The Place of Culture In Personal Development

Culture, religion, and gender in my opinion play a big role in who we are as people. They shape our morals and why we act and do the things we do. If any of these three things were different, it could drastically change someone’s life. Understanding the sociological imagination creates my thoughts of looking at life in a different perspective. While Argentina and Columbia sit 3035 miles away from each other, I am mixed with both. My mother is Columbian and my father is Argentinian. After telling you this, it is obvious that English was not my first language in my household.

My father and mother’s first language is Spanish. Although, the cultures between these two are similar, the way my parents were brought up was different. My father was born into a poor family and grew up poor, He taught me to appreciate everything that I have and not take anything for granted. My mother never had to worry about money. The lesson from my mom is to always exhibit responsibility with my money and to always the difference between “needing” something and “wanting” something.

Obviously, my culture has a big impact on why I am the way I am today. However, if things were different, for example, if both of my parents were from the United States and English was their first language. Something as simple as writing this paper could have been easier for me. Your culture has such a big impact on how you view things.

Growing up religion was a big part of my family’s everyday life. For example, whenever we sat down for a meal, before anyone would think about taking a bite of their food my parents would lead us in prayer. I believe that since my religion is Christianity it plays a big role in why my morals and beliefs are so strong. For example, my parents taught me never to judge a person, respect everyone, and learn to forgive even when it is hard to. But most importantly to always put God first. Now, if things were different, and my parents weren’t Christians I may not have the same morals that I possess today. I possibly would be lost in the world such as getting drunk all the time, disrespecting others, holding grudges, and putting other things before God. If my parents didn’t teach me to put God first, perhaps I would be living a miserable life.

The average height of a female today is around 5”4. Unfortunately, I got my dad’s genes, making me only 4’10. Being a young petite female has taught me life lessons, such as being independent, strong, confident, and determined. For example, many people don’t expect much from me when they first see me. Already, I have gotten tired of asking for help to lift a load or carry something heavy. Now, I take the gym very seriously, so that I don’t have to depend on other people. Also, people have taken numerous advantages of me, for instance, when I only wanted one part of my car fixed, a repairman told me I needed to get another part fixed, thus, making the bill ridiculously high. I was then told that I wouldn’t be able to drive back home without breaking down. Later, I found out from another repairman that I was lied to. Hence, they only wanted me to pay more money than I really needed to.

I also have learnt to be confident in the way I look, helping me be more determined in life as a female being with focus. Now, if my height was 5”4, people would have had perhaps greater respect more for me without think of the need to manipulate me and take undue advance of me.. However, I wouldn’t have been as confident and determined as I am today. To sum it up, my culture, religion, and gender shaped me the way I am today. Looking at my life in a whole, different perspectives have brought me to conclusion that my life could be immensely different. According to Mills, C, Wright, “The sociological imagination is the most fruitful form of self-consciousness”.