The Importance of Self Study - Essay Example

Self-Study: A Key to Future Self-Study The importance of self-study reveals many interesting facets of one’s formative years especially during childhood, which makes this activity very informative. Looking back at the past makes an individual discover the factors that influenced one’s thoughts, behaviors, mindset, perspective, and current beliefs. This article is about an interview that reveals personal details of my past which helped me gain valuable insights in discovering who I am today. Certain aspects of my childhood such as TV programs, family members who raised me, socialization process through play, and basic education experiences were probed into which made me realize in the end my uniqueness as a person. Self-Study The importance of self-study cannot be undermined as Shakespeare said” to thine own self be true”. There is a gem of wisdom behind that line since self-study reveals the foundations of a person’s character, values as well as environmental factors that have greatly influenced her perspectives in life. The following is an excerpt of an interview of myself done by my colleague. Mass media often plays a significant role in disseminating information to society. When asked about my favorite TV shows, books, and characters I replied that I loved watching TV shows like “ Sesame Street, Mister Rogers Neighborhood Wonder Woman, Incredible Hulk and the Jefferson’s” as a child. Of course, there were many wholesome shows then but the aforementioned really suited my taste. The books I have read were “Mice and Men” George Orville, 1984, and Aesop’s fables. I loved these stories since they were filled with Fairy Tales, morals, and mythology. In fact, my favorite characters were the Tortoise and the Hare. I realized a valuable lesson from the slow tortoise: plodding along with determination will get me to where I want to be if I never give up. Until today, I kept that lesson in mind and use it whenever situations are difficult, I persevere until the end. Another character I liked was Elmo. Until today, I am not certain whether Elmo is male or female, but I do think he is male. The lessons I learned from Elmo were creativity, tolerance, optimism, and the opportunity for simple pleasures. Although the media influences children’s minds, it cannot be denied that parent’s are the primary role models for a growing child. According to Santrock (1994) : ”The information that surrounds the child and which is internalized comes to the child within the family arena through parent-child interactions, role modeling, reinforcement for desired behaviors, and parental approval or disapproval” ( qtd. in Witt, 1997). Questions such as “What roles did your parents play in your household?” or “ How did your parents or guardians have an effect on who you are today? “ made me reflect on my childhood along with the adults who raised me. The interview revealed a surprising recollection of ” seven uncles and one aunt “ who reared me since I stayed with my grandparents in the British Virgin Islands. Although I was spoiled and treated like a queen, I was taught to “always be myself and to always try to be the best at what I do”. Indeed, this has created a positive influence on my life. They prayed with me and told me they loved me on a daily basis which meant I soaked up all the love I can get from these people. Moreover, they were never too busy for a problem and always wanted to know how my day was at school, especially if it was a leisurely occasion. They always made time for me and created special activities that most children today need from their parents or guardians. As a result, I practice and instill these qualities with my twins which help to create a special bond between us. Socialization is also important for the normal development of an individual. Way back then, children often played outdoors since electronic gadgets were not yet popular. In a way, this was socially healthy for children to interact with others. Play promotes healthy values such as sharing and fairness. My favorite toys were dolls, puzzles, and different board games. When asked about the choices of toys for a certain gender , I replied “I do think someone of the opposite would like those toys with the exception of dolls, however in my generation there were dolls for boys which is considered taboo”. My favorite game ( this was a tough question since I had to narrow it down to one answer ) was Jumping Rope. This game was played outside and on instances when my grandparents were not looking. My best friends were Ritsia, Alecia, Carmen and Sonia. They were all girls. We interacted by arranging play dates to visit each other homes, playing dress up as all girls and acting like we were married with children. We also talked to each other on the phone for hours, went the movies and wrote letters to one another. Commu-nication then was very personal unlike these days. My favorite game during recess was playing jacks. I played this game with my friends mentioned above. In general, my childhood was a complete package of scraped knees, make-believe roles, girl talk all rolled into fun. Education is important for an individual since this is the training that molds him for no less than 15 years of one’s life. These were the questions asked from me “ Have you had any particular role models in school? Which teachers taught you the most? What classes were your favorite classes during elementary school and junior high? Were there classes that you did not like? Why didn’t you like them? “ . I did reply that I had role models in school. The teachers that taught me the most was my English Teacher, Mr. Penn. I considered myself lucky to be in his class as well as the class of my History Teacher, Ms. Grant. My English teacher opened my mind to different cultures as a result of his living in Europe for many years. Interestingly, he mentioned that by living in the Caribbean, we can become complacent in our own culture without any exposure. My History teacher also taught me about leadership, leading by example, and the value of becoming an independent person. My favorite classes in Elementary School and Junior High were Language Arts which is known as English here in the United States. I also enjoyed History for I was fascinated with the variety of cultures that exist. The classes I enjoyed the least were Mathematics and Spanish. At a young age, I did not fully comprehend the value and relevance of such subjects to my life. The last part of my interview revealed many things about who I have become today. With regard to gender roles, I do think I am a stereotypical female. I believe that women learn to confirm to very specific role expectations as they grow a certain society. Society dictates the gender roles through the culture it propagates. I follow traditional gender roles, for instance, I am a mother, I am the one up during the nights when the children are sick, I gather their clothes for school, thus, I perform all the roles assumed by most women and mothers. The correct term would be “ Superwoman” which also means so exhausted. In some ways, I deviate from gender expectations through my being an avid sports fan. I also work in a trading floor at my firm which is a male dominated industry. This is an area where men outnumber the women. However, I have gained respect due to my professionalism and educational attainment. Indeed, education and experience is a leverage for women according to Smith ( 2000). This self- study is a good activity since we learn that our past has much influence on the person that we are today. Our parents, environment, playmates, mass media, and education have significant roles in molding an individual. As an African saying goes “ It takes a village to raise a child”. In my case, that too has been literal with all the loving people around me during my developmental years. References Smith, D. ( 2000).Women at work leadership for the next century. Prentice- Hall Inc. Witt, S. (1997). Parental influence on childrens socialization to gender roles | Adolescence | Find Articles at BNET. Find Articles at BNET | News Articles, Magazine Back Issues & Reference Articles on All Topics. Retrieved March 19, 2010, from http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2248/ is_n126_v32/ ai_19619406/. Read More