Archive for year: 2014

One of the group motivators I saw in this weeks episode was when Reed gave up his winning award to Missy, who hasn’t won an award yet. I believe he did this to satisfy her need of real food, which is one of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.  He also used this as a way to persuade her in voting off Jon or Keith.

Another thing I saw this week is again with Reed; He has to have a sense of progress in order to feel strong or the alpha male within the tribe. However, if Reed feels a sense of change within the group he tends to panic and tries to persuade others to be on his side.

Finally we all know from the very start that the tribes were playing Extrinsic Rewards such as; Money, real food, and immunity (the idol, neckless, and hidden idols). They are focused on getting their rewards that some don’t think realistically that they vote off the wrong person or want to have revenge on others who are just trying to survive. In the end Wes was voted off the island, only because Jon and his father Keith played their hidden immunity idols. If they didn’t play those idols then Jon would have left, and if Jon played the idol but Keith didn’t then Keith would of been sent home.

Have a Thanksgiving everyone! Make sure to click on the link to review my video overview to get feedback on your paper topics and assignments.

In our last class each student shared the experiences that they had in the Tunnel of Oppression assignment. It was interesting that most student were disturbed when someone was whispering in their ears, and they said it was one the most uncomfortable feelings that they had. I had the same feeling, and I was very uncomfortable about the situation. Although some students have never been oppressed or discriminated, but that experience allowed them to understand other people who have been oppressed or discriminated. We experienced that how could be harmful and painful when we are rejected by our relatives and society. How would be different if we were discriminated because of our gender, race, or sexual orientation. One of the student had a photo of Jessica Alba, and she was shocked when she read Jessica Alba’s story. Jessica Alba was bullied and had to have lunch alone. Sometimes it is good to know how these celebrities live and what they have gone through in their life because many people around the world wish they were one of the celebrities, but if they know their stories, they would probably change their minds. At the end, all of us experienced sad feelings, but understood what was it look like to be oppressed or discriminated. Therefore, as we learned through this assignment when we see something, we should say something. After sharing our experience about Tunnel of Oppression, we divided into four groups to discuss about the homeless article that we read. It was interesting that the article was inspiring for most of us, and knowing homeless situations made us to appreciate where we were sitting. Sometimes social comparison boosts our self-esteem and open our eyes what we really have. Instead of focusing what we do not have, it is good to focus what we do have. That was a good lessen for me to appreciate where I am standing in my life now.

The Cycle of Liberation was one of the best article that I have read during the semester because it was kind of look like what happened to me during past few years. Once someone is oppressed, it is not an easy task to be liberated. This intrapersonal change could be challenging, and it needs a lot of effort and self-awareness. I do agree with the writer that the core of liberation is self-love and self-esteem. Someone might think or say that self-love people are selfish, but they are completely different. A self-love person is a person who loves himself, does not have self-destructive behavior, does not self-handicap his performance, and do all the good things in the world for himself. And most importantly, a self-love person wants all the good things in the world for all people around him and people in the world. On the other hand, a selfish person or self-hatred person not only does not like himself, he or she also does not like anybody in the world. How come if I don’t like myself, I would be able to like someone else! I liberated myself from my oppressive society and any oppressive relationships  when I started to study psychology, and during this educational journey, I learned to boost my self-esteem and be a self-love person. As a result, the core of liberation is self-love and self-esteem.

Last class began slightly differently. Julian’s “activity” came last rather than in the beginning. We first discussed the Tunnel of Oppression event and the thoughts and feelings it brought out. I believe we all agreed that there wasn’t much participation in the discussions and the leaders didn’t encourage much talking. However, the experience made us all look at things from another point of view and realize how real these occurrences are.  Afterwards we talked about the Lipstick and Labcoats article. We got into groups and elaborated on certain points. I thought it was great that we went over it because it refreshed the issues in my mind. I enjoyed hearing what the guys had to say as well as other females because our ideas differ. Unfortunately, we didn’t have any STEM majors from females so we couldn’t exactly ask why they joined the major and how they felt. Either way, I learned a lot from that article and was not exactly shocked to hear why females entered into STEM fields. Before our “activity” from Julian, we mentioned one thing we learned from the Homeless articles. They were all eye openers for me. Although I have to work very hard and sometimes it feels stressful, I can’t even imagine what homeless students go through every day. Lastly, we were given an assessment from Julian that was also given to us at the beginning. I think many students rushed through it because it didn’t affect our grades.

 

The last topic to be covered next week is what we can do to enact change. Although we had two readings, before I read either one I realized that I have been speaking up slightly more when I hear offensive things. Simply taking this class gave me the courage to speak up. The first reading was the Cycle of Liberation, which made me think of the Cycle of Socialization. As with the cycle of socialization, we go through stages at our own pace and choose our direction to enact change. Seeing the cycle of liberation and reading the article gave me hope and confidence. If we show more people then we have more of a chance to positively change society. What I love the most is that anyone can enter this cycle at any point in time at any place. As the waking up stage stated, I am starting to feel a difference on myself simply from the awareness that this class has given me. I have also noticed myself solidifying my beliefs and discarding the negative one, as with in the getting ready phase. This article really spoke to me because I feel myself beginning to experience parts of this cycle. It isn’t as easy to reach out, build a community, or actually act, but now I feel as though I have the tools to start. It is one thing to enact change, but it is another thing to maintain it. It needs to almost become a way of life. The second article covered the next steps in order to interrupt oppressive behavior. This sounds easier than it is was my first reaction. It is so much easier at first to join in on the oppressive behavior, but after awareness it becomes easier to confront the behavior. What many don’t realize is that saying nothing is a way of supporting the oppression in a way. I used to do this because I didn’t always know what to do. This article mentions education as the first step in enacting change. I agree that this is the first major step because I already notice a change in myself. I found the author’s tips for responses helpful. For example, telling someone that a joke is not funny or organizing a pro-diversity event are ways to enact change. Overall, I can say I learned a lot and wouldn’t change it for anything! I can only hope that I can keep up the courage, join forces with others, and enact change.

Last week, Julie decided to quit the game because she felt left out because her boyfriend was voted off previously. Missy is upset about this because she put a “wrinkle in the plan” that everyone was supposed to vote Josh out.

Now that they have merged into one tribe, Huyopa, separates into two different teams for their reward challenges. This weeks reward: taco bar. If I were on this show and my reward was a taco bar, I would try a lot harder win and be really disappointed in myself if my team lost. LOL! Missy was not chosen for a team, so she had to sit out and not have the chance to try for the taco bar.

Jeremy notes that Keith wanted to vote Julie off if they had gone to tribal council, but Jeremy knows that all of Keith’s alliances were against him and had planned to vote him out if they had gone to tribal council.

Again, Josh tries to recruit Baylor to be part of his alliance. He says that she owes him because he saved her in the beginning of the game. Baylor feels blackmailed by Josh’s invite as his alliance. And then Josh turns it onto Missy, saying that she controls what Baylor does. Which I think is just his way to get out of “being wrong,” always coming up with excuses.

The girls at camp are so concerned with what the guys are doing, and I hate it. Instead of them just getting along and accepting each other, the girls are annoyed that the guys always want help with different chores around camp, when I feel like everyone should be contributing.

Despite Josh trying to form alliances, he is voted out this week! He and Baylor had an almost equal amount of votes, Josh: 6 and Baylor: 5.