Engaging the Sociological Imagination

The sociological imagination is the practice of being able to “think ourselves away” from the familiar routines of our daily lives to look at them with fresh, critical eyes (Ashley Crossman 2018). Mills who formed this concept defined the sociological imagination as “the vivid awareness of the relationship between experience and the wider society” (C. Wright Mills 1959). As individuals we tend to face issues and push them into blaming ourselves, not thinking that there are social forces around us in the society that have an impact on our breakdowns, emotionally and physically.

At the same time, these social forces build us up and create a broader ability for us to see things differently and thinking out the box. Me being in university is my ability, capability, and quality of mind to understand the connections of life with the forces and dynamics it impacts. Varsity is a high-level educational institution in which students study for degrees and academic research is done. In this essay, I will explain the importance of me going to university and why I have chosen this path in life.

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Analyze the importance of education and give a brief to how the system works. There are also challenges along the way in university life, therefore I will evaluate these obstacles and how social forces have an impact on these challenges since you are able to discover on your own and apply the knowledge in order to understand and become a critical thinker.

I grew up in an environment that was influenced more by negativity, and that had a great impact throughout my life.

However, I can trace the poverties in my family to apartheid as this period did not offer equal opportunities for black and white people. Education for black people was the least important especially for women. When I up every day in the morning I always have one thing in my head which is changing the situation at home and not letting our situation be the definition of my failure. At the end of the day pulling my goals together and doing my best is my priority. But it starts with what are my desires and the dedication towards my work. Am I passionate about what I do or am I willing to take the obstacles I’m going to face along the way whiles in varsity? Varsity life is not as easy as it seems, the focus is the most important key to getting through the tribulations and always carrying a purpose. My free will of being in the university has given me the motivation for striving for what is better.

It had always grown in me that an honorable man once said, “EDUCATION IS THE MOST POWERFUL WEAPON” (Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela). It means that without education you have less power to a lot of things. Education facilitates quality learning all through life among people of any age group, caste, creed, religion, and region. It is the process of achieving knowledge, values, skills, beliefs, and moral habits (Adam Sibuyi 2016The value of going to varsity sets up a standard of achieving your goal. There have been enforcement of education that have been set regards to the lower level of education up to a higher level of education and this enforcement changes everything as globalization takes place and new editions are always introduced. Education is both industrial and fundamental; the product of engineering and affection. (Terry Heick 2019). In general, it’s easier to find a job if you have a university degree. You can also benefit in areas like salary and personal development.

For most black and poor people like me, varsity fees are high and we cannot afford to pay. There have been strikes, students violating and vandalizing the school premises students protesting for free education. The government’s struggling National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) has “reached its sell-by date”, and the only solution for poor students was a cost-free university education (Bongani Nkosi 2015). Due to the dilemma that had evoked, and the car being burnt the school management had to suspend academics, and this affects not only learning but the whole syllabus lays behind. The environment in varsity is different, you get different types of students like disabled, artistic and most everyone has a unique talent. We all have different purposes for being there and different goals. You find Smokers, dancers, singers, and nerds. It is diverse with different religions, races, age groups, and bios. All this diverse culture stored in one bundle. Putting belief is also important, connecting religiously and having faith is also the element to overcome negativity and believing in yourself. But as an individual, you always have a choice in this world of being attentive or just slack behind.

In conclusion life in varsity is a life experience where you must stay focused. Think about where you come from, and how you had struggled your way of getting to school and getting a good quality education. Ignore all the critics in society and be able to take control of the social forces and always have in mind that society will review you twice before becoming a consideration for different things as long as the sociological imagination shapes your life.