Conception Of Myself

Although my concept of self is still changing, many events have occurred in my life that have had profound effects on my development. Although that many argue that nature, and not nurture, is the primary factor in socialization and development (Carl & Belanger, 2015), I believe that both have been important to my growth. Both factors have shaped my ideas about who I am, what my strengths and weaknesses are, and how I want to be seen by the world. My understanding of self has been shaped by influential factors, people, and experiences.
Being a visible minority, race and ethnicity have an overwhelming effect on my concept of self. These two major factors still influence me today, and I believe that they always will. To escape the prejudice and

Whether I was swimming, running, or scoring goals, I was always active. The places where I found the most joy and success was with team sports, where accomplishments could be celebrated as a group. During my early teenage years, I began to play tackle football. I was not the best football player, however I joined the team as a way to make friends. I was doing well in school, because I had made friends, I was beginning to positively resolve Erik Erikson’s fourth stage of development, Industry vs Inferiority (Carl & Belanger 2015). In addition to this, my incredible coaches were great influences upon me. They came from a variety of backgrounds and occupations, but they all had two things in common: a passion for football, and willingness to help transition young boys into young men. These amazing men are an example of agents of socialization, “shaping our self-concept, beliefs and behaviour” (Carl & Belanger, 2015, p.76) to my teammates and I. They helped me realize that I can be anything in life, and still be successful if I am able to inspire and influence a younger generation. This is a major goal in my life that I hope I will be able to

While reflecting, my parents had an authoritative style of parenting, as they “listen to their children’s input while consistently enforcing the preset rules” (Carl & Belanger, 2015, p.245). As a result, I have been able to ease through difficult periods in my life, such as deaths in the family. Because my upbringing, I like to say that both a morality of care and morality of justice have influence on my life (Carl & Belanger, 2015). My parents have great influence on my concept of the generalized other, which is the “norms, beliefs and expectations specific to our culture” (Carl & Belanger, 2015, p.71), especially when they pertained to agents of socialization around me, such as my family and peers (Carl & Belanger,