1

Sociological Autobiography

I am an indigo child, born under the sign of Pisces, in the Age of

Aquarius. Im a product of a generation who believed in peace, love, the
environment, sharing, and working together. However, I am more than the
sum of these parts. Even within a seemingly idyllic middle class upbringing,
life still presents difficult situations to work though. I was a happy kid;
stubborn, curious, and adventurous. My parents would always call me a little
spitfire.
Early on a march Sunday in 1997, I was born in Denver. The life my parents
wanted for me was a safe one, filled with independent exploring and
discovery. A life that wasnt as accessible in the busy neighborhoods of
Denver. Nine months later, my mother and father moved our family to Fort
Collins, a semi-small town (at the time). I was born to two individuals grown
from the hippie age. This means that my entire perception of life
essentially stems from the ideas instilled in them from their generation.
Since I was little, my parents have largely encouraged me to speak my mind
and stand up for myself. In fact, my father, often times would say, Let me
see your muscles, I would then flex my muscles as hard as I could. I was
then told to yell, I am strong! and so I would. I would yell it at the top of my
lungs.
The emphasis on self confidence, strength, and independence is an
example of a value. A value is an idea about what one believes is right,
wrong, or important. In a larger sociological sense, this may be also what a

culture thinks is right, wrong, or important. Values are important to

understand because according to Robert Wuthnow in 2008, values are part
of the common-sense culture in which everyone lives. This means that if we
wish to understand the cultures we live in, we must understand the values of
members that are in that culture.
Other important values that I was raised with were communication,
caring for others, being kind, and sharing. As an impressionable child these
were inadvertently handed down to me from my parents. They more than
likely, picked up these values due to how they were brought up, or socialized.
Socialization is how one learns to live within a social construct and develop a
sense of self. The four agents of socialization are ones family, school, peers,
and used media. The way one is socialized affects their perception of life and
the world for the rest of their lives. For example, in the article Rural-Urban
Differences in Environmental Concern in Canada (Huddart-Kennedy, Beckley,
McFarlane, & Nadeau, 2009) states exactly this. Children that grew up in a
rural area, tended to highly value the environment. On the other hand,
children that grew up in the city valued the environment less than those who
were raised in rural areas. it was determined that this was due to how the
two different groups of people were socialized. In other words, these values
were given to them by their families, schools, peers, and media (or lack
thereof). How people are socialized in Russia has under gone a huge shift.
This is in response to the collapse of the Soviet Union and the subsequent
Deviance: behaviors that go against the agreed or expected norms of a society- for
more see page 11-# 1.

change in the Russian economy and government. Children raised in this time
experienced a completely new environment (N.D. NikaNDrov, 2008).
At the time my parents were developing, many younger folk had lost
trust in older generations. A common saying for the time was, You cant
trust anyone over thirty! An entire category of the American population was
no longer listening to what most of their parents, teachers, or politicians
wanted. They then turned to their peers for the socialization of their values.
This shifted the priorities and values of social groups away from those upheld
by the older generation. The new values that were becoming more and more
prominent included the same values of independence, communication,
caring for others, being kind, and sharing.
As I was being socialized, there were not any negative notions about trusting
the older generation. In fact, it was largely encouraged by all the four agents
of socialization. In turn, the agents I was socialized with had many traits and
values parented by the Hippie movement.
Growing up in the after math of the rebellion against my grandparents
generation,
Theres been an evolution of acceptability that has been passed down from
parents generation to me. I have grown up in an environment where
anything goes.

Deviance: behaviors that go against the agreed or expected norms of a society- for
more see page 11-# 1.

This has been both good and bad. Its hard to shape yourself when there is
no acceptable or unacceptable anymore. This is a defining feature of who I
am in my lifetime. I can be anything. Not only do I have the opportunity to
be whatever I want, I am supported, I am expected to be special or unique.
Collectively, this is the dilemma of the Millennial generation as a whole.
Along the way, I have also developed my own values. Some of these
include biking, hiking, and gardening. However, they have definitely changed
over time. While in middle school, clothing was very important to me.
Clothing was important to the entire school in fact. To be considered cool
one had to wear graphic tees from one of three places; Areoposale, American
Eagle, or Hollister. If you had Gap, Old Navy, or just a plain old non graphic
tee, you were automatically considered un-cool. This is a very interesting
phenomenon, one that Ive heard others also experience in their school
settings. According to the study conducted by Leslie Davis Burns in 2012, at
Oregon State University, the USA value the clothing that pertains more to
aesthetics and social clothing than those in other parts of the world
(specifically Taiwan). This high value of which type of shirt a girl wears in
middle school is inherent in our culture, therefore very important while
learning about how to act within that culture. I quickly grew out of this petty
value after entering high school, however, I am able to instantly spot and
assess the quality and status of a graphic tee I see in public, to this day.

*culture: The way a society functions, with specific, set values, norms, and expected
behaviors.

Along with clothing, I also have developed a value for the outdoors. This was
mainly because instead of taking expensive vacations, we went camping. I
believe this is one of the main reasons I joined the Student Conservation
Association. The Student Conservation Association was created for high
school students to become involved in preserving and enjoying the nature
around them and in their nation. Last summer, I lived backcountry in the
Rocky Mountains for a month maintaining trails. I met some really cool
people, and decided to pursue Forestry as a career. If it had not been for my
lasting value of nature, I never would have had this life changing experience.
The influences of these agents can also be seen in our familys norms.
Social norms are a set guidelines and expectations that a culture or society
has. Now, being an only child played a part in our family norms. I got a lot of
my parents attention. This is a stigma, however it happens by default. A
sociological stigma is a preconceived idea about a person who has certain
traits that they cannot control or change, usually negative. Only children are
stigmatized. They are considered self centered and spoiled. For me this
meant I had my parents full attention. There was no one else around that
they needed to take care of. In some ways this was nice. In others, it meant
that I was very sheltered from the outside world. I didnt have a sibling to
taunt me. Ultimately, I never really developed a sense of how to handle
really rude or mean people because of this norm or how to live with someone
in close quarters.
Deviance: behaviors that go against the agreed or expected norms of a society- for
more see page 11-# 1.

My parents also worked full time jobs while I was in elementary school. It was
normal for me to spend long hours at B.A.S.E. camp before and after school.
This norm differed from those of my classmates who had stay-at-home moms
(or dads) who picked them up right after school.
While I was in the process of developing my generalized other, my main
playmates were males. A generalized other is the idea one references to
predict how a stranger, acquaintance, or other unfamiliar person will act.
These interactions geared my generalized other more towards the attitudes
and behaviors of five year old boys. I had female classmates in preschool,
but I was not exposed to them often; I still hung out with male characters.
For example while hanging out with Christopher, my close childhood friend,
we would both get really excited about finding insects and playing with fake
weaponry. In turn, when I picked up a worm or got a new plastic sword, I
expected the ones around me to be thrilled.
Another person who I spent a lot of time with was my neighbor, Isabel
Carpenter. We were almost exactly the same age and both shared a love of
animals. Isabel came onto my life when I was five years old. Before Isabel, I
was in contact with many peers, for shorter times. My significant other
hadnt begun to form much yet. A significant other is a person who one
spends time with and has an impact on that individuals views, beliefs, and
ideas about the world. After she moved in, I spent a considerable amount of
time with Isabel. Isabel was also quite odd. She was beyond loud, had a lisp,
*culture: The way a society functions, with specific, set values, norms, and expected
behaviors.

would knock into you while walking, and had an incredibly vivid imagination.
Now these seem like all very normal characteristics of a five year old.
However, for Isabel, she didnt outgrow them. They followed her throughout
elementary and middle school, and are still prevalent as she makes her way
in the world as a high school Junior. I expected Isabels characteristics from
others, so I tailored my responses to those characteristics and used them
when interacting with the outside world. I spoke loudly, bumped people
back, and had sometimes grandiose ideas while living my life. However, this
has caused me to have a large tolerance for these traits (the influence of a
significant other). I feel comfortable interacting with people who are fairly
odd and unique. A great example of this is my volunteer work with
international students at CSU. I have met people from all cultures. I really do
feel comfortable in situations that may be awkward to others. I know how to
say hello in Korean, Chinese, German, French, Arabic, and Turkish. Through
these experiences I have learned a great deal about World culture.
In my household, there were few sanctions. A sanction is a built-in
social praise or consequence delivered by the people around an individual.
As long as it wasnt hurting anyone or making others do things they didnt
want to do, my parents very rarely shamed or reprimanded me for my
actions. This let me develop my interests freely without judgment. When I
brought these interests to school, however, things changed. On one
occasion, I had heard that buying things from China was helping the Chinese
Deviance: behaviors that go against the agreed or expected norms of a society- for
more see page 11-# 1.

government suppress the Tibetan people. Being the idealistic child that I
was, I was on a crusade to spread the news and involve my fellow fourth
graders in the boycott of Chinese products. These products included the
infamous stuffed toys called Webkinz. Webkinz were toys that you could have
in real life and enter a code on the Webkinz website and create a profile for it
online. The first person I shared my ideas with was Cate Rush. Before I could
finish all of my pitch, Cate shot me a confused wary look. She thought it was
a weird idea and proceeded to turn to another classmate and express how
weird it was that I would even consider giving up my Webkinz. I was then
given negative looks by some other classmates. This sanction taught me to
keep most of my ideas to myself, unless I knew someone else would approve
of them.
Although my own social class has not changed throughout my life, my
parents class has. The way the amount of wealth and income a person has
in correlation with the others around them is their social class. My mother
came from the working social class, and could barely make ends meet. She
went to school and had to support herself, working three, sometimes four
jobs; waitressing, painting, and whatever else she could get her hands on. It
was not easy work. This is how she got educated and obtained upward
mobility within society. Social mobility is the movement one experiences in
the social construct of social class, within a class, or from class to class. Her
life path is proof that one can change their living conditions and the class
*culture: The way a society functions, with specific, set values, norms, and expected
behaviors.

they were born into through hard work. My father came from a middle class
family with three children. Even though he was born into this class, he did
manual labor for years; building rock walls, landscaping, and framing houses.
My parents combined income places our family in the lower middle class.
We were comfortable, however, we greatly avoided extra luxuries like
eating out and vacations.
Growing up, I always thought I would obtain upward social mobility. However,
this may not be a reality. In the US, social mobility has become an
interesting topic. The gap between the lower and the upper classes has
continuously grown for the last several decades. Kate Ward and Kenneth R.
Himes(2014) suggest that this has made social mobility increasingly difficult
to accomplish. However, in the article written by Graham Room, maintaining
the class one is born into is likely. My parents were both highly educated with
masters degrees. My father works in the mental health field, and my mother
works in higher education. Although they didnt make much money, they
were able to gain status due to their education and career paths. Status is
the place one holds within a culture or society. While both of my parents
worked, my mother had the role of being the primary care giver, just like in a
typical American household. Most income was provided by my father. This
said, he actively was a part of my life. Both of my parents were highly
supportive and communicative, teaching me how to express myself.

Deviance: behaviors that go against the agreed or expected norms of a society- for
more see page 11-# 1.

I was always an independent kid. In the first grade, my teacher called my

mother. She was very concerned about me. I hadnt been playing with the
other kids enough, according to her. It would be best, in her opinion, if I was
put into a special group for kids with emotional and social problems. She
thought I fit the stereotype of a loner. A stereotype is a categorization of an
individual with certain characteristics that fit a specific social image. After
school, my mom asked me about my behavior. I looked at her with a puzzled
look. I didnt feel like I wanted to be alone, I just didnt like the game they
were playing. I then said that if they had been playing a different game, I
would have happily joined in. This is proof that deviant* behavior from
conformity* makes people uncomfortable.
This so called deviant behavior went on to define my life. I was never a part
of the larger, popular group. I used the popular group I wasnt a part of as my
reference group. A social reference group is a group of people who one use
as a basis to help compare and evaluate themselves. My reference group
was the most popular girls in school. I looked to them for tips about how to
dress, how to act, and what to like. My primary group was Anna Grado and
Aya Ahmed. A primary group is filled with people who one interacts mostly
with and usually has lasting, emotional relationships with other members.
As time went on, Anna, Aya, and I were able to sneak our way into the
secondary group of the cool girl group. A secondary group is usually a group
with a larger number of people, within which relationships are short lived,
*culture: The way a society functions, with specific, set values, norms, and expected
behaviors.

formal, and superficial. We started to eat lunch with them and were invited to
birthday parties. However, I still was never invited to an individual playdate
with any of the girls.
As I got older, my primary group changed. I grew away from Anna and
Aya. I believe this is due to our cultural differences. While we were a
cohesive group in elementary school, we grew apart because we started
identifying with our ethnic cultures and socio-economic statuses. Anna came
from a Hispanic background and lived in a trailer on the poorer side of town.
Later, she would become involved in the local gang activity prevalent in her
neighborhood. Aya, on the other hand came from an Iranian family. Being
Muslim, they were highly conservative. She was never allowed to any of
birthday parties or sleepovers and I was never invited over to her house.
Eventually, we stopped talking to one another on familiar terms.
As I entered junior high, I became friends with Margaret Larsen. Margret was
the It girl of the school. She became one of my best friends, and
inadvertently, an additional significant other in my life.
I attended an IB middle school. The IB program is a social institution unto
itself. A social institution is an establishment that is facilitates education,
family, religion, peer groups, economic systems, legal systems, penal
systems, language, and the media. The manifest function of the IB program
was to highly educate students. A manifest function is the function of a social
structure that is intended to occur. Students become quick problem solvers
Deviance: behaviors that go against the agreed or expected norms of a society- for
more see page 11-# 1.

and critical thinkers through the use of intense academic work. The IB
programs latent function was causing social groups to form. A latent
function is a function that occurs within the structure of the social institution
that was not an intended function.
The IB philosophy is deeply ingrained in who I am as a person. Introduced to
the characteristics and culture* early on, it continued to follow me
throughout my education. Dunn Elementary, were I completed my primary
learning, was also an IB School. In the early years, IB meant a focus on
principles and developing a student as a good citizen. However, as I got
older, academics became more prominent. They started preparing me in fifth
grade for sixth grade, and in sixth grade they were preparing me for seventh
grade. This trend continued throughout middle school and into high school.
When I entered Poudre High School, I was taking two years worth of Ivy
League college preparatory work my freshman year. This created a culture of
extremely competitive, stressed children who had all grown up together. A
culture where the focus was on academics, everyone was trying to get the
best score, and if one did poorly, they would be ridiculed. In relation to the
rest of the school, the IB kids placed themselves above students taking
regular classes and AP classes. it was difficult for me to maintain my position
in this elite and high strung culture. I stopped sleeping normally, got
headaches, and felt anxious most of the time. Thats when I decided to
transfer to Polaris ELS. At Polaris, the culture was much different. There is
*culture: The way a society functions, with specific, set values, norms, and expected
behaviors.

less of an emphasis on academics, and more of one on the individual

student. Its a smaller social environment where cliques are discouraged and
people accept individuals with all of their flaws.
Currently my role in society is a female high school student. A
sociological role is how a specific individual with a certain title within a
society, is expected (by society and peers) to behave, and behaves
accordingly with these expectations. I come to class, participate in
discussion, and am an active member in school culture and activities, like
organizing Prom and game nights. I also am expected to be interested in and
research colleges for my future plans. All of this behavior is expected from
me as a high school Junior. Within that high school Junior role, I function
through The accumulation of my learning experiences. They have made me
who I am today. I will take all of these facets of sociology into my future life.

1.

In the article, The Situational Analysis of Crime and Deviance by

Christopher Birkbeck and Gary LaFree, it is theorized that deviance can
be situational or dispositional. This means that a person may be
deviant due to certain situations an individual is presented with, or it
can be due to who the individual is inherently. Deviant behavior can
also become an expected and normalitive behavior. When a group of
people who display a deviant behavior are exposed to another group
who do not display this unacceptable behavior, over time the deviant

Deviance: behaviors that go against the agreed or expected norms of a society- for
more see page 11-# 1.

behavior becomes expected. This is how unacceptable behaviors of

newer generations become non-deviant.

*culture: The way a society functions, with specific, set values, norms, and expected
behaviors.