Sociological Imagination and Mindfulness

This week in class we learned about sociological imagination and sociological mindfulness. These two topics seemed to be very similar but they really backed one another.
Sociological imagination is how we understand that the environment we grew up it can shape the kind of people we become. The place and time that we grew up in is different than those in another circumstance. I certainly wouldn't be studying at my current school if my mom didn't want a better future for me. My mom would always look for the best school programs that would help build my future going into medicine. She was aware that some of the schools down South would not be as good as the suburban schools. 
Sociological mindfulness is understanding the individual talents and personalities that others and ourselves bring forth to the table. Sociological mindfulness shows us that because not everyone grew up the same way, it lets us have different opinions and viewpoints toward something. Having this allows us to see, in a way, how we were raised. 

Knowing about others and how they are different than us allows us to be open towards new viewpoints. I would not be able to make the friends I have today if my mom chose not to move to the suburbs. She wanted me to grow up in a more quiet environment where my studies would be better for my future. In her time it was more different. Education was important but not like it is today. Being mindful of the people we're surrounded by allows us to be open in the future for even newer things. 

Who Am I?

Hello readers. My name is Arica and it's pronounced like Erika. My real name is too long to spell(12 letters) and too hard to pronounce. I'd rather not share my real name. I am 16 years old and am a junior and not excited to start senior year. If I could, I would be happy to go back to freshmen year. If I could, I would LOVE to go back to first grade. I like to go sightseeing but don't really have that much time. When I'm an official adult, I want to take whatever opportunity is thrown at me. 

I also like to watch murder, crime, action movies. I mostly like to watch action movies because growing up my dad had me watch "Tom and Jerry" to "Popeye". I love Jackie Chan movies because I would see my dad watching them and I became a fan. My dad and I watched Jackie Chan movies for so long that at the age of 8 I was convinced my dad and Jackie Chan were best friends.

Random story! I had two turtles. Notice I HAD and not HAVE. I got my first turtle when I was 12 and never got the chance to name it. I remember I was so excited but after a few days (2 days to be exact) I got tired of it and my dad was the one taking care of it. 3 years later I got another turtle. Unfortunately, my dad put the two turtles together and left them together the whole day. I came home from school and saw that the smaller turtles shell was bitten off. Again I never named the turtles. Anyway the smaller turtle died and my dad put it out in the front lawn where the lawn mowers were going to be cleaning the next morning.  And as you can guess, the turtle was shredded to bits by the machine. Then near the future, I took the larger turtle out of its tank and totally forgot about it. We lost it somewhere and I'm pretty sure it left the house when we had the balcony door open by accident. So there's my random story. Just a little information on what sort of pet I kept. I am a horrible pet owner but you can't blame me. The turtle was so boring and what was I to do?

I am excited to start sociology this semester because I've heard good things and that the class was fun. I hope that I learn a lot and will use that for the rest of my life. I am open to new ideas and enjoy learning new interesting things. I have a feeling that this semester might be a blast!