Socialization and Skating: Exploring my Childhood Memories
Socialization is a phenomenon that is generally focused on acquainting the individual subject with the norms that define a specific group or society. Socialization as a platform prepares an individual both, psychologically and physically in a bid to nurture participation that conforms to the anticipations and projections of the given group. When focusing on children, socialization plays a significant role in creating an enabling environment that empowers youngsters to learn new skills and explore their capabilities, the element that cultivates the realization of their hidden potential. Reminiscing on my childhood memories, socialization as a process played a significant role in enabling me to become a competent skater that I am today. An analysis of my skating journey will reveal how socialization as an instrument of learning exposed me to the favorable conditions that nurtured my skating skills, a passionate sport that is presently held dear to my heart.
Exploring the Beginning of my Skating Journey
I was born in Boston as the third born in a family of seven and the only boy in our family. Growing up, I was fortunate to have active siblings who loved to engage in sports, an aspect that compelled me always to follow my sisters whenever they went outdoors. As a boy, I was fascinated with bicycles and blades. However, thanks to my sisters' influence, I choose blades over tires. When recollecting my initial skating experience, I first stepped on the ice when I was about seven years old. At the time, I was nervous and excited as I had always envied my two older siblings who were skating fanatics. I can recall that it was winter, and thanks to my siblings' active nature, we always went skating in my neighborhood's frozen mashes. My mother was also supportive of us engaging in skating as she believed in nurturing a child's talents or hobbies while still young.
From Nervous Beginnings to Passionate Pursuit
From the first moment that I stepped on the ice, skating won me over and drew me closer to my sisters. As a sport, skating enabled me to bond with my sisters, but better yet sharpen my skills under the care and watchful eyes of my siblings. After my first skating experience, I encouraged my sisters to couch me on skating every weekend, especially as the sport gradually turned out to be an addiction. If I admit, the first training sessions were tough, primarily as I used to skate alone, without the support of my sisters. There are numerous periods when I fell and got injured, but I am glad that with each fall I learned from my mistakes and became better. My skating classes generally commenced on Fri, all through to Saturday and Sunday afternoons.
Enrolling in Professional Skating Programs
When winter elapsed, and the ice mashes melted, my mother saw the potential in me and was impressed by the skating skills I had acquired over the winter period through my sisters' assistance. She proceeded to enroll me in a skating program that was conducted in a nearby rink. Given that my skating sessions were after school, I developed a habit of changing to my skating gear while in the school bus and often found myself running onto the rink with my skating shoes on, ready to commence my skating lessons. With time, my skills became better as I progressed rapidly. When I remember the rink's chilled air, the sound of skate blades, my face against the wind, and the sense of accomplishment, it is evident that I had fallen in love with skating and was passionate about the sport.
Becoming a Skating Enthusiast
I can remember the number of times I escaped school to go and skate. Interestingly, during the time, my passion for skating had heightened. As such, the more I skated, the swifter I became, and the swifter I became, the more I lost myself into skating. When I was turning nine, I had acquired sufficient experience in terms of skills, and I encouraged my mother to quit paying for me the sessions, as I was confident enough top skate individually. I now began practicing skating with my sisters and younger ones, who I gradually trained based on the experience and passion that I had realized overtime in my skating journey. Presently, I hold several trophies and medals which I earned from partaking in various skating competitions while in High school. Cumulatively, although I may not frequently skate as I did while young, I do indulge in the sport once in a while often sparking the skating passion within me.
A Socialization Analysis: Shaping my Skating Journey
When analyzing my skating journey, socialization played a significant role in enabling me to sharpen my skills as an amateur to the expert I am today. Evidently, as a learning process, the platform did convert me from a biological being to a social being, given that I was transformed from being just a kid into a skating enthusiast (Ely and Jean 260). Additionally, in accordance with the aims of sociology, I was able to develop my personality into a skater, a process that involved the acquisition, nurturing, and cultivation of skills associated with skating. Cumulatively, I have also been able to transmit the skating culture to my young ones, an aspect that perfectly exemplifies the aim of socialization.
The Role of Socialization in my Skating Journey
From a process of socialization viewpoint, my interest in skating was first nurtured by identification, when I internalized it to be a sport that was loved by my bigger sisters. Secondly, from our mutual behavior and cooperation, I was able to partake in my first skating experience, as a result of interacting with my sisters. According to Hunter and Mcclelland, functionalism was an ideological construct that asserted the society to be a system of interrelated parts, hence the change in a single component would affect its impact on the rest (Hunter and Mcclelland 34). Similarly, in my scenario, I went from being a student under my sisters' tutoring to a skating pro, who later coached my younger siblings.
The Influence of Family and Peers
Interestingly, the functionalism ideology asserts that most changes emerge as a result of natural growth or evolution, an aspect that directly applies to my case (Hunter and Mcclelland 34). I was able to train my younger sister only because I had acquired adequate skills and experience in skating, elements that defined my natural growth and evolution in the outdoor sport. From an agency of socialization perspective, my family which is considered significant in the ideology played the vital role in shaping and nurturing my interest in skating. My peers, on the other hand, played a supportive role when I interacted with them on the skating rink's sessions.
In Conclusion: The Impact of Socialization on my Skating Journey
In conclusion, socialization did play a visible role in transforming me from a skating amateur o an experienced pro. Through the interaction with my big sisters, my interest in the sport was ignited, ushering me into a new context of physical activity. Gradually, I was able to acquire skills through mutual interaction and social teaching elements that eventually transformed me into the skating character that I am today. Ultimately, upon consideration of its effects, this socialization turned to be successful.
Works Cited
Ely, Richard, and Jean Berko Gleason. "Socialization across contexts." The handbook of child language (2017): 251-276.
Hunter, Chris, and Kent Mcclelland. "Theoretical Perspectives In Sociology." New Mexico Business 17 (1964): 34-42.
