Family and Values

Family is a big word to unpack since the word "Family" is used so loosely, for example, I can be labeling my best friend as part of my family since we're so close. In comparison, how David M. Newman explains that in everyday usage, people may use the word family more loosely to describe those with whom they've achieved a significant degree of emotional closeness and sharing, even if they're not related. Although I may see it that way, I also believe that family is when you're blood related to one another. I think it's interesting when some people say that "Blood" is thicker than "Water," meaning that family is stronger than friends. However, from this example, I could agree and disagree with it.

Furthermore, a family are those who lives under the same roof together. However, it is a different story when you're living in the same roof with  roommates/friends since you're not blood related to them in any way. Adding on, in my opinion, a family is made up of family members who don't have to worry about who they are in front of each other. Society, such as local, state, and federal governments, also define family by managing many programs that provide certain benefits only to groups they officially define as "families." In addition, every family has their own values, depending on how your parents were raised, your family may have different values. On another note, I believe your culture and religion also plays a major role on how you are towards each other. For example, in my family, they value a daughter who studies hard in school and focuses on family. Rather than letting me explore the world and different cultures, my parents would prefer me to stay at home and explore my culture, such as, learning how to cook our traditional meals and learning more about my religion. Like I said, culture and religion plays a big role in my parents values is because in my culture, another man's family would be more willing to agree on marriage of a woman who know's how to cook and clean.

Above is a video that I think would be interesting to watch, although Hmong people don't have a particular food of their own, we like to combine foods from different Asian groups into our own. It is a video showing how to make Kapoon. This is one of our traditional dish that we would usually cook for celebrations, although there are many more meals to learn. To the right is a photo of my mom, me,  and my younger siblings on Christmas. Moreover, my family values privacy between one another but also to be there for one another when they're in need. Although it may be tough being family, and everyone has their up's and down's, we were taught to stick together through the end. If you think about it, it is like a chain reaction, once one goes down we all go down together but we support and rely on each other to get back up!

Supporting Identity

To manage the impressions that people have of us, I believe is a process depending on first impressions, or in other words, impression formation. Going off of the sociology textbook by David M. Newman, impression formation is when we form an immediate impression based on observable cues such as age, ascribed status characteristics such as race and gender, individual attributes such as physical appearance, and verbal and nonverbal expressions. For example, since I'm part of a football team, one way to manage our impressions of others is that we have to be able to uphold a strong and positive image so other teams wont look down on us. Although we have a disadvantage compared to other teams since we are younger and have less experience, when we are on the field competing with another team if we play fair with other teams and those older then us, then we would be more respected. This situation can be engaged to impression management since we present ourselves in a favorable way to the public so we can get more positive judgments. However, if we played with unsportsmanlike conduct then other teams would look down on us and disrespect us, in conclusion to negative judgments. Below are pictures of my team and another team. Between the two pictures, my group has younger girls who are still in high school with less experience compared to the other team who has older girls with more experience.

My Team and I

An opponent Team

In addition, when meeting a new guy or girl, if you ever go out on a date, you wouldn't randomly fart in front of your date because it would be rude and embarrassing. Although we all know that its natural, impression management would limit you to do such things if you wanted a positive feedback from that person, in other words, if you wanted a second date. Below is something I found a bit amusing and quite funny!

The Development of Role Taking

In chapter 5, I find the topic "The Development of Role Taking" very interesting because as you observe people around you growing up, you start to notice that everyone's identity is combined through their experiences which makes them who they are. For example, if a person was to be labeled or seen from other people's perspective that they aren't pretty, not good enough, or not smart enough, then the person being labeled would change their own behavior just to fit in, known as role taking. I find it interesting because it is obvious but not a lot of people realize who or what they are until they hear it from others and it can either be true or false.

Next, the "Play Stage" discusses young children's and how they develop taking the perspective of one person at a time. Then, the "Game Stage," when children's first begin to participate in organized activities such as school events and team sports. However, I think what makes a kid a kid is when they are in their play stage because they are not able to tell whats right from wrong in public places or just in front of other people. Furthermore, when a child is at the game stage, those around them starts to notice that the child is maturing when they start to take sports and other things serious. I believe these two stages are very important because they determine the child's growth from being a baby to a young teen.

Lastly, we have the "Generalized Other," the perspective of society and its constituent values and attitudes. This idea expands as the child grows to experience with others and help matures the child in their growth of experiencing with society. In addition, I believe the idea of generalized other relates to the societies expectations of you and what you should become. All of these ideas plays a big role in who you are because through these experiences, as you grow older, you may have good or bad experiences relating to family members and friends, or maybe worse, spiders! For example, if a child had a bad incident with spiders, they would grow up hating it or liking it if they overcome their fears of spiders.