Agents of Socialization

Throughout my life, many agents of socialization have influenced who I am today. Firstly, my family effected who I am the most. This incorporates my Ukrainian background, which gave me a different outlook on life. Living in Ukraine really contrasted cultural differences between life here and there.

I have lived in many places throughout my life, but every one has left an imprint on me. The people that I met and the experiences that I went through in every neighborhood shaped me. For example, when I lived in Skokie, I had to spend a lot of time alone, so I hung out with older kids around the neighborhood. This taught me to be more independent, watch my back, and not trust anybody. While those lessons may make it seem like my experiences in that neighborhood were negative, I actually had a great time; and those lessons were some of the most valuable that I've learned in my life.

I've gone to five different schools in my life and one thing that this taught me is that people everywhere are basically the same in how they think and how they react to situations. People in every school had different values, cliques, and taboos, but overall, people react very similarly to situations, no matter where they're from. This taught me to communicate well with people, be understood, and understand how people feel and what they're trying to say.

The media influences everybody, whether they admit it or not; there's practically no escaping it. Advertising is everywhere and while it may seem like a negative thing, the important thing is to think logically and not let advertising strategies dominate your mind. Make clear distinctions between what you really need and what you want. Because a common goal of advertising is to make you feel that you NEED something, when really, it would be just mildly convenient, or even completely useless.

On a side note, it was crazy to see how many different companies Disney and other conglomerates owned. I thought that Disney was just a kids' company, but they own companies that have nothing to do with children. This will make me think twice before picking up a Time magazine.