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Influences of family in development as an individual
What makes a person unique
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What Makes One Unique
Every person living on this earth is unique in various ways. To many, I serve as a role model for their kids. One statement that my mother really hashed to me was that a person never knows someone until they walk a mile in their shoes. This statement is really what makes me the person that I am today. Throughout this reflective essay, I will be reflecting on the following: what I remember about my family, what things I remember about my childhood, what jobs I have had in my life, and my personal, professional, and academic goals. All of the criteria mentioned about are what makes me unique. I hope that by the end of this essay one will understand that people have difficulties and that one never knows someone until they walk a mile in their shoes.
When asked how my family was like, it can be pretty simple and straightforward. My family consisted of a religious based family, where I was the only child. My Father died when I was three I can recall my family being very liberal. My whole family seemed to believe in governmental action to achieve equal opportunity and equal opportunity for all; it is the responsibility of the state to improve social harms and to protect civil liberties and individual and human rights, the role of the government should be to guarantee that no one is in need, and that people are basically good. Up until the age of three, my mother and father had five foster children that they cared for. Since my father passed away when I was three, this made my mom have to give up my foster brothers and sister. This event seemed to break abort the morals and values that my family once had.
My childhood was the most
“Always remember that you are absolutely unique. Just like everyone else.” This mantra from Margaret Mead is a somewhat humorous yet slightly satirical spin on how people tend to think of themselves as one-of-a-kind, irreplaceable human specimens. However, one English teacher from Wellesley High School takes this critique one step further with his polemic presentation at the school commencement. David McCullough, a Massachusetts English teacher, gave a seemingly somber sendoff to his graduates in 2012, with a speech that contained some unapologetically harsh sentiments. However, by looking past the outwardly dismal surface of the speech, the students can infer a more optimistic message. By incorporating devices of asyndeton, paradox, antimetabole, and anadiplosis, McCullough conveys to each student that even though none of them is unique, their commonality is not a fault they all have merit and should strive to view the world through a more selfless lens.
Family, education and a person’s opportunities are significant elements that collectively define an individual, as demonstrated by both Wes Moore’s. Depending on the opportunities offered to you and whether you decide to take advantage of them through hard work and persistence will result in your success or failure in the end. Wes Moore explains “The chilling truth is that his story could have been mine. The tragedy is that my story could have been his” goes to show that certain factors affect how you will be as an adult regardless of similar or differentiating backgrounds. (Moore xi).
Dr. Seuss once wrote that “today you are you, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is youer than you”, but what makes a person unique? A person’s character is what makes them who they are. It is the foundation of personality, words, and actions, and it grows with every trial in an individual’s life. Personal struggle develops character because it brings to light what a person will and will not do, allows them to find or develop talents, it creates an opportunity to alter their mindset, and the experience gained will stay with the individual forever.
My family is like many others in that we have our problems and difficulties as well as our own unique strengths and abilities. Past generations and the environmental context have influenced each individual’s development and growth, mine included. Through a thorough assessment of my family’s characteristics and dynamics, I am better able to understand my own beliefs and behaviors. This concept can also be applied to the families I work with. Through increased self-awareness and understanding of my own history, I am better able to provide competent, effective services as a social worker.
“It’s a blessed thing that in every stage in every age some one has had the individuality and courage enough to stand by his own convictions.” The part of me that sums up my identity best is not the adjectives given by family, or the faults I find in myself. My identity is my desire to better myself, and my passion for children. My identity is who I want to be and what I do to accomplish my goals My identity is the feelings and emotions I pour into my journal every day, and the way I feel when I do something right. My identity is not what others thing of me or what I think of myself after a bad day. My identity is the love and confidence I have in myslef, and the beauty inside.
Family is often the first form of socialization an individual gets. It occurs even before daycare, formal schooling, and peer influence. Family also affects an individual’s life opportunities by racial/ethnic history and socioeconomically history. My family is relatively small compared to most. As of August 2015 all of my great grandparents have passed away, leaving just three generation alive. My family has constantly been middle class throughout society with the exception of situational poverty like divorce, widowed, great depression, and repression.
In the Individual level, all persons are in some respects unique from other individuals, while, at a genetic level, humans are the same; however, we all possess individuality.
Throughout people’s lives, many are tested, in which they are pushed to their own limits. These personal experiences help the person to realize what makes them different from others, what makes them unique and stand out from the crowd. Even, sometimes with these experiences, people learn more about themselves, push themselves to their limit and test their abilities to work under pressure and other times adapt. In my case, the most important experience that I went through that helped me develop skills that I use to excel in my academics is something that most people don’t go through until late in life, the loss of a parent, in this case, my mother.
It is through the events in the journey of life that shapes and molds who we are as people. As for me, immigrating to America was one of those milestones that have shaped who I am. Those who have had the opportunity of moving from a different country to America know what a privilege it is. I felt the same honor to know that I would be journeying to the land of opportunity. Without hesitance, I spent the last two months packing and making the final preparations before moving to a new continent. Although it was a bittersweet time, leaving my beloved family behind, I knew that I couldn’t resist the treasure that waited for me in the new land. Coming from a developing nation the high level of sophistication that greeted me on arrival to America made feel like I was in paradise.
Family has major impacts on our lives. From the moment you were born, your family has taught you right from wrong. We get our religion, values, gender roles, language, and habits from our families. We get our status in society through your family’s connection and wealth which later can determine one’s job opportunities in life. Although we grow up and start to develop our own values and beliefs and opinions, the family values beliefs and opinion that were instilled in you since you were little never really go away.
In this reflective paper, I discuss several aspects of my race, ethnicity, and culture that has made me who I am, and impacted my overall individual identity.
Not knowing who I was for many years led to a series of bad decisions and choices. However I began to notice that I had a gift, a talent of making others feel good and found myself wanting to be an emboldening model for others. Often my friends and family looked to me for advice and answers. I later realized that it was not about giving advice but helping them find the answer that are locked away in their subconscious mind. Helping them discover who they were; the irony I discovered who I was, my life purpose, my calling.
My family is who I have socialized most with since they were the first ever people I interacted with. Family has had a large influence over who I am today because they are the people who I learned almost everything from (primary socialization). The reason I have such high morals and values is because of my family. By observing and taking from their behavior I was able to form my own values through nurture. Although they taught me a lot of beneficial things that make me a better person, I have also learned from some of my family members bad habits. My uncle always smoked around the kids, including myself, when I was younger and I never liked the smell and now I associate that memory with cigarettes and it makes me not have any desire to smoke whatsoever. I also had another uncle who went to jail a lot for selling drugs and other related things, and since I definitely did not want to end up in jail I now make smart decisions, and associate myself with people who benefit me. On the whole my family has made me a nobler person by both their good and bad
Upon reading the essay prompt, I took a few moments to introspect. I thought back to every experience that helped mold me into the person I am today. As human beings, we are influenced by many aspects of our surroundings. Even as children, we develop certain attributes through observation, or through conditioning by our parents. These attributes may not be always positive, but the combination of both positive and negative qualities form the people we are today. No one is perfect; nevertheless, some are fortunate enough to have their strengths outweigh their weaknesses. I believe I am one of those lucky people.
As I have reflected on the examined life, intellectually, physically, emotionally, socially and spiritually, over the span of this semester and applied it to our own life, I have noticed a theme that links each of these dimensions together. Life is a journey of self discovery where individuals are constantly trying to come to terms with who they are as a person. Through this journey, individuals can find their calling or vocation in life, discover their potential, know one’s self, and even just make sense of life. Furthermore, I will examine this theme of self discovery in the context of each dimension and apply it to what I have learned over the course of this semester.