Personal Narrative

In my eyes, sociology is the study of people. Not just the individual, but the ways in which that individual interacts with the world around them. Sociology involves thinking critically about the core intersections that develop through the (in a way, ongoing) socialization process. By analyzing education, culture, family, peers, and the media – as well as their influence on an individual – sociologists gain an understand into the key facets of these concepts. This analysis can either inform or result in research and sociological theories along the lines of gender, socioeconomic status, race, social justice, and the like. As a sociologist, I approach things in a similar fashion as a stranger would in order to bring an active open mind and achieve a comprehensive understanding of the subject matter at hand.

I first encountered sociology when I was 14 years old, my freshman year of high school. It was the first class I actually understood and excelled in. In this course, I was exposed to something new: literary research and sociological theories. This was where I shined brightest. In that realm, I maintained focus on general literary research and public speaking. But I found that no one was speaking the type of scholarly language I remembered sharing, responding to, and using in sociology.

In college, I found that language again. I declared my major because I knew I had found my academic home where I would naturally thrive without ever feeling like I broke a sweat (one that was not enjoyable, at least). In the school of Liberal Arts and Sciences, I was free to take several other classes in other disciplines, and by exploring my interests I loved how complimentary the knowledge, skills, and materials presented by the courses were. The foundational skills I have gained as a sociology major – communication, critical thinking, problem solving, abstract reasoning, research, analysis – have helped me to bring an original perspective to any prospect I am faced with.

Sociology has allowed me to apply a unique insight into the realm of social interaction to a number of areas with the capacity to explore. My sights turned thus outward to other topics encompassing health and medicine, cultures, the environment, and notions of government in the disciplines of anthropology, history, philosophy, political science, and public health. I was drawn to classes about medicine immediately; my mother was diagnosed with Spinabifida Type III when I was very young, so I grew up in hospitals, doctor’s offices, and with medical terminology being spoken all around me. Taking courses in these areas further advanced my interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary understandings of the social determinants of health and community health networks. My sophomore year of college (the same year I declared my major in Sociology), my uncle sent me Aldo Leopold’s A Sand County Almanac, which pulled me towards environmental studies in several new ways.

I see a natural path of studying the interactions of people with medicine and environments in the discipline of human ecology. Complimentary of sociology, it is interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary. My education thus far has informed my background knowledge extensively. This gives me an optimistic – and realistic – approach to what is currently facing populations today. My research, writing, and interpersonal skills would assist in objectively analyzing crises in the health care system, the effects of climate change, and pressing social justice issues; all of which require inclusive relationships built and informed responses communicated effectively. This is where sociologists strive, and this is where I strive: the study of people.