External Influences Of My Family

While taking Introductory Sociology with Professor Cole Smith this semester, the course revealed concepts covering various topics about society and the world around us. During the course, the ideas and concepts covered were impressionable because of the nature of the content. Each chapter discussed controversial topics challenging the way the students previously perceived information. However, there are chapters in this course that have been the most influential. For example, chapter one covered the theoretical perspectives, chapter four examined the concept of the social construction of reality, and chapter twelve exploring the family dynamic. Although each chapter provided insight on various subjects, the information allows for the reader

When I was 11, my parents were battling in an ugly divorce. I wasn't seen as a kid because for a brief moment I became an adult that could make tough life changing decisions. As a child , I was confused on what was happening. I didn’t understand why my mom was gone one day, returned the next and then  just gone. I couldn't comprehend why police officers would regularly come to my broken home. The gruesome divorce and after period was an emotional roller coaster that never ended until today. It was difficult to adapt to the new lifestyle with a new single mom. I vividly remember having to sleep on the floor for months , having an empty naked white fridge and having to support my single mother every night as she dealt with depression. Although, life was hard I stayed strong, supported my sisters and accepted the new life I  was given.

My family history is full of generational curses (at least that what my family calls it). From what I know my mother’s side of the family migrated to California from Louisiana in 1930’s. Unfortunately, this didn’t involve my grandmother (Bobbie Smith) who was left behind to be reared by some else until the age of 21. In the late 1960’s, she moved to California along with her 2 daughters and leaving 1 daughter (my mother) behind in Louisiana to be reared and adopted by Idella & Curly Welcome. Idella worked as a maid and Curly worked in the sawmill. Idella and Curly were fortunate enough to purchase a small piece of land in Pineville, Louisiana where they built a home. In addition, they planted their own vegetable garden and raised ducks, chickens,

Families, as units, are extremely complex and vary drastically from one another. A person might be under the impression that his or her own family is nothing special, especially if they are accustomed to their family’s routines. After analyzing my own family through the sociological lenses of an assortment of scholars, it is now clear that it is not as simple as it seems. Sociologically analyzing my family through the divorces that have occurred in my life makes it clear that divorce can have an impact on a variety of family dynamics, such as my parents and their jobs and domestic duties, the amount of involvement they have with their friends and family, as well as my financial dependence on my parents.

Family members heavily influence our perspectives. From the time we are born our parents begin teaching us beliefs and values that are “right” in their eyes. Amy Tan, the author of “Two Kinds” talks about how it was living with a strict, traditional mother. In chunk 6, paragraph 67 Amy’s mother states “‘Only two kinds of daughters.’ She shouted in Chinese. ‘Those who are obedient and those who follow their own minds! Only one kind of daughter can live in this house. Obedient daughter!’” Her mother drilled this idea into her mind, which definitely affected her to a large extent. Her mother's expectations were too much, and she could never fulfill them. In her mother's eyes she was a disappointment, and this experience changed her perspective on what’s important in a person. Another example of family influencing our perspectives is shown in “An Indian Father’s Plea” by Medicine Grizzly Bear. In the personal letter from a father to his son's teacher he expresses his concerns for his sons education. Pg(99) “‘My son Wind Wolf, is not an empty glass coming into your class to be filled. He is a full basket coming into a different environment and a society with something special to share. Please

Every family is different and the same in their own way. Everyone functions with different roles and plays a part in how it functions on the day to day. While some people don’t put much thought into it, Dr. Murray Bowen has. ‘Dr. Murray Bowen suggests that individuals cannot be understood in isolation from one another, but rather as part of their family.’ (GenoPro) Eight concepts are

In my youth, I was like every other child, completely oblivious to the world round me and the hatred it contained. I was a happy little girl who was a little to clingy to her mother, all though that didn’t last long. I have no memory of my dad between the ages 2-4 considering he was never home. I had quite an imagination so I was always daydreaming which gives me trouble today considering I can’t remember what of my early childhood was real. My parents split when I was two so I don’t have much of a concept of how my parents’ relationship was, although now I’ve come to know that it wasn’t at all good.

Moving along with my adolescence years, mine and my mother 's relationship drifted further and further apart. I found myself in my own physically abuse relationship at the age of fourteen till seventeen. When I look at myself, I see so much of my mother and the women she is.

My first impression of this family is that they are very close to one another. The children are very respectful of their father’s advice, suggesting that their family is very strong and loving of one another. They each care about each other’s well being very

In Sandra Cisneros’ story “Only Daughter,” Sandra Cisneros wanted many things in her life and that was to gain her father’s acceptance of her. She wanted him to understand that it was difficult not only growing up the only daughter but also coming from a Mexican family that was expecting her to find a husband. So she does it by writing stories for her father hoping one day he’ll read them and be proud of her. But knowing that her father does not understand English words, she still tries. One day one of her stories is published in Spanish.

It is hard to be certain of anything nowadays as our society is constantly in change, and in retrospect, my life has been the same way. Three years ago I was reborn in a new country, an immigrant without the language and without the means, but I never gave up. Starting all over again had detrimental effects on my family and on my self-esteem. It was hard to go from being an infallible student to being the student learning English as a second language while taking classes complete different to what I knew before. I left Cuba knowing that is was gonna be a sacrifice, and I do not regret it because I know for sure that my future is more important than anything else and that I will graduate. I saw my parents struggling to make ends by the end of

Growing up in a home with both my parents, I was fortunate to be able to spend a lot of quality time with my father. We used to go out together and play soccer, baseball, and ride bikes. I remember we used to play a lot of old school video games and my mother would get pretty upset at the hours we spent playing and not doing anything productive. In my point of view, our relationship was perfect; our bond was strong like any father and son. I was only four years old when my world was turned upside down. My life changed the day that my mom and my dad separated, I felt alone. The process of a divorce was too much for a child that age to handle; it was a hard time for me. Although I had no father figure for about 12 years because my dad moved

My own personal experience plays a part here as I don’t believe my family was ever “fully actualized.” Independence and autonomy was stressed, however, warmth and connectedness between members was not. Feelings were definitely suppressed in my household growing up, and even today sharing openly feels awkward. Whitaker, as well as Satir, has inspired my theoretical framework because I see the importance of the affective or emotional layer of family interactions.

My parents took custody of my sister’s children, which then began the chaotic day-to-day home life that usually left me in tears by bedtime. I was in middle school at the time, as a middle school aged girl I felt a whirlwind of emotions. I wanted to do things that other kids my age were doing but that wasn’t always possible. With very mentally handicap children in our home it wasn’t easy to just invite a friend over to come spend the night, not only would my mom say no but also I was far too embarrassed. I wanted to go out and eat in a restaurant like I heard my friends talking about, but no, going out to eat with my sister’s children would be very difficult because they couldn’t sit still or refrain from making loud noises in public places. I wanted my mom to take my friend and I to the movies rather than always going with a friend and their mom, but my mom was always tied down to caring for my sister’s

My family happens to be deeply religious, conservative and often closed minded about certain aspects of life. In other words, everything that they tend to support and believe in as a family unit, tends to be something I can not personally agree with. As anyone can imagine, this has deeply affected my interpersonal relationship with my family in a negative impact. As an adult, I have come to my own conclusions about my personal beliefs about life and what those entail for myself. These beliefs are usually the exact opposite of what I grew up with, much to the disappointment of my family which has created a deep divide between us. This has probably affected my relationship with my father the most, as he has always been the most outspoken about his disappointment.