has definitely changed over the course of the year. While I don't always look forward to blogging, it is something that I do not mind doing, and, most of the time, I even enjoy myself when writing one. I never get nervous about what people will think of my blogs, even though this was a primary concern of mine in the beginning of the year. I also think that I have added much more voice to my blog as well. The posts are no longer facts that simply relate to what we have learned in class, but rather they contain bits and pieces of my personality.

Throughout 4th quarter, blogging did not continue to be a top priority for me. With all the work I wasdoing for Junior Theme, it was not something that I was often thinking about, or stressing about over the weekend. I think this can be seen when one looks at my posts from earlier on in the quarter. Around the time when we were right in the middle of Junior Theme, my blog topics included Kate Middleton, and the world's hottest pepper. However, I don't necessarily believe that this is a bad thing. Blogging is supposed to be enjoyable, and when I was writing about more laid back topics, I was definitely having more fun. However, that isn't to say that I didn't blog about any serious topics. Once Junior Theme was turned in, I feel that I really stepped it up again, and punched out longer, more serious posts about topics we were discussing in class. 

The post that I am most proud of this quarter was "Middle Class Crisis!" The topic really tied into what we were discussing in class, and I was proud of the article and video that I came across. I also loved the cartoon that I added. I think that post reflects what we were learning in class well, and what I took away from it.
Overall, blogging has been a great experience! It started out shaky, but I ended up really enjoying it.

This Lawn is your Lawn

Happy Memorial Day!! Starting since 8:00am this morning, I have heard nothing but the buzzing of lawn mowers from outside my window. It's a beautiful day, so obviously everyone is outside working on their lawns. But my question is, why? What is it about people's front lawns that they find so important?
This reminds me of the book we are reading in class called The Kentucky Cycle. The book is a series of plays taking place over a hundred years on the same piece of land in Kentucky. A reoccurring theme throughout the book is the importance of land, and the impact that is has over the people that live on it. The land means everything to the characters in the book. Blood is commonly shed over it, people fight about it, marriages are ruined over it. But once again, my question is why? Why is the land so important to the characters in the book?
The first answer that pops into my mind is a status symbol. People feel that the better their front lawn looks, or the more land they own, the higher in social class they will become. This would explain why in The Kentucky Cycle, the characters fight over how much land they have, and why in modern society people are always working to improve their front lawns, or backyards. Also, even more than a hundred years ago, people have felt that the land they own reflects on them. If the land is well kept, and sprawling, it reflects well on them, but if it is overgrown, and small in size, it reflects poorly.
I wonder when this idea started. When did people begin to feel that the property they own reflects who they are as a person?
I am definitely not an expert on this subject, but I know that Remy wrote her Junior Theme on a topic just like this, so if you are interested, check out her blog!

1. Write Blog 2. Edit Blog 3. Post Blog

During class on Friday, we spent the majority of the period discussing the idea of lists. Who knew they were that important? But I was completely surprised at what I heard.
When asked, about half the class said that they loved making lists, whether it was a bucket list, or a to do list, or a goals and aspirations list. The other class said that they rarely make lists at all. I was a part of that half.

Many of the class members discussed how rewarding it was to make a list, and then complete every task on it. The minute they crossed off a task, they felt an immediate sense of accomplishment. The same went for the "bucket lists", or the list of things you want to do before you die. Many felt that crossing items off your bucket list is an extremely rewarding task.
I almost feel the exact opposite. While I can definitely see how making and completing lists may make others happy, it doesn't apply to me. Especially the idea of a bucket list. What worries me is the idea that if I make a bucket list, what if I don't get to cross off everything that is on it? What if I look back, and regret my life, because not everything was crossed off? This is why I like to do things backwards. I hold off on the list making. Instead, I wait until I accomplish something big, and then I choose to write it down to remember it. For example, I may write down getting a good grade on an essay, or going on vacation somewhere. This way, if I ever look back on my list of accomplishments, I won't feel regret for not doing something, but I will feel success for what I have already accomplished.
Whether or not a person makes lists can really tell a lot about them. I definitely learned a lot about my class members during our brief, thirty minute discussion. Next time you find yourself writing a list, stop for a minute, and think about what you are doing, and why. You may learn something new about yourself.

Me and Orson Welles

Having just watched Citizen Kane in class, I remembered seeing a trailer for a movie called Me and Orson Welles, starring Zac Efron, Christian McKay, and Claire Danes. I haven't seen it, and have no idea if it's good, bad or even accurate. But if you want to check it out, you can watch the trailer here.

No More Public Housing?

Last week during American Studies Day, I got the privilege to see former New Trier student, and now Northwestern graduate student, Molly Metzger. She spoke about the importance of public housing in Chicago, and how the Chicago Housing Authority is currently demolishing many of the public housing sites.
This ties in interestingly to our class discussions about the social class system in America. Affordable and public housing houses many people of the lower class in America, and by demolishing many of the buildings, is Chicago in a way, trying to "get rid of" the lower class?
Chicago is becoming nicer as the years go on. Expensive apartments are being built, more and more people are moving to the city, it is up and coming. Could Chicago be trying to "clean up" the city by getting rid of, or rehabilitating the public housing?
It is definitely a possibility, and in my opinion, the idea isn't too far-fetched. However, the demolition of public housing is an increasing problem, as many residents are being moved out of their homes unwillingly. In 2010, 232,000 people applied for public housing, with only 40,000 slots available. It is a problem that clearly needs to be addressed. These apartments are homes, and by destroying them, we could be destroying lives.
The image to the right is Cabrini-Green, one of the public housing apartment buildings that have been demolished.

Middle Class Crisis!

The issues of social class have been a huge topic of discussion for the past few weeks in class, and one of the topics we have been discussing is the idea that it is very hard for a person to change class. For example, it would be very difficult for a person of lower class to go to middle class, or middle to upper. The class systems are very strict that way. However, after recently reading an article I found on Yahoo! about the middle class, I learned that this is not the case.

The article, which you can read here, describes how people of middle class are facing serious economic problems. The article states that "Middle-income jobs have been replaced by low-income jobs, which now make up 41% of total employment.", and "17 million Americans with college degrees are doing jobs that require less than the skill levels associated with a bachelor's degree." These are frightening statistics.The fact that low income jobs now make up almost half of total employment proves that middle and upper income jobs are extremely hard to come by, and keep. Even more, 17 million Americans with college degrees are doing jobs that require less than the skill levels you earn with a bachelor degree. In class, we have been discussing how higher education is commonly associated with upper and middle class, however, if people with a college education are working in lower income jobs, with a lesser skill level, that is certainly changing.
The article comes with a video, and many other sobering statistics, and I encourage you to check it out. It really stuck out to me that people in the middle class are growing closer to lower class, clearly demonstrating that recently it has become much easier for a person to change class, more often for the worse.

Class Hole

This week in American Studies we have been discussing the issues of social class, especially what class is like on the North Shore. One thing that I found particularly interesting was when we were talking about the North Shore, and people who lived in it, it was hard for them to categorize themselves into a class. The choices were "Upper, Middle, and Lower". About 1/4 of the class  chose that they were middle class.
When you look around the North Shore, it seems pretty clear that it is an upper class neighborhood. The houses are large, the neighborhoods are beautiful, it seems obvious. However, for people that live here, it is harder to see. Personally when I think of Upper class citizens, I picture the East Coast, sprawling mansions, private planes etc. I certainly don't see myself in that category. But in relation to the rest of the country, we are. We discussed in class that the factors leading into social class are occupation, education, income, and wealth. These can be hard to determine from just looking at a neighborhood, but when you look at the North Shore in relation to those statistics, it becomes pretty well known that it is indeed an upper class neighborhood. In fact, Forbes.com rated Kenilworth, IL, the 2nd most affluent neighborhood in the country. You can read the article here.
While the North Shore is in no means composed of entirely upper class citizens, it is easy to argue that majority of the people living there are. It is in some ways a Class Hole, it lacks class diversity.