Teenage Wasteland

I think Donna Gaines article Teenage Wasteland it’s really educational and different. I really enjoyed it because in a way I felt identify for what Gaines was investigating and talking about. The article is based on a multiple suicide, of 4 teenagers in Bergenfield, New Jersey during the 80’s. Even though the article is quite old, and off course times and culture have changed, it does provide key points to understand teenagers’ behavior.

In this investigation Gaines showed a different aspect of teenagers and tried to understand their actions and behavior. Lisa and Cheryl Burres along with Thomas Rizzo and Thomas Olton, the guys that committed suicide together were seen as “Burnouts”, term used to described the outcast and “weird guys”. Gaines theory claims that this was a subculture group.
Culture itsefl have varios elements like values beliefs knowlegde and norms which form our daily basis. Society is what creates culture which its created by people. Its important to remember that every person is different and this is what causes dissagrements in culture. Even if people share same languaje and territory not everyone shares the same values beliefs and norms, whenever this happens we have subcultures.
Teenage Wasteland give us a perfect example of a subculture in the kids that commited suicide. They had their own reasons for being the way they are, meaning beliefs and values. He believed that society built norms that would fit every kind of teenager. In this case judgments force them to fell different and commit suicide

It’s pretty interesting the solution that’s Gaines discovered. He explains that one the main reason why teenagers get into subcultures that makes them feel outcast the society is because they don’t have enough activities to do that will allow them to be themselves and fell accepted.

I agree with his statement .I believe that when teenagers have more resources and activities to do they will have more options to fell that they belong somewhere. 

Violence, Alcohol and Drugs .

Association is Not Causation , is an article I recently read , which not only impressed me but also made me consider how  alcohol and “Other Drugs Do Not Cause Violence ” . The article, wrote by Richard J. Gelles and Mary M. Cavanaugh explain how society relates violence whit alcohol and drugs  . It’s true that for while most people though that these elements where the main causations of family violence , and I must admit that I was one of them . Although, the reading show substantial proofs that claims that these elements use aren’t the main cause of violence, which made me reflect my ideology and now think that Alcohol and Other Drugs Do Not Cause Violence .

The article shows that scientific  evidence proof that alcohol doesn’t have any chemical substances that may increase violence in human beans . It also talks about how it differ whit cultures and points of views, which makes Qualitative data very hard to measure because of it extend . But, what really made me changed my view , was the fact that the proofs and evidences that in the past showed that alcohol and drugs were the causation of violence , are not reliable .

Family violence is a part of a pattern in social life , since it could be define as repeatedly actions humans do . Therefore , investigators mainly use empirical evidence as a way to explain these patterns. As I was reading the article, I realized that the evidence that showed that alcohol and drugs caused violence weren’t good Quantitative data. The variables that the quantitate data provided was too vague . In my view the terms of alcohol and drugs use and abuse , as well as the terms violence and abuse aren’t well define which made it impossible to have accurate dependent variables . 

Who am I ???

My name is Jhoselyn Escobar, most people call me Jho. I’m 20 years old and be living in New York for around 2 years. I’m Ecuadorian and came to the city only to persuade my dream of become a successful business women. The moment I decided to come and study overseas whit out my family or friends changed my life. It was extremely hard, but now I’m a strong independent person.

Overall I’m a fun young girl, friendly, opened minded and studious   . One of my sayings is “There’s time for everything”, meaning family, school and parties. I think these are the three main elements to have a balance life.

Even though, I miss my family they are the ones who encouraged me to go ahead and finish school. I’m the first one to go to college and moreover to an overseas college, so I want to make them proud finishing my career and succeed in my professional field. In the future, I picture myself as a successful business woman, who is doing marketing/advertising internationally. I want to open business opportunities between the Latino community and the rest of the world.

I think one of the best choices I made so far was coming to New York .I must admit that the moment I came here I got a “culture shock”. I used to live in a small city, in a third world country (Ecuador). It was totally different from the capital of the world, New York .Suddenly my mind opened. I realized and learned that there are different and amazing cultures in the entire world, that even though we have our differences we are very much alike as well. Food can be different, but we all have to eat. Customs can be different, but we all have to dress. Language can be different, but we all have to communicate. I started to see the world whit different eyes. I could understand every difference in ethnicities, but overall we are all the same, we all are humans. We all look for love and success, maybe some of us will achieve it differently, but at the end I think we all have the same purpose. In my view if I didn’t came to New York, I never could be able to see the world as I see it now.