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Photo: My sisters, my mom and me the day I was born.
I have been influenced by my birth since it started my life, determined my cohort and marked my entry into social institutions like my family and church. The family I was born into also determined my status and roles. -
Photo: Me walking a goat in the weeks after moving to Haiti.
This was a major transition in my life since suddenly my status went from an average middle-class Canadian kid to a well-off foreign kid in a country experiencing poverty and political unrest. My role went from a normal 6 year old to the son of two missionaries. This event went against social norms since most 6 year olds don’t move to foreign countries in missionary families as most missionaries would wait until their kids are older. -
Photo: Haitian capital Port-Au-Prince in the aftermath of the deadly magnitude 7.0 earthquake.
This life event affected my life in many ways since it helped me put into perspective as a child what my role in society was as a privileged person from a developed country, as we lived in well-built and sturdy housing which suffered very minor damages in the aftermath of the earthquake. -
Photo: Swimming with my dog soon after arriving in Canada.
Moving back to Canada affected me because of the stark change in lifestyle me and my family experienced when we got back. We all experienced role strain when we returned because we all of a sudden found ourselves back in the roles of suburban middle class people after experiencing poverty all around us. This was a difficult transition even as a 6 year old because I had to relearn some Canadian social norms after being away for so long. -
My parents’ separation affected me greatly because of the role conflict it caused within me. All of a sudden my parents were apart and I was stuck in the middle. This caused a role conflict within me because my role as the son of my mother was in direct conflict with my role as the son of my father. Additionally, despite divorce being quite common, there is still stigma around divorce especially in social institutions such as the church which we felt in the aftermath.
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This will influence me because I will be exiting the social institution of High school. Additionally, it will influence me because of the social norm that graduating high school is the start of young adulthood. While I won’t be a legal adult until August, graduation often marks the end of one’s role as a child in society and starts one’s role as an adult. Also, graduation marks the beginning of the transition period between the role of a High School student and that of a University student.
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Starting university will mark a major milestone in my life. This is because I will be leaving some social institutions, such as my household and job, and entering others, such as a new job, my university, and my new household/community. This will mark the finish of my role as a high school student transitioning to a University student, which will become my new main role throughout the 5 year program I’m taking.
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Graduating from University, while far away, will still be a significant life event because it will mark the end of my education and my role not only as a University Student, but as a student in general. This means my time in the social institution of my University will be over, and I’ll have to look for a more permanent job.
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Hopefully I will be able to find a full-time job within the next 6 months after graduating. Getting a full-time job will affect me because I will be going along with social norms and starting work after I finish all my schooling. This would give me the role of an average working adult, and I would start saving money for the future. Additionally, I would join a new social institution: my workplace.
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While I think it’s a somewhat outdated social norm, I do think I will get married someday. This would affect me as marriage is one of the most significant life events; it begins a new social institution: a family. This would establish a new role: husband. While I can’t be sure when it will happen, I can’t imagine it being until my late 20s or early to mid 30s.
