Notion of habitus
I am 34 years of age who has served 6 years in the coast guard. I still go to college but on a part time basis.
My life and that of a normal college student are different in a number of ways. Firstly, time is of matter. I am always busy since I have to cater for other things that I do outside school as an adult hence I have no free time. The normal college student is usually free and idle. They do not have any responsibilities to deal with unlike me. I have to attend school for about 4 hours a day and then go to work that enables me to pay my bills plus college fees. The normal college student is catered for everything by their parents.
Secondly, both our lifestyles are different. My mode of dressing is simple. I wear simple jeans, pants, trousers, shirts and t-shirts. The normal college student’s clad is complicated. They put on designer jeans, pants and trousers. The normal college students aim at looking unique with much of their dressing being conspicuous with a variety of colors. They are trendy with whatever they wear while I put on what pleases me irrespective of the time of fashion.
Moreover what we eat also brings a difference. I prefer eating at home and less often outside. The reason for this is I prefer home-cooked, healthy foods where I enjoy that food slowly with no haste. The normal college students prefer fast foods to healthy foods. They are not fans of cooking since cooking itself takes time so why not just buy already made or packed food.
A normal college student and I have different ways of having fun. I go out to places where mature grown-up people are found. Partying or having fun involves lounging and talking more often. I only socialize with people who are mainly of my age and rarely those who are young not unless they are my family members or very close friends. I drink only what I need. The normal college students socialize with people who are of the same age as them. They hang out in clubs that play loud music which is fun in a way. This is understandable especially if one looks at their young age that makes them have all that hype. I did these things when I was their age but now I cannot. Having fun to normal college students involves getting high on illegal apart from using consuming alcohol. The drugs include things like molly, weed, and even hard drugs like meth. They experiment on a number of substances which is definitely a stage of life that one has to go through.
Thirdly, the way of thinking is another thing that differentiates us. I think independently and make my decisions based on what I think is appropriate for me. I also think maturely and I am mostly serious with what I do. If I focus on something I work at it until I make sure I have attained it. Normal college students think as a group and therefore make decisions as a group. Moreover, there is a factor of peer pressure that comes in and distorts their thinking making it not self-made. In addition, normal college students think immaturely and are mostly not serious with life. They embrace the YOLO (You Only Live Once) motto and disregard the future while I take into consideration what the future holds and how I should invest in that future. However, as to many the future is unpredictable so it is better to live a good satisfied life that one likes and enjoys.
Fourthly, language is also another area of differentiation. I use language that is formal whenever I am talking to anyone and apply rules of ethics in all my conversation. This involves addressing people by their right titles, talking politely, humble, and with respect. I learned this while I was working with the coast guard where we were addressing each and every person appropriately according to their ranks and positions. Normal college students use formal and non-formal language. Formal language is used less often but moreover slang is used when they are addressing people they talk to even though it is not commonly understandable by everybody. Their talk is rude, full of vulgar words, disrespectful. They use this language because of influence from their day-day interaction with each other where they pass on that language to each other. There talk maybe as described but most of the times they do not mean what they say since the use of such words has become common.
Fifth, I like living a life that is quiet, filled with tranquility, and peace. I do not like noise around me and I am a non-violent, peace loving person. Noise irritates me and it makes me feel very uncomfortable. The normal college student is like noise They play loud music. Loud music is not bad but it should just be played in large areas.
People have different tastes of music. I like music that is soft and that makes one groove to the beats like soul music while the normal college students like music that is hard and mostly hyperactive like hard rock, techno, dubstep, trance, and house music. The new genres of music that are mainly party music is what they like.
In conclusion different people have different social classes that depict their behaviors and ways of living. Thus from the comparison it is proof that the situations related to a particular class of certain circumstances of existence result to habitus, schemes of durable, structured structures, transposable dispositions that are inclined to work as structures that structure.
