~~Introduction~~

Hello Everyone!!!! :)

This is my newest blog that I will be using to share my thoughts on society: problems, solutions, various researched topics. I hope you will enjoy reading some of this as much as I hope I will writing it. Just a bit about me is that I'm 24 and a junior in college. I'm at Boise State and doing online courses at the University of Idaho until I am able to transfer to the Moscow campus. I'm working towards a double major in Child Development/Family Relations and Sociology. I signed up for Sociology because I am fascinated by the different cultures and how people relate to one another. I know that Sociology can take interest much further!

To start off, since this blog will mostly focus on my Critical Insights regarding social problems it would be beneficial to tell you why a sociological perspective? I believe that when we start looking at the big picture, and at cultures as whole in addition to the individuals it helps us define causes and disruptions in the fabric of our society. There is not solely one cause, we all influence something in our own way. It is my belief that when a society is in lack of certain things it can cause tension and situations outside of the "norm" begin to arise. I love the photo to the left because what better way to represent life than by a tree. Life is made up of people!! We do life together, we weren't created to go at this alone. Working together and understanding each others differences is how we will be able to institute  change.

I have a quote from Sociologist George Ritzer that I have saved from my Sociology 101 course. He states that, "As individuals, we are limited to our ability to make the societal changes we would like. There are massive social forces that make change difficult; these forces include the government, large and powerful organizations, and the prevailing values, norms, and attitudes. As individuals going to a voting booth, we have minimal power. As individuals protesting to officials, we have minimal power. As individuals standing against the tide of public opinion, we have little hope of exerting influence. As individuals confronting a corporate structure, we are doomed to frustration and failure. But if we combine with others who share our convictions, organize ourselves, and map out a course of action, we may be able to bring about numerous and significant changes in the social order. Through participation in a social movement, we can break through the social constraints that overwhelm us as individuals."

How easy is it to point fingers or cast blame, "this is wrong with society" or "the government should be doing this" etc... We have powers as individuals to make changes both good and bad. I don't think we realize the influence we have on the environment around us.