Socialization. A word we hear fairly often in everyday life, and we all should know what it means. Interact, meet people, talk about ideas, and have relationships. But there is still more to socialization than what we often think about. There are things called “Agents of Socialization.” These agents can represent many things in our lives, from the media to school, from family to friends. But how do these Agents shape me?
First off would be school. We’re all thrown into this environment at a very early age, and we’re kind of left to fend for ourselves. At a young age, everyone is friends with everyone, including myself. I loved being active and friendly in preschool and elementary. However, as time progresses, you start to form friend groups, and space yourselves from those who have different interests. I personally found myself with those who were into video games. I was never into sports, and was never considered a “popular” kid. This never bothered me, however, as I didn’t feel the need to be popular, or sporty. I felt I was fine the way I was. Yet, part of me still said I should have people like me, so I tried to be funny, and still do. This only worked half of the time, as most of my humor comes from my dad, which is a lot of sarcasm, which I guess some kids have a hard time picking it up. Overall, school essentially made me into a more solitary person. I didn’t feel like I needed to know people, unless I could make connections and relate. Tying in with school are my friends. Friend groups are a big role in everyone’s life, and without them, we cannot get to know who we are, or shape ourselves. I was very into video games in school. Thus, my friend group was mostly gamers. I was also an artist, and still am. Most of my art I kept to myself, afraid of what others may think. I only really shared art that wasn’t super sensitive to me, or just something dumb I drew in a couple minutes. The great thing about my friends is that most of them were laid back and open, and I felt comfortable around those kinds of people. I was able to share my work, but nowadays I just feel like people, including my friends, would judge me for it. Not in the good kind of way. My sense of humor was very sarcastic and morbid. My friends were able to understand that, and shared a lot of it. Unfortunately, friends change over time. You become distant with some, and closer with the others. Friends come and go. They’re not permanent. Yet, there are a group of people who are permanent within our circle of relationships: Family. Our families are a massive part of our lives. We are created by our mother and father, and they teach us a fair share of the life skills from when they were our age. We inherit our appearances from them, and we share our interests and passions in ways. Granted, not every kid is like their parents. But the thing we need to remember is that, maybe that kid is like their parents, they just choose not to show it. I’ve always been close with my parents. My mother is very caring, and my dad is too. My mother cares for me and loves to baby me. My dad is more of the working sort, and I enjoy doing work with him. I’m thankful for them, as without them, I wouldn’t know most of the basic things I do nowadays. I’d feel lost, too. Without parents, it’s almost as if you’re stumbling around in the darkness trying to find them forever. We not only share these interests, passions, and appearances with our parents. For some of us, we have siblings. Both older or younger, boy or girl, they’re also family. Sometimes we hate our siblings, or we love them. Fighting with our siblings is going to happen at some point, and it’s just human nature, as in who the top dog is. Growing up in a family of 5, with 2 older sisters, fighting was more silent. This was mostly just being shut out of their rooms, or not being allowed to talk with them. This always made me feel like the sore thumb of the family, especially because I am the youngest. In recent years, my sisters have opened up to me far more. I feel connected, and we all joke and hang out. But not all the time. They’re not always in town. My oldest sister currently lives in Miami, and only really shows up for the holidays. My other sister is planning on moving to Chicago. While I’m not afraid of this, it has a reminiscent feeling of being blocked out of their world from when I was younger, even though that is not the purpose of them moving away. They’re just trying to start a new life, while still being connected with the old - our family. Continuing with family, they’re not here forever either. My grandfather recently passed away on October 6, at 95 years old. He was a smaller part of my life, considering he only visited on occasion. But he was a great man. He was full of stories and life despite his age, and was always a joy to be around. His countless stories always seemed to have no point, yet they were always fascinating to listen to. He was also a very active man for is age. He walked a certain trail, the MKT trail, almost daily, and 5 miles a day he walked. No cane, no walker, no supports. When he passed, I felt like a good piece of my life just vanished. I chose not to tell anyone, except a few, about his passing. I know that someday my parents will be gone, and then my sisters. I will be gone too. Hence why I try to value my time with my family, whenever I am with them. This doesn’t mean that I hang out with them on every single occasion, but it just means that I enjoy all my time that I do spend with them. Socialization is important. We don’t think about it, but it really is. It can shape you and I in a vast amount of ways. It is important that we cherish all of this socialization, whether good or bad. All experiences shape us for better or for worse. That is all we will ever need. |
ReflectionThis project was worked on over the course of a couple of months. We were required to make a mask, and write an essay about how society shapes our lives. We learned about the Ship of Theseus, and the Persistence of Identity. We also read articles about how we socialize, like The Cycle of Socialization. We also had an assignment where we analyzed a song, and related the lyrics to our lives.
I feel that my time on this project was used a little less than well. It’s normal for me to get off topic in class, and I did exactly that. I was able to get a third of my essay down, but not much else. I used my time over break to wrap it all up, and I’d personally place it at about adequate level. My work was done more haphazardly, but I thought about what I was going to say next, and executed it accordingly. I asked for help some of the time, but not often. Asking questions isn’t really my thing. When I did ask a question, it was likely about my sentences, or how much time I had left. When it comes to my perseverance, I’d say I persevered alright with this project, but it was mostly with my mask that I persevered. I stayed on topic and thought hard about what I wanted to paint. I came to my conclusion, and painted my maks daily, making small refinements along the way. My final work was good, and I am proud of my work. I do feel I could’ve done better with my essay, but my time was poorly spent in class. My mask, however, I am thoroughly proud of. This project impacted me, as it really shed some light on all the experiences I’ve had to deal with in my life. It opened the door for me to express myself through my writing, and really talk about all of these different things that have shaped me. Overall, this is a project I could say I am proud of. |