The Sociological Imagination Today
The sociological imagination is defined as the ability to understand one’s own issues are not caused simply by one’s own belief or thoughts but by society and how it is structure. (Mills, The sociological Imagination 1959). As individuals we tend to face issues and push them into blaming ourselves, not thinking that there are social forces around us in society that have an impact on our breakdowns, emotionally and physically. At the same time, these social forces build us up and create a broader ability for us to see things differently and thinking out the box.
Me being in university is my capability, ability, and quality of mind to understand the connections of life with the forces and dynamics it impacts.
Growing up as an individual, in an environment that was not motivated had created a positive mentality in myself. Growing in a Family that had been labeled as a low class in society was not the easiest thing to keep in mind.
But it had not been my parents’ fault, but it was from the beginning of it when the person who gave birth to me was uneducated due to the circumstances during the apartheid era. That was when society had been divided into categories because of the government. Education for black people was the least important to the system and especially for women. Which has been one of my motivations for getting educated?
Waking up every day in the morning with one thing in my head which is changing the situation at home and not letting our situation be the definition of failure.
It had always grown in me that an honorable man once said, “EDUCATION IS THE KEY TO SUCCESS” (Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela). What is education? Education is an element that is used to come out of your comfort zone and face back reality to have a standardized living as a person. The first phase of education is at an infant stage where nature takes it place and a child is being taught from walking to talking and from talking to be taught values. From that stage becoming a kid comes next and getting to experience the life of being in primary school, from primary school and from there to high school were setting a goal is the one priority and qt this stage its where adorers process at the teenage stage where there are boundaries set and assertiveness is put in place. Basically, education had set a future and goals and for me to achieve them. it is the will of look at the circumstances that are congesting both in society and within the household. For being in my current university life I’ve learned a lot of life lessons not only academically but also life lessons.
The government has set the standards of education and year to year the system changes by time, and from industrialization, new editions are created. Most importantly the society takes part in setting the standard. In society, if you are educated you are much highly respected for your qualifications even though there will be those people who don’t like seeing you succeed and that the kind of society I’m coming in, where you have to role with the one who wants to see succeed and make sure that you are around a positive atmosphere or else you end up finding yourself lacking behind because of all the negativity. The value of going to varsity sets up a standard of achieving your goal. In my case which is changing the situation at home.
In varsity, there are social forces that be pulled out from and there are forces that cannot be managed due to the system that is used. When I had thought that my life has changed, come to think that first week of being a new student a lot had happened, there had been strikes and students violating and vandalizing the school facilities which had brought other financial cost to the school budget and without the students noticing that there is more cost and what they are demanding will not be brought forward when they still destroying what’s available. What they protest for is right but the way in which they cause this dilemma had also caused a distraction to the academic program, which pulls Back the work in school.
At the end of the day pulling my goals together and doing my best is my priority. But it starts with what are my desires and the contribution toward my work, am I passionate about what I do, or am I willing to take the obstacles I’m going to face along the way whiles in varsity? Varsity life is not as easy as it seems, focus is the most important key to get through the tribulations. Connecting religion and this objective having faith is also the element to overcome negativity and believing in yourself. In varsity, you find a dominated small world. It is diverse with different religions, races, age groups, and bios. We all have different purposes of being there, different goals, and different views. You find Smokers, daters, dancers, singers, nerds, etc. All these cultural diversification stored in one bundle. But as an individual, you always have a choice in that world of being attentive or jus slack behind.
So far life in varsity is a new life experience which when I’m at the space I tell myself that I’m just growing new crops that at the end of the day I will harvest and what I will reap must be big and better and make my dream a reality. In conclusion life in varsity is a life experience where you must stay focused, have fun but not too much. Think about where you come from, and how you had struggled your way getting to school and being educated. You must be able to take control of the social forces and always know that society will look at you twice before becoming a consideration for different things.
