Javon Holt
1346 Words
Prof. Natalie Boero
Sociology 80
9 November 2014
Looking Through My Lens
When a picture is taken with a camera, one of the most important components needed is a
lens. Different lenses can make a big difference in the way a picture may turn out; the
wrong lens can make a photo out of focus, but the right lens can grant you a clearer
picture. This principle can also apply to how you perceive people in society today. If you
look at society through different perspectives you achieve a deeper understanding of
society itself and those within it. My high school years are a great reference to explore how
segregation, white privilege, and assimilation can be looked at through sociological
perspectives. Such perspectives include symbolic interactionism, functionalism, and the
formation of my sociological imagination.
Before High School, I only attended schools that had students that were primarily African
American. Being surrounded by a lack of diversity I was unable to have the opportunity to
experience other people with diverse backgrounds. Once I started High School, it was my
first time interacting with people who didn’t look like me. Most of the students had known
each other from middle school and elementary school before, and because of their past
histories with each other I felt somewhat alone and out of place. In order to establish an
equilibrium for the situation I consciously and unconsciously assimilated myself within
this new group of people that had known each other for almost the entirety of their lives. I
did this because I felt a strain in the interactions between myself and my peers, which
became uneasy due to our cultural differences. I thought the only way that I would feel
more comfortable at my new school was if I conformed to the social order that was already
in place. As I eventually met other students like myself at the school, I noticed that I had to
make some social adjustments, but luckily I did not need to change the essence of my
persona. I began to analyze the way my peers spoke and how they interacted with each
other to gain the knowledge to socialize and understand them better. While observing their
actions, I realized how strangely and different they interacted with each other compared to
the ways I am used to. When many of them had conversations they would use negative
words towards each other, but instead of taking them negatively they received their actions
