Apply Sociological Imagination

Social Diversity and Socio-Biographical Imagination
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Institution

Social Diversity and Socio-biographical Imagination
Humans are unique and dissimilar to other creatures. Nonetheless, in their divergent uniqueness, they have shared attributes more than they can imagine (Kendall, 2012). Noteworthy, humanity seems to be in a constant state of conflict, anxiety, and distress because of innate diversity in every individual. The profound limitation to why humanity finds it challenging to live in peace and harmony is the inability to understand and appreciate diversity due to the beliefs and values acquired from our social environments (McCoy, 2012). Social factors and backgrounds such as culture significantly shape societies both at local or global level and from groups to an individual. Equally, the characters and behaviors of individuals in their respective niches shape the society (Mills, 2000). Wright Mills invented the term sociological imagination, which infers to the ability to view a stranger’s society as your own from experiences and cultural biases perspective. Mills advocated viewing of one’s family as a stranger would, and this is only possible if one understands and appreciates the uniqueness of the society by personalizing it as your own.
McCoy (2012) quotes Atticus Finch’s statement that “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view … until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it.” The statement argues that to understand your neighbor and other varsities, one must be ready to suspend their bias and walk in the shoes of the other person.

Culture is our identity; so is socialization, demography, and geopolitical backgrounds. Human identities cannot be separated from the big picture idea of society for none exits without the other (Kendall, 2012). Despite our different origins, cultures, societies, social classes, education, geopolitical and demographic among different backgrounds, we all share common experiences, values, and attributes.
Personal life emphasizes on set values and priorities drawn from individual experiences and society. Social life, however, is influenced by the interactions among individuals with divergent and diverse values and preferences (Kendall, 2012). The status of a community anchors on understanding the values in fulfillment of social and personal expectations while maintaining their identity.
An analysis of the lives and experiences of Ana I. Perez, from Santo Domingo; Andrea Corcino-Yupton from Peru; Kaley Wymack, from Denton Texas; and Eliana Menningen, a Korean American elucidates that they all have shared experiences despite their different origins, culture, sexual orientation, age, nationality, education levels, career paths and marriage lives. Experiences of women are unique and but similar in a manner; they share commonalities that allow one to appreciate diversity. Perez shares much with the other women.
All the women are in a sexual relationship where Perez got married to her 15-year fiancé in 2014, Corcino-Yupton is married with two boys, Wymack is in a relationship with her boyfriend of three years and hopes to settle soon while Menningen stays with her male partner. It is clear that, despite their backgrounds, all the women value the institutions of marriage; hence, they have much to share and learn from each other. Marriage is a crucial cultural and social aspect; therefore, appreciating the institution is paramount in fostering relations. Nonetheless, Perez and Menningen share different sexual preferences and orientation. Perez is a lesbian while Menningen considers herself bisexual but prefers a male relationship. Perez has been encountered discrimination from her best friend of 20 years due to her sexual preference while Menninghen notes that the social labeling based on her sexual orientation does not move her. Nevertheless, for the four women to interact and coherently mingle, they have to appreciate and acknowledge their marriage and sexual orientation differences.
Career-wise and education; Perez, Wymack, and Menningen all have training and career path ingrained in the health sector. Perez has a background in healthcare and looks forward to completing her bachelor degree in Nursing; Wymack’s personality and passion of caring for children drive her to become a pediatrician while Menningen is partaking her second degree in nursing in addition to her first degree in Traditional Chinese Medicine. None of the women have stable employment in their areas of specialty hence they can help each other seek employment, motivate and empower each other on the same. Their career paths and education backgrounds connect them more despite age, sexuality, family, social class, and geopolitical differences. Perez is the first-born in a family of four siblings, Wymack is 20 years old from a medium income family of four while Menningen is aged 30 from a lower middle family and has a nephew.
All the women share at least one hobbies and outdoor activities. Perez, Wymack, and Menningen all love watching TV series while Perez and Wymack love painting and paint art. Perez, Wymack, and Corcino-Yupton love animals; they have had dogs and pets.
The women have different values, relationship and education statuses, nationalities, race, age, hobbies, and social status among other socio-cultural backgrounds. However, in each of their backgrounds and experiences, they have a similarity that can influence each other mutually to maintain the status quo.

References
Kendall, D. (2012). Sociology in Our Times (9 Ed.). Belmont, CA: Cengage Learning.
McCoy, C. (2012). Awakening students’ sociological imagination. Contemporary Issues in Education Research, 5(2), 61.
Mills, C. W. (2000). The Sociological Imagination. New York: Oxford University Press.