Essay On Sociological Perspective

As I think of my life in retrospect, and apply a sociological perspective to it, it presents itself in a series of vignettes. In the span of my life, there have been three (3) clear and distinct phases that have brought to a point in my life, and I am now embarking on the fourth. Each phase has taught me lessons not only about myself, but of societal factors that have had a significant influence. The most significant influence has been constant throughout my life, and its value beyond measure. It has been people, namely a mother, a husband and a son. Finance is an inescapable factor. As I moved through each phase of my life, much like most Canadians, finance would figure prominently in both opportunities and choices made. Finally,

The first vignette of my life is that of being a young child growing up in a small house in Ottawa, with a single mother and six (6) older siblings. We moved to Ottawa in

It has been an integral part of my life since Justin was not quite four (4) years of age. It has been time tested method of integrating into new communities. Making friends and finding my niche was a high priority. Volunteering provided that opportunity. Over the span of our marriage, Tom has accepted two (2) transfers. Once the boxes were unpacked, the furniture put in place and Tom had returned to work, it was clear that I needed something to fill in my days. There were times that I entertained the thought of going back to school to earn a diploma in a given field. However, the culmination of my life experience had not fully presented a clear choice for post secondary study. Additionally, it was my feeling, and echoed to some degree by Tom, that until Justin was fully launched in his career, any additional funds we were able to put away needed to be earmarked for Justin. When he made the decision to pursue post secondary education, we were thrilled. We knew that, to the extent that we were financially able, we would help him with tuition. It was moving to Brockville and I donating hours to Victim Services – Leeds and Grenville, that I realized supporting people had always been a part of life. It was an epiphany of sorts, and one that would once again, have me cast my eyes in the direction of post secondary education. The cost of post secondary education is substantial, but so too is the cost of not fulfilling