The Pieces of Life | Teen Ink

The Pieces of Life

September 23, 2020
By kimberlyyreal BRONZE, Salisbury, North Carolina
kimberlyyreal BRONZE, Salisbury, North Carolina
3 articles 0 photos 0 comments

Favorite Quote:
“do more for the world than it does for you” - Henry Ford


Groups are the pieces of life that attach like a puzzle in society. We become who we are because of our membership in human groups, we believe what we have in common is significant. The two main types of groups within society include primary groups and secondary groups (Henslin, 2017). Primary groups are small and characterized by close, personal and intimate relationships that last a long time, maybe a lifetime (Crossman, 2019). These relationships play important roles in the formation of individuals’ sense of self and identity as these people influence your development of values, norms, morals, beliefs and everyday behaviors of all members of the group. Secondary groups comprise relatively impersonal and temporary relationships that are goal-or-task oriented and are often found in employment or educational settings (Crossman, 2019). Secondary groups play an important role created to carry out a task or achieve a goal. These two specific groups are so vital to society as they both help us feel supported, esteemed and capable. With the support and esteem comes a much powerful sense of personal control over our lives. These groups are simply the building blocks of life in society.

 


We’re all comparable to a flower blossoming, a bud slowly opening up into a full bloom. As we grow up, we begin to show loyalty and support to relationships that are so precious to us before maturing into our full adult selves. My primary group consists of childhood friends who grew up with me and could naturally read me like a book. These friends helped me shape my personality and identity today. The other half, and most important, of my primary group is made up of my parents and siblings. Each of them play such an important role as we deeply share our culture and engage in our interests together as a family. This type of relationship is deeply personal and loaded with emotion (Crossman, 2019). The primary group is so vital to my own life because it’s purely the birthplace of human nature. In company with, my secondary group consists of teachers, my guidance counselor, clubs and sports. While the relationships within primary groups are intimate, personal and enduring, the relationships within secondary groups are organized around narrow ranges of practice, interests and goals, without which these groups wouldn’t exist (Crossman, 2019). The secondary group is very vital to my own life as it helps me function effectively, achieve and persist. The desire of completing tasks and the warmth of relationships is definitely something that’s shaped me today.

 


Groups in society can be influenced by numerous factors such as culture, social class and social status. An individual’s cultural participation influences how he/she behaves towards others in society, and their cultural participation influences how they treat them (Stanley, 2006). Culture increases confidence in people’s identity and group, and changes values (Stanley, 2006). Along with this, cultural participation increases the diversity of ideas and behavior available to society with the differences in opinions and backgrounds. Social class and status definitely shapes the way one thinks and the way their attitude is set on the rest of society. These perceptions are based on distinctive patterns of observable behavior arising from differences in wealth, education and occupation (Stanley, 2006). Social class and status could affect you negatively if one’s sensing power of oneself, which could determine which group you’re in. My groups consist of similar backgrounds and culture. Both my friends and family have very similar views and behaviors as I do and I believe this is a crucial reason as to why we’re all deeply connected and act the way we do. Culture, social class and social status is very vital to a society’s group as it could heavily determine the group you’d most likely go for, not knowing if it was the best choice in coming times.

 


Groups are so vital to society and should be to one’s individual life. Primary and secondary groups play a key role in molding, shaping and developing the personality of an individual. Not to mention, these groups develop democratic spirit within itself, developing the quality of sympathy, mutual help and sacrifice, motivation and equality among its members. Culture, social class and social status influence groups with ideas, perceptions and behaviors. This all falls into the reality that groups are directly the pieces of life that attach like a puzzle in society.


The author's comments:

I wrote this piece my junior year of high school while in my sociology course. I really enjoyed writing it and I hope you all enjoy reading it as well! 


Similar Articles

JOIN THE DISCUSSION

This article has 0 comments.