How My Sociological Imagination Changed My Life

The Sociological Imagination thrives from the ability of an individual to be able to see the relationship one has between their own personal experience and troubles and how these experiences and situations interconnect with society. In other words, “the Sociological Imagination is simply a "quality of mind" that allows one to grasp "history and biography and the relations between the two within society” (Elwell, 1). Another way of thinking about ones history and biography being connected is by thinking of history as “public issues” and thinking of biography as “private troubles” that a person may have. This connection between individuals to society can either be visible or invisible. Meaning, one person may be going through one thing and find

I come from a pretty diverse mix of people that have definitely impacted the person that I am today. One my dad’s side, I am Cherokee. Before the Civil Rights Movement, people like me had no rights whatsoever. I am very outspoken which I am sure relates back to my ancestor’s not being able to voice their own opinions until after the Civil Rights Movement. The economy has definitely shaped me very recently into a changed version of myself. I grew up in a family that was very well off. My senior year of high school, the economy in real estate got really bad which affected my family very negatively since my mother was a real estate agent. Problems with money and more personal, pressing issues, caused my parents to divorce that same year. I am way more money conscious than I ever used to be because of the struggles we as a family faced. I understand the value of a dollar, which is why I have worked since I was fifteen years old. Another less commonly mentioned social force that has changed me and I am sure many others like me, is the military. I went through therapy all through elementary and middle school with children my age, that had parents deployed as well, just like me. This connected us in a way that only people who have been affected by military parental deployments can understand. This experience so early in my life has honestly made me into a lot of things. I am very compassionate,

Historical occurrences can be more recent or can be from a time when your ancestors were around and can still have a connection with the person you are today. The ability to see this connection and relate it to your own life is known as the Sociological Imagination. “Private troubles” can make a person believe that they are disconnected from everyone but a person who understands the sociological imagination knows that the troubles we may think are private are actually public issues. This connection is what allows individuals to be interconnected to other individuals and groups that are going through the same type of situations or problems. We are all related to different groups of people in society, even if we cannot see the connection for our