Introduction p.3
Body: My first weeks as a new university student pp.4-67
Conclusion p.8
References and Bibliography pp.9-10
Introduction
When I first started university I was understandably nervous, and I had many thoughts running through my head. One of the prevalent thoughts was primarily focused on results. I wanted to do well, but I was aware of the challenges that lay before me. I was aware that my studies in higher education would not be easy.
In addition to this, I was aware that in order to achieve the best results, I would have to do get out of my comfort zone and work harder than I ever had to work before.
Furthermore, I was nervous about making friends. Universities have a wide variety of students from different ages and cultures. I hoped that I could fit in, and feel at home.
Moreover, I hoped that I would enjoy my university experience, and grow from it on a personal level as well as an intellectual one.
My first weeks as a new university student
My first day was quite overwhelming. In fact, my first week as a whole was completely overwhelming. Starting university is everything I have dreamed about. Furthering my education is really important to me. Obtaining a degree will mean that my family is proud of me, but also it means that I will be able to get a good job, and hopefully forge a long lasting career.
Like I said, when I first started I felt completely out of my comfort zone. I wasn’t sure what to expect, and I had many worries running through my head. I wondered if I’d be successful, if I’d fail, what would happen if I didn’t reach my goal?
However, the weeks wore on, my fears, and worries lessened, because the positive experiences I had eradicated the need for them, and made them lose their power over me.
Before I came to university for the first time I did a lot of thinking, dreaming, and planning. In this planning phase, I obtained a copy of the campus map, and looked over the website. I did this in order to learn all that I could about university life, and hoped that it would ease my anxiety.
I tried to find where the buildings I’d need to visit were located, and where the library was located. I mapped several routes to university, and tried to calculate how long it would take me to get there so I would always be on time. I imagined the type of people I would meet, what my classes would look like, and what my teachers would be like.
Although I planned my university journey in advance, the experience of my first day was something that I could not have planned for. As I mentioned earlier, when I arrived on campus, I was a bit nervous.
However, as I entered my first lecture, another emotion took over – awe. I was in awe of the space that surrounded me.
The lecture hall was buzzing with energy, and as I stood there trying to get my bearings, I couldn’t help but feel proud of where I stood. I felt proud of the accomplishments that brought me here. I felt proud to be surrounded by likeminded individuals – individuals who, like me, valued education and knowledge.
In addition to this, I also felt a sense of excitement that resinated from the energy generated in the room. I saw my lecturer enter the room and set up the space. The projector screen came on, and I found a place to sit.
It was in that moment I started to feel completely at peace. It was a sense of peace that one feels when you know you are in the right place, and a meant to be where you are in your life. As the lecture started, I began to feel a range of other unexpected emotions.
Confusion set in when I heard words that were unfamiliar to me. I found myself frantically scrawling them in my notebook in hope that I would find out their meaning when the lecture finished. This was followed by fear. I feared that I would never fully understand, and would always struggle throughout my journey.
After the lecture, I had a chance to speak to some of my fellow students, who assured me they also felt the same. This interaction was invaluable to me, as it eased my mind and calmed my fears.
Overall, my first few weeks at university could be likened to an emotional rollercoaster. But as the weeks wore on, as I became more familiar with my surroundings, and more comfortable with my routine, my emotions became more stable and I really started to enjoy the experience. My fears and anxieties ceased. They were replaced with laughter and memories that will last a lifetime.
In regards to my emotional experience that was explained at the beginning of this essay, relevant theories associated with it would be, social exchange theories, and symbolic interactionist theories.
Symbolic interactionist theories explain that, ‘people often behave based on what they believe, and not just on what is objectively true,’ (Crossman, 2016). It also states that people develop and grow personally through social interactions that help shape who they become (Collins, 1990).
Social exchange theories explain that actions which receive rewards from interactions with others, are more likely to be repeated than actions which do not (Ritzer, 2005). For example, if a child does something pleasing to the teacher and is rewarded, social exchange theory states that the child is more likely to repeat that desired behaviour because he, or she equates positive reward with that particular behaviour.
Social exchange theory applies to my experience when I interacted with my fellow classmates at the end of my first lecture, and received positive feedback from them. This allowed me to feel at ease, and made me want to get to know them more. Social exchange theory also says that relationships are formed by analysis. In my conversation with my fellow classmates we did analyse our feelings in a conversational way.
We came to the conclusion that we were all in the same boat. Social exchange theory also says that relationships are formed by comparison (Pekrun et al, 2010). In my conversation with my classmates we compared our experience to high school and noted the differences. These elements helped form a bond between me and my classmates.
In addition to this, the reward I received was emotional rather than material. This helped me develop a sense of closeness with the people I just met. I suspect that this closeness, and interaction laid the foundation for friendship, as well as other positive interactions with people they introduced me to further along the line.
Moreover, the reactions from my classmates when I told them how I was feeling, re-affirmed the shared experience of the first day at university. They too felt the same as I, and as a result of this we all felt a sense of relief meeting people who was likeminded. It was as if interacting in this way broke the ice, and opened the door to friendship, but it also provided a sense of pleasure from an activity that caused anxiety.
Symbolic interactionist theory also applies to my situation, because I did behave in a manner that reflected my beliefs about the situation. In addition to this, my ability to objectively perceive the situation as a learning one, whilst going through it was altered, because of my pre-conceived notions that produced anxiety and fear.
Together we analysed the subjective meaning behind how we felt in our first lecture. This is in line with the theory that also states we behave based on what we believe not necessarily what is true (Stets et al, 2006). Although the reality of the situation challenged my initial pre conceived notions. Together we defined the situation and compared that to our pre-conceived ideas about our first day at university, and this formed a kinship between us. In this sense, we socially constructed a new meaning of what it means to be a first time university student.
Overall, both of the above sociological theories have been helpful in analysing my personal experience, because it has allowed me to view my experience from another perspective. It has allowed me to understand the roots behind my actions, and this helps me study human behaviour in ways that I had not first understood.
In addition to this, this exercise has allowed me to test some of the theories mentioned in class to see the value in the premise they state. I have found that they do hold their weight, and that sociological theories can help explain human behaviour and solve problems.
Conclusion
This essay has found that emotional experiences can be analysed, tested, and explained, using sociological theories. It has also found that when a personal experience is recounted, and the thought process in regards to its development begins, a new perspective of the issue starts to form.
It is from that fresh perspective, that an analysis of the root causes of the emotional experience, and the effectiveness of sociological theories applied to it can be seen. Analysing an experience in this way is helpful to understanding the experience from a personal perspective but also a sociological one.
Furthermore, this essay has found that it is important to study human behaviour from a sociological perspective, because it can help us understand the roots of human behaviour and help us solve problems caused by it.
References and Bibliography
Collins, Randall (1990) ‘Stratification, Emotional Energy, and the Transient Emotions’ in Kemper, Theodore D. (ed) Research Agendas in the Sociology of Emotions, SUNY Press.
Crossman, A. (2016). What Is Symbolic Interaction Theory? [online] About.com Education. Available at: http://sociology.about.com/od/Sociological-Theory/a/Symbolic-Interaction-Theory.htm [Accessed 7 Apr. 2016].
Hochschild, Arlie Russell (2008) ‘Emotion Work, Feeling Rules, and Social Structure’ in Greco, Monica and Stenner, Paul (eds) Emotions: A Social Science Reader, Routledge
Lutz, Catherine, (2008) “Engendered Emotions’ in Greco, Monica and Stenner, Paul (eds) Emotions: A Social Science Reader, Routledge. Merton, R., Mongardini, C. and Tabboni, S. (1998). Robert K. Merton & contemporary sociology. New Brunswick, N.J.: Transaction Publishers.
McCarthy, E. Doyle (1989) ‘Emotions are social things: an essay in the sociology of emotions’ in David D Franks and E. Doyle McCarthy. (eds)
Pekrun, Reinhard et al. (2010) ‘Academic Emotions in Students’ Self-Regulated Learning and Achievement” A Program of Qualitative and Quantitative Research, Educational Psychologist Vol 37 No 2.
Ritzer, G. (2005). Encyclopedia of social theory. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
Rose, H. and Rose, S., (2010). Alas poor Darwin: Arguments against evolutionary psychology. Random House.
Stets, J. and Turner, J. (2006). Handbook of the sociology of emotions. New York, NY: Springer, pp.135-136.
Turner, J. and Stets, J. (2005). The sociology of emotions. Cambridge [UK]: Cambridge University Press. Emotions in the Social World: Term 2 Week 9: Emotions and University Life. (2016).
Turner, Jonathan H. and Stets, Jan E. (2009) ‘Structural Theorizing on Emotions’ The Sociology of Emotions, Cambridge University Press.
Turner, Jonathan H. and Stets, Jan E. (2009) ‘Dramaturgical and Cultural Theorizing on Emotions’ The Sociology of Emotions, Cambridge University Press, pp. 26-46.
