Letter to Future Sociology College Students

Every stage of life has a lesson to teach, and it is up to each person to learn those lessons and use them to improve the world. I've had a lot of experiences in my life as a student that I think will be important to share in order to help future college students who take sociology courses. First and foremost, family has always been an important foundation in my life and has helped me succeed and supported me when I've needed it. Education as a social institution has been critical in my knowledge and skills acquisitions, and this has helped in shaping my adulthood. The experience that I have received at college has been amazing and has given me a better understanding of social interaction irrespective race, culture or religion. As I write the letter, I urge all the future to promote social equality and be on the frontline in addressing social issues such as environmental issues, racial discrimination, gender discrimination and negative effects of globalization. In so doing, the future world will be a better place to live.

Key terms

Thrive: to live in a place/ existence

Appropriate: Necessary

Immense: vast, in large-scale or degree

Address

City/ street

Date

Dear future college students,

Introduction

Certain institutions of higher learning have been created for specified kinds of students. That’s at least the perspective in various high schools, but most of their information hardly accounts to the personal experiences that students gather at the institutions. College is nothing like any of you has ever imagined. It is much better and a place where one gains knowledge and at the same time has a taste of the real world regarding career paths through internship programs and social interactions with individuals from various cultural and ethnic backgrounds. You will be transformed into a new individual from the time you graduate from high school to the time you graduate from college. In this letter, I will narrate my personal experiences of college life as well as the events that shaped my adulthood. I will also highlight the social problems and social institutions and their impact on my life.

Social institutions

Across my various stages of life, my family has been my primary pillar. I come from a middle-income earning family, and we have always shifted from one urban setting to the other. It has always been evident that my parents were always pegged back by financial problems and this always triggered a lot of conflicts. Despite the challenges, they ensured that they raised me into a responsible person who is guided by moral principles. Their support has always been never-ending, ranging from education to protection. They always tell my siblings and I that respect for self and those around you is instrumental in the everyday life and that I applied mostly in college. Without my family, I would have faced a lot of hurdles in my life, especially as a teenager. It is my parents that advised me to join Cornell University, and I have to say that I was the best suggestion. As I match to my final year in college, I hope that I will land myself a good-paying job and help my parents financially by setting up a business and relocating them to a better urban environment. I also plan to help my young brother go through all levels of education. According to the conflicts theorists, the family tends to maintain a capitalists economic order by maintaining the reproduction of the categories of working class (Fulcher 17). I, therefore urge you, never to forget your family since it’s a vital aspect of your lives. With the ever-changing life dynamics, I also believe that family roles will also keep on changing in the future. Spend a lot of time with your parents and siblings and learn from any of their past mistakes. Doing so will transform you into a respectable and reliable individual in the community.

Education is a formal process where knowledge is acquired through teaching and reading. The roles of education in the community include communication of specific skills and preparing individuals for adulthood and their careers, and this is fulfilled through colleges, high schools and lower grade schools. Without education, I have to say that my life would not be the same. My parents kept on telling me that without it, their things that would be unattainable. As I moved from lower grade to high school, education got another meaning in my life since I was able to expand my knowledge and skills. Mathematics was always my favorite subject in the two educational levels. I also made several friends, and this further boosted my social interactions. College was a defining moment in my late teenage life. It is at the institution of higher learning that I met and interacted with individuals from different religious and ethnic backgrounds. I got a broader perspective of social equality and the need for the elimination of issues of racial and gender discrimination in our societies. I remember at one point in time, I met this young lad from Saudi Arabia and it hardly took long before we became friends despite the difference in our cultural backgrounds. My decision to select was sociology as the career path was also generated once joined college. I have learned a lot of concepts related to the field and also promoted its practicability in the community. With the knowledge in sociology, I believe that I will have a positive impact on the community. Technological advancements as we head into the future will have significant effects on education. It will be vital for you as students to take advantage of any educational avenues to succeed in life. As you gain knowledge and skills in the sociological field, remember that the world is marred by various social injustice issues and your input will be instrumental in the transformation of the world into a better place.

Social problem discussion

In the past decade, environmental issues such as pollution have been on the increase and that this has been attributed to negligence and irresponsible nature of humanity. I find it irritating to see people dispose of garbage and waste in a manner that is not appropriate. That aside, in the recent years, the number of industries around the globe have immensely skyrocketed as a result of the swelling demand for various commodities. Equally, this has resulted in high rates of reported air pollution and poor waste disposals that end up polluting the water systems (Fulcher 45). Deforestation issues have also been on the rise due to the increase in population around the world. Apparently, these environmental problems have ended up resulting in devastating effects that if not addressed may render the world a hostile place to live in the future. There has been an increase in desertification in most of those areas where ecological conservation has been rendered useless. The melting of ice in the Arctic as result of global warming is worrying, and this means that some areas may be submerged. It is feared that thirty years from now, some of the coastal regions will be covered with water due to the ever-increasing water levels in the oceans. In my hometown, we lived close to a coal mine factory and based on the health-related incidents; it is a high time that better measures were put in place to address such environmental issues.

I want to let you know that the world is a beautiful place and sustainability can only be maintained if environmental issues are handled appropriately. Climatic changes are being witnessed on a daily basis, and this will only worsen in the future if appropriate mechanisms of managing air pollution and various other environmental challenges are not embraced. Some areas, for instance, have not received rainfall for several months and this has left people exposed to pangs of hunger. In other regions, due to climatic changes brought by devastating effects of environmental pollution, are struggling with floods that have led to the loss of lives and destruction of property. As students of sociology, you will thus be mandated with the roles of pushing for reforms in the environmental conservation regulations and promoting awareness to a large population on the essence of protecting the environment. In every decision that you take, it will be necessary to consider that environmental sustainability is dependent on your actions. Finally, learn to ensure that your moral actions are justifiable and you work towards making the world a better place to thrive.

Conclusion/legacy

My generation is one that is marred with several issues including racial and gender discrimination, ever-increasing environmental problems and negative effects of globalization. However, one legacy that stands out in this generation is its ability to fight for gender equality and elimination of racial discrimination. Admission rates in several schools have been standardized in such a way that students of both genders are given equal educational opportunities. The same case is applicable at the workplaces where employees currently focus on inclusivity as a part of their organizational structure with the aim of enhancing performance and productivity. Racism is another social issue that my generation has vehemently condemned. We believe that despite our differences in cultural and ethnic backgrounds, all individuals need to be treated equally and that by uniting we do it for a better good. As I conclude, dear future students, I urge you to stick to your morals and principles and remember that your input will be instrumental in positively impacting the world.

Work Cited

Fulcher, James, and John Scott. Sociology. Oxford University Press, 2011.