A Sociological Analysis

The social context in which a person lives in affects his or her daily decisions and experiences. We live in a world surrounded by social expectations and pressures to be accepted as “normal.” Every person is molded by society. A sociological imagination is what connects a person’s daily experiences to their history. It allows a person to understand their place in society and how it has shaped a person’s views and choices. According to James M. Henslin in his book Down to Earth Sociology, “Neither the life of an individual nor the history of a society can be understood without understanding both” (21). A person’s background helps to explain the circumstances he or she faces. My schooling, family, economic status, hobbies, and social norms
have all shaped me to become the person I am today. My schooling has taught me to be more culturally aware within our society.
We live in a world surrounded by people of various ethnicities, cultures, and countries, who all speak various languages. As a young child, I attended a bilingual pre-school and elementary school where I was taught to be fluent in Spanish. I established unexpected friendships, spending a lot of my time in classmates’ Spanish speaking homes. I was absorbed into the Hispanic culture, eating new food, singing songs in Spanish, dancing Baile Folkórico, and hearing stories in Spanish around the dinner table. I learned about the struggles many of my immigrant friends had to go through in order to live in the United States. The lives of my friends were greatly different than my own. The difficulties my friends’ families had to go through, is something my family has ever needed to face. Despite these differences, my schooling taught me to break down language barriers. I learned that differences in culture should not define or prevent relationships from
forming. However, the middle school and high school I attended had predominately white students. My friends lacked in diversity. The minorities usually spent time together, while the white students made up the majority. Even with my diverse schooling as a child, I realized that I felt more comfortable in high school because I fit in with the majority. My life has been considerably easier than others because of my ethnicity. I have never been discriminated against due to my race. I discovered that I will never be able to fully understand the struggles people of other cultures have to face because I will never experience the difficulties myself. My family also has shaped my life tremendously. My mother is a high school English teacher and my father is a school superintendent. My parents both grew up in middle class families, with the expectation of going to college and pursuing a stable career. The value my parents place on education is a form of socialization. Socialization is the “The ongoing process of inheriting and reproducing norms, customs, and ideologies that provide a person with the skills and habits necessary for functioning and participating within their own society” (Alfrey). My parents believe that having an education is vital for me to be successful within my environment. Therefore, going to college has always been both a family and societal expectation. I have always felt pressure to do well in school and maintain a high GPA in order to please my family and get into a university. Because my parents have gone through advanced education, they know how to navigate the education system. They provided me with the resources to be successful and knew what classes I needed to take to get into college. My parents and the particular place that I have grown up in have additionally shaped my political views. I have spent my whole life in liberal Oregon and both my parents are democratic. My parents and I have engaging conversations about politics and news around the world. Therefore, being surrounded by a this certain set up beliefs has influenced me to also become democratic. Additionally, my economic situation has led me to the opportunities I have experienced throughout my life. I have been fortunate enough to grow up in an upper middle class family. My family’s income has provided me with the opportunity to travel to multiple countries around the world and experience a variety of cultures. I am also able to attend an expensive private university with a well-accredited nursing program. Being able to have the money to attend University of Portland will dramatically increase my chances of becoming a successful nurse in the future. Because of my economic status, I have everything I need to be a healthy and happy individual. I have never needed to live paycheck to paycheck like many people do, and I often take for granted the experiences I have been provided with. Furthermore, my life has been immensely impacted by volleyball. I played volleyball for ten years, spending hours every day on the court, improving my skills. I devoted all my free time to the game. My coaches challenged, and motivated me to do my best both on and off the court. I learned to multi-task, dedicating my time to both school and volleyball. I went the extra mile to push myself to during difficult games and practices. The skills I learned in volleyball, like perseverance, competition, and teamwork are all skills that I will use as a study to become a nurse. I have also been shaped by certain societal norms.
Social norms are “mores or rules of behavior that are considered acceptable in a group or society” (Alfrey). As a woman, I have always felt that I am held to certain expectations on how I should dress and act. Growing up I was an extremely active child, participating in multiple sports. I was under the impression that boys were supposed to be tough and manly, while girls were supposed to be graceful and delicate. As a young girl, the pressure to “act like a lady” made me believe that that I could never be as competitive as men are. Because of this perspective, I also presumed that men were superior to
women. Being a woman continues to shape my life today. There are certain activities and rights that men have that women do not. For example, there is the stereotype that women will become wives, mothers, and care-takers, while men are likely to have the more advanced job, provide the money, and be the head of the household. It is hard for me to imagine a woman in an authoritative position because of this stereotype. This has led me to believe that as a woman I must work harder in order to prove myself worthy of completing any highly skilled activity or job. Overall, the sociological imagination allows an individual to “understand his own experience and gauge his own fate only by locating himself within his period, that he can know his own chances in life only by becoming aware of those of all individuals in his circumstances” (Henslin 22). Looking back on my history has made me more conscious of who I have become and why I have the lifestyle I do now. While my schooling has shaped me to be more culturally aware, my parents have built me to become a well-educated student. My economic status has provided me with great opportunities to succeed, while social norms have pushed me to act a specific way. All these factors have made me a product of time within our society. However, one must use the sociological imagination to understand the history of society before they can truly understand oneself. By using my social imagination, I am aware of my place within our extremely complex society. I am now better equipped to face the future and determine my fate.