Socialization

Agents of socialization have heavily impacted my life. One example is with my family. As a child, my parents would often argue. I always would stay in my room with my sister, therefore creating a strong, unique bond between the two of us. I also ended up acquiring her taste in music and sense of humor. Some manifest lessons I learned from her were things such as how to tie my shoes, how to ride my bike, and how to do my makeup not horribly. In the documentary "Wild Child: The Story of Feral Children," some of the kids never had any bonds with any other humans. Children such as Edik were not able to acquire a sense of humor from their family. They were also never taught any basic actions necessary to lead a functioning life in society, such as knowing how to tie your shoes. Edik was just left abandoned by his family, and he had to resort to living with the dogs to survive. Dogs are not as smart as humans, so they did not teach him any important rules on how to life his life as a human. Edik never got to experience what I experienced when I learned simple life tasks from my older sister.
Another thing that has happened a few times in my life is anticipatory socialization. The most notable times have been when I graduate from one school and go to the next. Going from elementary school to middle school was definitely the most nerve-wracking. I had to desocialize myself out of my elementary school habits, such as taking class trips to the bathroom and only having a small number of students who were all local. I then had to learn how to memorize a schedule and go to different classrooms within a single school day. A similar thing occurred when I transitioned from middle school to high school. I had to forget the old standards I had, such as low expectations and little responsibilities. Now, in high school, I have to sign up for the clubs I want to participate in, I drive myself to and from school, and I have to seek my teachers for help if I need it. Things have continually changed and gotten more difficult, and I have had to go through the processes of socialization every time. Without having been taught what to do and nurtured through the process, I most definitely would not have been able to go through such changes like that.