Term Paper On Sociology In Everyday Life

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It is a fact that who we are today is a result of multiple influences, which include influences from different social factors (e.g., economy, education, religion, family, and many others). Personally, sociology in my everyday life has shaped the major decision that I made in the past. Specifically, my motivation to continue my studies and the faith that I hold have been highly influenced by several social forces that surround me.
First of all, my motivation to continue my studies have been highly influenced by my family, especially my mother. Growing up, I have seen how my family values education to a great extent. In fact, my mother was a teacher and I witnessed how dedicated she was with her profession. I watched how she spent many sleepless nights as she prepared her lesson plans. There were times when she would take me to her office, and I could peak once in a while as she held classes. I also met many of her former students and I saw how they seemed to enjoy the learning experience with my mother. Therefore, at an early age, I was already exposed to the world of academe. In addition, my mother would always take some time to teach me many things even before I formally attended school. This further ignited my passion for learning. All of these experiences with my family shaped my perspective on education and the value that it has.
Moreover, when I finally get to attend school, I was fortunate enough to meet friends who also enjoyed studying and learning. Unlike my other classmates who didn’t seem to enjoy attending classes, being with my friends made learning more fun. From grade school, high school, and college, I was so blessed to be surrounded with friends who share with me the same passion for learning and achieving academic success. I remember how most of my friends would even set goals with regards to the grades that they intended to achieve. Although there were several struggles along the way, my friends would always help me out the same way I help them when they were having difficulties.
Aside from the friends that I met while studying, the other people who surrounded me, such as the teachers and the coaches, also influenced and shaped my motivation to pursue my studies. In particular, the positive reinforcements that I used to receive motivated me to be better in what I do. When I was in grade school, every time I receive positive feedbacks from my teachers, I became more eager to show others my skills and abilities. When I knew that my teachers believe in my capability to do well with my subjects and with the assignments and projects that they assign, I often had the tendency to believe that I am a good student. As a result, I try my best to perform according to other people’s expectations.
Furthermore, my motivation to continue my studies and do well in school is highly influenced by my family’s economic status. Although we were not from the poorest of the poor family, we were not wealthy either. With debts on the side, my family lived from paycheck to paycheck. Because my parents value education, they tried their best to send me and my siblings to school despite the high cost that it entailed. At times, we would just get by with little to no allowance at school. I was trained not to envy my classmates for having nice school supplies that I could never have. From a child’s young mind, this was not always easy. Sometimes, I needed some school supplies or clothing but it would take a while before we can afford to buy it. During these times, I would always imagine about having more than what we had so that we could afford the small luxuries in life. Witnessing my parents’ struggles also made me realize that there has to be some way out of the financial pit we are in. During the moments when I would think about our family’s situation, I would always dream of finishing my school and getting a degree so I can get a good paying job. I knew that this was what most people dream of, but I also knew that not everyone is able to get it. Therefore, I made up my mind to do my best so that I can make my dream a reality in order to help my family.
The people and the circumstances that shaped my perspective and motivation in relation to education also influenced and shaped the formation of my faith. I am a Christian, but my Christianity was not formed overnight. Instead, I travelled a long road before I finally understood what it means to be a Christian. As a child, I was only occupied by what most normal children would do. I was often busy playing, hanging out with friends, and studying. Although I did go to church with my family, I honestly did not know what it meant. My prayers only consisted of asking God for material things. However, as I was growing up, I started asking a lot of questions about life – its purpose in general. When I was in college, I started to realize that there is more to life than just living it day by day for selfish purposes. However, I was still not sure about what else was out there for me. I realized that I can only understand more about the purpose of living if I would seek the one who created me, God. As I continue to work on my dreams and aspirations, I met many Christian people and I saw how they seemed to be different from others. Despite their struggles, there seemed to be a certain reflection of joy that made their lives’ battles worthwhile. Many of them were unbelievably forgiving and loving towards others. I realized that those were the traits that I also wanted to adopt and to reflect in my life. During that period, I began to wonder why these people were acting the way they did and where their compassion, peace, and generosity were coming from. A friend once told me that it was their faith that renewed their lives, and it was their faith that changed them for the better. Because of this collective encounter that inspired me to change my life, I started to search more about God. Little by little, I get to understand the important role of Jesus Christ in my life until I fully embrace Him as my Lord and my saviour. From the encounters I had in school, the circumstances of my family, and the things that were going on around me, all made sense when my faith started to become stronger. All of a sudden, my motivation to be a better version of me and to be successful in my studies and my life in general was no longer to fulfil my needs and the needs of my family. It also became my own personal worship to the Lord. I realized that whatever it is that I am doing, I have to do it for him; otherwise, it will not have any importance. Indeed, the social factors, such as my economic status, my family’s struggles, and the people I interacted with, all played an important role in the formation of my faith.
My life situations can be best explained from a functionalist perspective, which sees the society as a product of different parts that are interconnected. These parts work together to achieve a state of balance and harmony. This means that each part of the society influences the other parts. The same is true with what happened in my life. It seemed like every aspect of my life since I was a child were perfectly crafted together to put me to where I am today. For example, as I previously mentioned, my family used to live from paycheck to paycheck as I was growing up. As a result, my parents had to spend most of their time at work. Because of our economic status, they only had limited time to spend with me and my siblings, although I must say that they still tried to spend some time with us whenever they can. However, this meant that they were not always available to help us with our studies, homework, or projects. I knew some of my friend who would always seek the help of their parents for school work. My experience was different. Due to the busyness of my parents at work, I learned to do things on my own. I learned to study and review on my own. I even remember making my own reviewers that I use during examination periods. I also learned to set my own schedule when I have school projects and assignments to pursue. This created a long-term effect on me since I continued to be independent in other aspects of my life. Moreover, our economic status also affected my life’s dreams and aspirations. Growing up, I often think about helping my parents and giving them a better life. I wanted to make sure that when they grow old, I will have the capacity to provide for them. This is why I was motivated to finish my study and develop a good career. Over the years, however, our economic status also made me think about the lives of other people. I realized that because of the country’s economy, many are also struggling financially. As a result, many of them are feeling hopeless and depressed, feelings that I also felt at one point in my life. Truly, this is also connected to my eventual search for the meaning of life. I learned that the only way to combat hopelessness and depression in times of crisis is to be spiritually strong and to focus on the purpose that God has for people’s lives. There is also an interconnection between my faith and the things that I still want to continue to do. As a Christian, I want to continue to improve myself in order to reflect my faith. As a result, I make sure that I am doing my job to the best of my ability in a fair and honest way. This is how functionalism is reflected in my life. My economic status, family, aspirations, and faith were truly interconnected and working to achieve a state of harmony.
Overall, sociology works in my life in many ways. My family, our economic status, the people that surrounded me in school, and my faith all influenced my life’s motivations and aspirations. I am who I am now because of the roles and the interconnectedness that these social forces play in my life.