Culture dimension Essay Example

Sociology — Home

Introduction

My home is the place where I was born and where I grew up as well. Aside from just giving me shelter, my home has had a paramount influence in my life in that it has shaped my understanding of various aspects of life including my social and cultural beliefs. I perceive my home as a place which is always with kindness, laughter, love, positivity, and openness (Agnes, 1995). Additionally, I consider my home a significant site because it is the place where I can express my personality, style, and the genuine characteristics of myself. When at home, I always imagine myself being an important person in the society. I am also filled with the desire to create such a special place for my future family just like my parents did for us. The paper will evaluate the social and cultural aspects of my home.

As discussed above, my home is used as the nest for my family and me; it is the center of my life and the hub where the daily experiences of my life are extended. Aside from this physical importance of my home, I consider it as a site which has determined and continued to determine the way I make the decisions in my life. My home has shaped my self-esteem, my awareness, and my attitudes in different capacities. As it has been documented, a person’s home is among the few constant aspects in their lives (Agnes, 1995). This means that the values and beliefs that one obtains from their home are the ones that the person will grow up with and will shape different aspects of the individual’s life.

I believe that my home was built with three distinct ingredients which include the relationships which we have formed with our family members, the ways that our home has been run over the years, and the atmosphere of my home in general. My family has always shared particular values and principles which have assisted us to grow together over the years (Agnes, 1995). This has made my home to be a place where I and my family have shared a given sense of purpose while at the same time offering each of our family members the springboard where they can pursue their life goals and objectives. Following this, I believe that the tranquility of my home is not what has made it as peaceful as it is, but it is the life within it which has created such peace.

The habits and customs that are in our home evidently arose from somewhere. As research has documented, traditionally, most of the customs and values that exist in a given home are as a result of what the fathers’ customs and habits (Greig et al., 2012). Therefore, just like many other people, I believe that the values and habits that have been formulated in our homes are as a result of my parent’s cultural beliefs and dimensions. One cultural dimension that is evident in our home is that of individual-collectivism. This is a cultural dimension which relates more to the society as opposed to the individual characteristic (Triandis, 2001). The culture in our home is focused on the way all of us as a family is integrated and come together to be as a unit. This kind of culture has shaped my belief on various aspects of life significantly more so my perceptions on some social issues like discrimination, disability, and equality among others.

Other habits and customs that are in our home have arisen from the cultural and societal setting of which we are a part of. Although we spend most of the time at this place, the people, values, rules, and culture that surrounds us has had a significant impact on the individual values that are found at home (Low, 2008). These societal values have also in various ways impacted the way our home has been run over the years something that I have sighted among the primary ingredients on which my home was established. Examples of these societal values that have impacted the habits and values of our home include respect, sharing, the importance of family ties, and love among others (Agnes, 1995).

One of the things that I consider as the ultimate beauty of our home is the spiritual and emotional warmth that is found in it. Spirituality is among the customs of our home where our parents have instilled in our religion and have raised us to practice various religious and charitable activities (Agnes, 1995). For example, each of our rooms has a charity box where we put anything that can go to charity, and these kinds of stuff are usually donated to the deserving groups after every two months. Additionally, my parents have always talked to us about God and the responsibilities that we have as being people who have great hearts. As studies have documented, every healthy home is considered to be a macrocosm of the whole world which then plays a significant role in enabling the world to be a Godly home (Peter and Trevor, 2012). Most of these customs and habits that are found in our home have always been there for as long as I can remember. The social role of our home has also not changed much probably because my parents were brought up in such healthy home settings that they intend to create for all of us as well. They also expect us to create such healthy home settings for our children as well.

Various industries have been involved in the production and the maintenance of our home. Firstly, my parents are the ones who took to produce this home for us. Yes, they had a house where they established a building or shelter for their children to live in, but it took them a lot more effort to turn this house into a home. Additionally, we have developed strong emotional connections for our home. As studies have documented, the sense of being at home is not just a mere feeling, but it can be described as an emotional disposition (Oatley, Keltner and Jenkins, 2006). These emotions are the ones who are accountable for the various feelings when we are at home or when are away from home like those of consolation, joy, nostalgia and missing other family members (Levitt and Waters, 2002). In maintaining our home, my parents are also the ones that have played a great role in it. However, a greater role was taken by the society in which we live in since it is where my parents have derived most of the guidance of maintaining a healthy home like ours. Our religious affiliation has also played a significant role in the maintenance of our home (Agnes, 1995).

Some of the things that have been kept within our home aside from our family members include positive life values, customs, and habits. We have always been brought up to be great people, respecting everybody in our surrounding, loving one another, sharing with each other, and most of all living by the religious values as God expects us to do. These are the things that my siblings and I have grown up knowing and practicing as they guide our daily relations and practices as well (Agnes, 1995). As I continue to interact with other people from different settings, I have come to appreciate the diversity of individuals as people hold different beliefs most of it being an outcome of their homes.

Social Relations

Various things take place in our home including cooking, cleaning, praying, entertainment, among different other activities. Most of the cooking is usually done by my mother with the anyone else including my father can cook when my mother is engaged with something else or is just in need of some help in doing so. The cleaning in our house is done by anybody who is around the home at any given time which means no stipulated person cleans the home. Entertainment is also the role of anybody who is in the mood for entertaining others either in the form of stories, getting family movies to watch, singing, and other normal entertainment activities. My parents mostly conduct praying sessions, but at least twice in a week, we take charge in conducting these prayer sessions. Something that does not happen in our home is going to bed without saying a word of prayer. This has been a mandatory practice for our family for as long as I can remember. In my home, I imagine myself to be an entertainer as I am always the happy one and likes seeing every of my family members happy.

There are some silent codes in our home, and the one that is evident is that of equality regarding the gender roles and responsibilities. Although all of us have been taught the societal responsibilities of the males and the females, at the same time, we have been taught that females can do just as much as the men can. This makes our family rather unique because anybody can cook, clean, pray, and take care of the garden regardless of their gender. Across various cultures, cooking and cleaning are the responsibilities of women, but in our home, it is anybody’s responsibility. Our home is also a democratic home where everybody is always given the opportunity to speak their minds. My parents always take into consideration the opinion of everybody in their decision-making.

As discussed above, some of the habits in our house are donating for charity, praying, staying together, eating together, among many other habits. These are that have formed the rhythm in our home. Although there are no strict times that one needs to go to bed, there is a curfew that by 8 pm every one of the children ought to be at home except if they had asked for permission to attend to other things. We are also very respectful to our parents and people who are older than us.

Conclusion

I have chosen my home to be my selected site where I am usually at on a daily basis. I have spent a good part of my life at home which is why it is a site that I cherish and is so close to my heart. My home is a significant site as it has shaped me in my character and values as well as how I perceive life in general. The parties that are responsible for maintaining include my parents, the society we are in, and the religious aspect. The social relations in my home have been discussed which relate to the stories, code, and habits.

References

Agnes, Heller, 1995, ‘Where are we at home?’, Thesis Eleven Journal, no. 41, pp. 1–18.

Greig; Seddon; Supski, et al 2012, in Sociology: Antipodean Perspectives. Chapter 61 ‘Backyards’ in Sociology: place, time & division Peter Beilharz, Trevor Hogan.

Levitt, P. and Waters, M.C 2002, The changing face of home: The transnational lives of the second generation, Russell Sage Foundation, London.

Low, S.M 2008, Fortification of residential neighbourhoods and the new emotions of home. Housing, Theory and Society, 25(1), pp.47-65.

Oatley, K., Keltner, D. and Jenkins, J.M 2006, Understanding emotions, Blackwell publishing, New York.

Peter, B & Trevor, H 2012, Sociology: antipodean perspectives. Oxford University Press, Oxford.

Triandis, H.C 2001, Individualism‐collectivism and personality. Journal of personality, 69(6), pp.907-924.