Topic: Rites of Passage
Source: This weeks reading in the Anthropology book about Rites of Passage.
Relation: I just finished my rookie season for the Humboldt State soccer team and in order for myself and the other rookies to become not rookies we had certain obligations throughout the year. Every rookie that comes into the program had to do these jobs and even the coaches have done them. The Rite of Passage is graduating from a rookie to a full player on the team.
Description: Everybody that plays a sport can tell you what being a rookie is like. This year on the soccer team we had around fifteen new rookies. This is a crazy amount compared to a normal incoming rookie class that usually looks like five to eight rookies. This Sunday we finished up our final spring season games which officially makes all the rookies now graduated into not being one anymore. But, before getting out of the rookie status there were a ton of things that we had to do. The first one was our rookie night right before the fall season. The upperclassmen tricked us and said that we were going on a run to Eureka at the end of double days. All of the rookies showed up, all tired from practice and we were the most sore we had ever been. Dreading the run we all had low spirits and bad attitudes. We all arrived at one of the soccer houses. Everybody was dressed in running clothes. Our captains came out and said we had to have a team meeting in the back of the house. We walked to the back and they explained that we were not going to be running to Eureka. Instead we were going to be having the traditional rookie night. A lot of the activities I can not discuss but it is a night that I can barely remember but will never forget. That was the first of the rookie obligations. For the rest of the year all rookies were in charge of cleaning up after practice, carrying the ball bags and the medical kit when we travel, and basically doing whatever the coaches and upperclassmen told us to do. We were each assigned specific jobs after practice which included moving and locking the goals, picking up the training tops, counting and gathering all the practice balls, and cleaning the locker room. These jobs do not seem too bad but after a full season they really get annoying and most of the rookies got fed up with it.
Commentary/Analysis: Going through my rookie season was a great opportunity to grow not only as a person but also as a player on the pitch. The obligations that we had to do as rookies were really repetitive time after time. It really was horrible because if one of the jobs were not completed the whole team would have to run the next day at practice. I don't know about anyone else but being yelled at by the upperclassmen for making the whole team run is not fun whatsoever. I remember my coaches told us at the beginning of the year that rookie season will be one of the most fun but also requires the most work. The best thing to do is to shut up and just to the extra little work. Everybody has had to do it once in their lives and it is apart of being a rookie. The best part of it is to know that next year I will be making the rookies do all the work and none of the jobs will pertain to me anymore. Going through rookie night and picking up after the team was definitely not a super fun experience but everybody has do to it and I am glad I will never have to do it again.
Sunday, April 29, 2012
Sunday, April 15, 2012
Two Families Unite
Topic: Family Composition
Source: When I was in first grade, I remember one of my teachers assigned us a project that involved trying to draw your whole family on a big poster.
Relation: In Chapter 5 of Robbins the author discusses the patterns of family relations. We learned about the family compositions of three peoples: the Ju/wasi, the Trobriand Islanders, and the rural Chinese. We examined the structure and dynamics of family life among these cultures.
Description: My first grade teacher assigned us a project that would help my class share their own families with everyone. For the project we were given a big white poster and then we had to creatively put everyone in our family that we could think of on it. This included the nuclear family and also my mom and my dad's side of the family as well. I remember sitting at home with this big white poster in front of me and I had no clue where to start. I started with my nuclear family first. I used blue marker to color everyone in my own family. I wanted to make a clear separation in both sides of family so I used green marker for my dad's side and red for my mom's side. My nuclear family consists of my mom, dad, and older brother. I then moved onto drawing each side of my family. My mom had to help me because I did not know all of my aunt's and uncle's yet. Once I was done with both sides of the family I took a moment, stepped back and admired all the work I just put in.
Commentary/Analysis: I feel that my family composition is a very unique one. My mother's heritage consists of half Hispanic, Irish, and a little Argentinian. My dad's side consists or Norwegian, Finish, and German. In my nuclear family my mother looks very dark skinned and so does my brother. My dad is more lighter skinned and that is where I believe I got most of my looks. When I grew up I always found it fascinating that when I went and visited my family on my mom's side, all of them are really dark skinned and Hispanic. Their culture is very different then my dad's side of the family. My mom's side tends to be more outgoing and be louder. My dad's side tends to be more conservative and more modest. We would go out to dinner with all of my cousins and my dad and I would be the only light skinned people there. I found it really interesting that when surrounded by all of my family on that side of the family I stood out as different because I was lighter skinned. Now on the other hand when we would go and visit my dad's side of the family, most of my family members there are lighter skinned. My brother and mom tend to be the only darker skinned people when we all get together. Lastly, one of the things that has fascinated me the most about my family composition is how I am lighter skinned and my brother darker skinned. It really baffles me because I do not really look like my brother at all but we have the same parents.
Source: When I was in first grade, I remember one of my teachers assigned us a project that involved trying to draw your whole family on a big poster.
Relation: In Chapter 5 of Robbins the author discusses the patterns of family relations. We learned about the family compositions of three peoples: the Ju/wasi, the Trobriand Islanders, and the rural Chinese. We examined the structure and dynamics of family life among these cultures.
Description: My first grade teacher assigned us a project that would help my class share their own families with everyone. For the project we were given a big white poster and then we had to creatively put everyone in our family that we could think of on it. This included the nuclear family and also my mom and my dad's side of the family as well. I remember sitting at home with this big white poster in front of me and I had no clue where to start. I started with my nuclear family first. I used blue marker to color everyone in my own family. I wanted to make a clear separation in both sides of family so I used green marker for my dad's side and red for my mom's side. My nuclear family consists of my mom, dad, and older brother. I then moved onto drawing each side of my family. My mom had to help me because I did not know all of my aunt's and uncle's yet. Once I was done with both sides of the family I took a moment, stepped back and admired all the work I just put in.
Commentary/Analysis: I feel that my family composition is a very unique one. My mother's heritage consists of half Hispanic, Irish, and a little Argentinian. My dad's side consists or Norwegian, Finish, and German. In my nuclear family my mother looks very dark skinned and so does my brother. My dad is more lighter skinned and that is where I believe I got most of my looks. When I grew up I always found it fascinating that when I went and visited my family on my mom's side, all of them are really dark skinned and Hispanic. Their culture is very different then my dad's side of the family. My mom's side tends to be more outgoing and be louder. My dad's side tends to be more conservative and more modest. We would go out to dinner with all of my cousins and my dad and I would be the only light skinned people there. I found it really interesting that when surrounded by all of my family on that side of the family I stood out as different because I was lighter skinned. Now on the other hand when we would go and visit my dad's side of the family, most of my family members there are lighter skinned. My brother and mom tend to be the only darker skinned people when we all get together. Lastly, one of the things that has fascinated me the most about my family composition is how I am lighter skinned and my brother darker skinned. It really baffles me because I do not really look like my brother at all but we have the same parents.
Sunday, April 1, 2012
Soccer Pre-Game Ritual
Topic: Rituals
Source: My pre-game ritual that I perform before I every soccer game I play in.
Relation: In chapter 33 in the book Conformity and Conflict, Horace Miner describes the body rituals among the Nacirema people. Some of the rituals include the mouth-rite and seeking out the holy-mouth-man, and the latipso ceremonies. The people think the mouth-rite rituals will free their mouths from evil demons and they use it as sort of an exorcism.
Description: Before every soccer game that I play whether it is for Humboldt State University or my academy team back home in Washington, I perform the exact same ritual. The ritual starts right when I wake up. The first thing I do is go and get breakfast. I always eat eggs, orange juice, and peanut butter and jelly sandwich. After eating my food I go and take a shower. In the shower I close my eyes and vision myself making great plays happen and having success. After the shower I put on my favorite athletic shorts and a dri fit shirt. I listen to music on my way to the field and it must be played through headphones. When I get to the field I do not step on the field until I am fully changed. I put my right sock on first every time and the same goes with my right shoe as well. I tape my right wrist with athletic tape and I put on my warmup shirt. I do not put on my jersey and shinguards until right before the game starts.
Commentary/Analysis: I perform the same ritual every day before my games because I believe in superstition. I like doing the exact same thing every time because in my own mind it gives me positive vibes and I am really successful. My ritual may be different then other people but I choose to use mine because it works best for me. If I do no get my full ritual in before my game I can feel that something is not right. Something is a little off and it usually bugs me and I do not perform as well. The Nacirema believed that their rituals would relieve the person of evil demons. I believe that my rituals give me good luck and positive energy. The differences between my rituals and the rituals of the Nacirema people differ greatly but they are similar in one way. The rituals work perfect for ourselves and we believe in them.
Source: My pre-game ritual that I perform before I every soccer game I play in.
Relation: In chapter 33 in the book Conformity and Conflict, Horace Miner describes the body rituals among the Nacirema people. Some of the rituals include the mouth-rite and seeking out the holy-mouth-man, and the latipso ceremonies. The people think the mouth-rite rituals will free their mouths from evil demons and they use it as sort of an exorcism.
Description: Before every soccer game that I play whether it is for Humboldt State University or my academy team back home in Washington, I perform the exact same ritual. The ritual starts right when I wake up. The first thing I do is go and get breakfast. I always eat eggs, orange juice, and peanut butter and jelly sandwich. After eating my food I go and take a shower. In the shower I close my eyes and vision myself making great plays happen and having success. After the shower I put on my favorite athletic shorts and a dri fit shirt. I listen to music on my way to the field and it must be played through headphones. When I get to the field I do not step on the field until I am fully changed. I put my right sock on first every time and the same goes with my right shoe as well. I tape my right wrist with athletic tape and I put on my warmup shirt. I do not put on my jersey and shinguards until right before the game starts.
Commentary/Analysis: I perform the same ritual every day before my games because I believe in superstition. I like doing the exact same thing every time because in my own mind it gives me positive vibes and I am really successful. My ritual may be different then other people but I choose to use mine because it works best for me. If I do no get my full ritual in before my game I can feel that something is not right. Something is a little off and it usually bugs me and I do not perform as well. The Nacirema believed that their rituals would relieve the person of evil demons. I believe that my rituals give me good luck and positive energy. The differences between my rituals and the rituals of the Nacirema people differ greatly but they are similar in one way. The rituals work perfect for ourselves and we believe in them.
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