Silence?

On the first day of school, class was start in silence. Some may question this. Silence? Why? Many students thought it was an awkward experience because the teacher didn't get up right away and just start talking. Are we supposed to just sit here? Did I walk in too late and not hear what we are supposed to do? Should we talk and get to know our neighbors? Should we be completely silent too? Most students sat there a little confused and looked around at everyone else. Some made comments or asked questions. We reacted this way because of the school environment that we have grown up in. We are "trained", for lack of a better word, to sit there on the first day of class and listen to the teacher speak about rules, lessons, grades, etc. Looking at the bigger picture, I realized what was happening. I realized that, even though I don't know exactly what it is, it was something to do with sociology and I should just wait it out. I am proud to know that I saw the basis of sociology before the class even started!

This makes me wonder if EVERYONE in the class was thinking somewhat sociologically? As in reading about Roseto, he had the basis of something that turned out to be completely wrong. So because everyone in the class was thinking of teacher approaches to school, does it mean that everyone was thinking sociologically? I think that could be a possibility. Especially because they are thinking about how the first day is "supposed" to be. So I think that everyone has some knowledge of sociology in them, maybe without even knowing it.

I think a similar example of this is me waking up every morning and saying "Good morning" to who ever is up, and then letting the dogs out. I don't know what the dogs are thinking, but knowing animals, I figure they need to go outside. I have also been trained to do this by my parents but also by the world around me. I am also trained to greet people that I know, and my elders/superiors. We don't think of it as being "trained" but we must be, or we wouldn't do some things. So in a way, we all know more about sociology than we may think. I believe that this class will do a lot of showing us of our current knowledge, and hopefully unlocking knowledge that we may not have yet!

Who Am I?

I am me. I am Caitlin C. I'm a 17 year old Senior, and am super excited about what the future may hold. I am the person I am because of my friends and family. I come from a huge, Italian, close-knit family on one side, and a small, distanced family on the other side. My friends are my life. I would not be me without them. My best friend is Katie; her and I are practically twins. We have been best friends since First grade. I have lots of other close friends that I call best friends as well. I like to be constantly surrounded with people that I can have fun with. I couldn't imagine a life without my family and my friends.

I am a huge football fanatic. I am a die hard Bears fan, and get upset when they aren't playing well. I also enjoy Hockey, both the Hawks and the Wolves. When the Hawks won, my friend's dad and brother made a make shift Stanley Cup. It was exciting to send a picture of us holding it to our friends, saying we were the first ones to hold the cup!

I'm not a huge TV watcher. I only watch sports, and two shows that I follow really closely: Grey's Anatomy and Pretty Little Liars. I'm not a huge reader; I actually would do almost anything to avoid reading. My phone is always in my hand or pocket; I go everywhere with it. I like to be connected where ever I am.

I am in an organization called Children of the American Revolution (C.A.R.) and it's taking over my life...in a good way. I get to travel the country in the summer, and also during the school year, to see my friends, make new friends, and promote our National and State project. I am currently the National Membership Chairman, and love being a part of the National Board. Performing in skits all summer in nine different states for the nine different regions is what most of the National Board lives for, including myself. I am also the State First Vice President, and hope to be State President in the future.

I am also a Venture Scout (a.k.a. Boy Scout) and am proud to say so. I'm proud of this because I get to travel to a lot of cool places and meet awesome people. In 2007 I went to England for the World Scout Jamboree. So, for two weeks, I slept in a tent, cooked all my own meals, and had the best time of my life doing different activities and meeting people from all over the world. I have some very close friends that live in Scotland, and I am looking forward to visiting them soon. Then in 2009, during the school year, I was lucky enough to be one of 36 scouts from the whole country to travel to Japan for two weeks, meet Japanese scouts, live with a Japanese family, and tour Tokyo. This was one of the best experiences of my life. I am looking forward to going to Sweden next summer for the 22nd World Scout Jamboree, and to travel with my dad. I am very close with my dad, and can't wait to be in Europe with him for such an amazing trip.

Something that I love to do is SCUBA dive. I am an Advanced Open Water SCUBA diver, and got to go to the National Scout Jamboree this last summer to teach SCUBA diving to 17,000 scouts. It was an experience! I am hoping to become a Rescue Diver this winter when my family goes to St. Thomas. St. Thomas is my favorite place on earth. We are lucky enough to have a condo there, and usually get down there once a year, if not more. It is the highlight of my year. I have a ton of friends that live down there, or visit when we do, and I love to meet up with them when I go there.

I have two puppies, and they are full members of my family. The older one is Bella, and she is a 7 pound Maltese. She is not even a year old. She is crazy and energetic, and loves to jump and play, but she is also a lap dog, and will fall asleep on you :) The other pup, MY puppy, is Bo. He is a 5 pound Pomeranian Shih-Tzu. He is adorable. Everyone that has seen him said he is the cutest puppy they have ever seen, and its true! He is! And he LOVES attention; he is the attention hog. He is even more energetic than Bella, but doesn't like to sit still on your lap. My puppies are one of my favorite parts of my family!

After High School, I am excited to go on to College and get a degree in Elementary Education. I want to become a teacher for young kids, 2nd-4th grade. I love working with little kids, and I want to help them! I want to live somewhere south-ish. I don't want to live in Florida, because that's where my parents are going to live, and I want to live on my own and become my own person. I want to live on the beach, because I love the ocean. I want to get married, and have two kids of my own. My dream is to be able to travel the world. There are so many places that I want to go, and places I would die to see. One of my biggest dreams is to SCUBA dive the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. I want my kids to have the opportunities that I have had, and many many more.