Growing up in a urban community it was not uncommon to know teenage girls with children. My mother made it her duty to emphasis how much of a struggle it would be to have a child at such a young age. Although I did not take the proper steps to avoid pregnancy as a teen I was blessed enough to have my first child as a adult. Even now as an adult it is a struggle to raise a child while going to school and working to support my family. Now that I am a mother and a aunt to two teenage girl I stress the importance of not having children until they establish themselves. Although my son has been a motivation for me to complete school and strive for more in life I would recommend anyone to wait until they are financially stable before bringing anyone else into the world. Major problems that our society faces today include diseases, teen pregnancies, hatred, crime, and war. As a society we have a lot of work to do in order to fix these crucial issues. It seems as though unprotected sex has become a norm in the younger community causing the development of many diseases that often goes uncured simply because parents are not aware of their children being sexually active. The only way to address this issue is for the school systems and parents to become more involved with teens and their sexual activity; this could be done simply by providing guidance to teens and insuring them that no matter the issue they will always have someone there to talk to. Awareness classes could be held that addresses the dangers that come along with unprotected sex. Simply by being more open with teens  could lead to a dramatic decrease in sexually transmitted diseases. Teen pregnancies are another issue that ties in with unprotected sex. There has definitely been a rise in babies having babies causing more children to be raised in poverty. As a society we should be more willing to insure that less teen moms has to rely on government assistance to survive. We could also help those teen moms out by providing daycare so that they could finish school and work their way out of poverty.  Hatred, crime and war are also issues that have seem to take a turn for the worst. Every day on the news there is a different story on the news about gang violence, robbers, and killings. For centuries we as a society have allowed ourselves to be at war with one another over foolishness causing the person to become harmed over issues that could be easily solved. At some point we have to realize that violence is an issue that has to stop; too many innocent lives are being taken and even more people have to pay their debts to society by rotting away in prison missing out on the joys that life has to offer. I would love to be able to go around to all the crime filled neighborhoods with single teen moms to make awareness for disease and crime, many of these issues take place simply because there is no one in these cities and towns that will give the love and support that is needed.

Although, I walked in class ten minutes into a movie that the Professor was presenting to the class; I found it to be very disturbing the things that employers would do to make their workers feel less than human when paying only minimum wage. Growing up my mother made it seem easy being a single mother of four children. My family had all of the necessities that were needed, as well as enough spending money to go out to eat every Friday night. My family was able to survive comfortably off of one income alone. I understand that the cost of living has risen since the nineties; what I do not understand is how employers still manage to pay their employee wages that are not a big difference from the wages of the nineties.  Now that  I am in the working world it has made me aware of the fact that workers are seen as nothing more than servants that should always be grateful and never question the environment that the employers has created. As of today I am unsure about how to feel about the raises I have recieved over the years. When raises are given it generally means more money on paper but less money in the bank. The more a person makes the more taxes that the government will deduct from the individuals income. It has really gotten to the point where it is nearly impossible for the working class to prosper financially. From the statics shown the upcoming generation will be less likely to receive a college education, meaning that the hope that I once had for the future generation is more likely to only a dream that will never come true. The way that society to structured there will soon be only room for the rich and the poor, there will not be a middle man involved amongst the classes. As of today I have become a big advocate for everyone finding the richest person they can make their sugar mommy/ sugar daddy and make a come up based on their come ups; it has been done for years so what better time to do it than when minimum wage is not enough to survive. Since the age of sixteen I have worked in order to be able to provide myself with the things that I need. I have a front row seat to the reality of working  twice as hard every week to still only have just enough money to pay the bills and no money to put towards savings in case of an emergency. I believe the banks created savings accounts only to sit back and laugh at the fact that most people will never make enough money to put anything towards it. Since recently I have become some what obsessed with steering myself in the direction of success; I am going to keep furthering my education until Sallie May cuts me off. The times are getting harder and the workers are working hard to only have nothing to show for it but a paycheck that is not enough to pay the rent in full.

Until recently I have always been the type to have a plan. I grew up in a single parent household, the youngest of four; we were all brought up to be very outspoken and independent individuals. Now as an adult my personality has not changed much, I have always  known what I want out of life and how to achieve all the things necessary to get there. Not getting a degree has never been an option; due to the fact that all of the women in my family received their bachelors and higher. If I has not decided to attend college my mother would have cut me off financially and held it against me for the rest of my life. With the pressure weighing heavily on my I entered college immediately after graduating from high school.  Just life all parents my mother’s only intent was to insure that I have a bright future ahead of me that guarantees a stable future. I am a criminal justice major, and have always been interested in becoming a part of a police force whether fighting crime or answering the calls. After much thought and fear of entering the real world after graduation, I began to realize that law enforcement is not the profession for me. Now that I’m older I realize how my surroundings affected my decisions throughout life; my interest in law enforcement only existed because of my families history of being in the profession.  just like many other fields law enforcement has changed dramatically over the years. There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t hear of a officer who has done something wrong  that cripple the public’s opinion on who can be trusted. Citizens have become more ruthless when it comes to the lack of respect they have for the ones assign to protect them. Now that I am a mother I weigh my options more when it comes to putting myself in dangerous situations. I have always been aware of the fact that I cannot expect to become rich off a officer’s salary, before it was not about the money but about the thought of protecting others from danger.  After learning about class status in Sociology, I have become more interested in becoming a entrepreneur. I’m not too thrilled about taking out over twenty thousand dollars in student loans to figure out that my life plan was actually my family’s plan for me. I am sure that there are many other college student who are in the same boat as me; those who pick majors based on their family’s approval.  In my family’s opinion when I receive my degree in the spring it will be a big accomplishment and the starting point of a successful future. It has become a social norm for my generation to live our lives based on what our friends and families consider to be the correct way to do things. Now that I have a child of my own I will make it my duty to encourage him to follow his own path of success.

Little emphasis is placed on the true value of being in a relationship. In today’s society not many people care about having someone that relates to them on a level unimaginable. Having a significant other can be rewarding in so many ways; it gives a sense of security and always having a support system. My Grandparents have been together for over sixty years, and they did not let anything cripple the love that they share for one another. Over the course of sixty years, what happened in that time span that  has caused being in love to become almost extinct. Growing up in the south I have come in contact with many men who weren’t worth my time. Meeting worthless men did not affect my judgment towards finding that one good man that would sweep me off of my feet. While many of my friends have ill feeling towards men in general I have had the privilege of waking up next to the man of my dreams for the past six years; only because of my faith in God creating my Mister Right.

Growing up in the south it wasn’t uncommon to see couples who have been together for twenty plus years. As society progressed and I became older it is very common to see both men and women who are single. A lot of good men have been tainted; either by past relationships or witnessing someone as close as their own mothers have bad relationship experiences. Unlike women, men have the ability to put up barriers and walls in the attempt to hide their emotional side. It has become a social norm for women to feel unappreciated by men to the of point  feeling like the right one doesn’t exist. As a woman who has successfully found a good man I feel like there is hope for other women to do so a well. I am a firm believer in not allowing a past relationship to affect any future relationships. Not all of the time should the finger be pointed at men, I have seen women take advantage of good men. Sad to say but a lot of women ignore having a good man due to being foreign to the thought of being treated with dignity and respect.

As a mother I make it my duty to display my love for my child constantly. My fiancé and I respect one another, and the love that we share for one another is undeniable. Although, I have found love it is impossible for me to ignore that fact of others around me taking the feeling for granted by not allowing themselves to love. The bad relationships should only be viewed as learning experiences, nothing in life comes easy everything requires time. If everyone would value love for the gift that it truly is, there would be less divorce amongst society as a whole. Respect and communication are the most important factors in having a successful relationship, if those two things are present there will be more relationships that will last as long as my grandparents’ relationship has lasted.