Interview of A Family Friend - Essay Example

Interview of A Family Friend Interview Notes The interview involved Mr. Charles, a family friend for over twenty years. Charles McCarter was born and brought up in California by parents who were of different races. Hi father is Caucasian while his mother is White. Being brought up as the only boy in a family of three, McCarter was faced with various experiences since his birth. The various experiences came from wide range anthropological aspects. Education, gender roles, family, ethnicity, dating, marriage and societal industrialization are some of the issues that were tackled during the interview that was conducted. For example, the interviewee discussed issues concerning his hobby is football. He also discussed issues related to his dating experience during his college days. Moreover, the informant clearly stated his position regarding gender roles in the contemporary society today. For example, the informant viewed equality in terms gender roles in the society. According to McCarter, both men and women should be accorded equal opportunities in promoting societal growth. Currently, the interviewee is married with two children and considered a senior citizen. He is also works in an information technology firm and believes in Christianity. Family Experiences It is believed that family usually comes first in most households today. Families play important roles in the nurturing and growth of family members. Usually consisted of the father, mother and siblings, the father is normally perceived to be the head of the family. Family ensures that all members get access to the basic needs such food, clothing and shelter. They also ensure members are comfortable in their daily experiences. Each and every individual has various life experiences that he or she goes through. The informant, Mr. McCarter had an interesting experience in terms of the family experiences. Being the only boy among their siblings, he faced various experiences in terms of the daily chores performed in the house and the general way of living. As a child, McCarter related well with his family members. He performed the tasks assigned to him in time. As he grew into the adolescent stage, at times he ignored chores assigned to him. For example, he says there was a day he deliberately refused to clean the fridge and it was his turn. Grounding was the consequence of his actions. As he matured he had no problems with his parents or sisters. Generally, McCarter had good relationship ties with his family members. This was enabled by the good moral values that were constantly taught by his parents. His parents also made sure he pursued his dream to the fullest by giving him all the necessary support he needed. Education Experience Education is a vital element in the life of any human being. Education helps individuals to acquire the necessary knowledge and skills required to achieve desired goals and aspirations. Successful careers, business achievements and positively impacting individuals in the society are some of the desired goals and dreams. McCarter wanted to be a successful information technologist ever since he was young. McCarter started his education in California as a young child at the age of four. Being a bright student, he excellent in his studies. He graduated through the subsequent school levels with high grades. For example, the informant was rated the best student after graduating in to high school with high grades. This he confirms by saying “I was the first student in our class before graduating to high school.” In high school, he excelled with high grades since he had the passion for education. This passion was brought by the constant encouragement that was given to him by his parents more so his father who was very learned. McCarter was interested in technology ever since he was young. He always asked his parents if he could open the personal home computer at a tender age of four. This interest developed as he grew and when in high school, he explored this interest. For example, the informant, McCarter says he developed several programs for the various departments in his school. Library and administration are some of the departments McCarter developed programs for. In the administration department, he developed a system that automatically selected meals for teachers and tutors just to mention a few. On the other hand it was during this time that he also had interest in girls. This is a stage that everybody undergoes and McCarter was no exception. He said that during his high school period he was fond of a certain white girl whom he thought was nice to be with. Being brought up in a family that valued Christian beliefs, he was not allowed to have girl friends before reaching the age of adulthood. The interviewee confirms to have had a sexual affair with this girl despite being immature at that time. He confirms they were very cautious and protective at the time they had this affair. He also confirms that the feelings he had for this girl did not affect his education in any means. Later he joined the Harvard University and pursued a career in information technology. Generally, the interviewee enjoyed his school life because he did not frequently into trouble with his parents or teachers. For example, he did not tell his parents about the affair he had while in high school. Later, he started the dating girls while in the university. Dating Dating is a term that refers to the experience an individual gains while trying to search where his or her soul belongs. It makes an individual gain necessary experience in choosing the right partner. In most cases, dating enables people to choose whom they will marry or will be married to. This experience is normally associated with making the right choice from different girls. McCarter also had various experiences concerning this stage of life development. He confirms to have dated a total of a total of ten girls in his entire dating experience. Out of these ten girls, he had serious relationships with three of them. The first dating relationship only lasted for two weeks. This was because initially he thought he had feelings but only realized later that it was lust. The other dating relationships that were not serious lasted for an average of three months. The first serious relationship McCarter had lasted for a period about nine months. The relationship was considered viable at that time because both of them had same interests in life and did the same careers. He called her Liz describing her as a blonde haired bright girl. The relationship was great until Liz travelled to Australia for further studies. He confirms that Liz started ignoring his calls and messages two months after she travelled for her further studies. The informant does not know what caused the break up but suggests that may be Liz got a better person than him or she realized what she truly wanted. This was a heart breaking moment for him and stayed for about five months without dating anybody. It was during their graduation that he met the girl who would then become his wife. They dated for almost two years having disagreements and make-ups more frequently during the first six months of dating. It was during this period that the interviewee learnt a lot about dating. For example, he leant that understanding and perseverance are important for the sustenance of any relationship. After fully understanding how to deal with the weaknesses of each other, they decided to get married according to the Christian teachings of marriage. Marriage According to the Christian teachings, marriage enables a man and a woman to commit spending their lives together in new relationships. The partnership should be based on love, affection, sex and understanding. Once people agree to marry, the usually exchange vows as a legal proof of their marriage. In most cases, the vows are exchanged in church settings. McCarter exchanged his vows in Church and promised to be with his wife till his or her death. Since marriage, Charles’s life has been smooth despite facing minor challenges. According to the informant, hanging out with friends on weekends sometimes brought issues in his family. This issue was resolved and they now understand each other. McCarter is currently married with two children. He says he adores his children and would wish to see them grow into successful and useful persons in the society. According to McCarter, marriage has various challenges but can be solved through various avenues. Use of marriage counselors is one main avenue that people with marriage issues can rely on. Gender roles In the past decades, women were treated as servants of men. They were supposed to do anything they were told without questioning. This made men very superior people in the society. For example, women were expected to sit home and do house hold tasks. Courses such as medicine or law were only meant for men but not women. Today, women empowerment has enabled gender equity in the society. This means jobs previously done by men are also done by women. Women in the contemporary society have positively impacted the people. They have been involved in projects that encourage the girl child. For example, women have promoted positive norms through awareness campaigns held in the society. The informant, McCarter believes in gender equity since he was brought up in a civilized environment. He says that he sometime cooks in the house and does not leave this job for his wife. Furthermore, women have achieved a lot in terms of their careers. Today, the best lawyers or doctors are women. Therefore, equity in gender roles has significantly impacted the society in this era. On the other hand, racism and ethnicity negatively impacts the society. Underdevelopment, war and hatred among others are some of the ways racism and ethnicity negatively impacts the society. To begin with, racism and ethnicity refers to divisions that occur along tribal lines. They are the reason why undeveloped or developing countries have had declined or stagnated growths. Racism usually results in war since hatred is created among individuals of different tribes or ethnic backgrounds. War results to the loss of innocent lives and impaired growth. With racism, people kill each other for no good reason. Furthermore, investors are driven away in countries that racism is prevalent. Therefore, the economy of a country with ethnic issues is normally very unstable. Additionally, racism negatively portrays the social norms or standards in the society. The society should be governed by good morals such proper societal behaviors. The good behaviors could include encouragement and positively relating to each other despite tribal differences. McCarter was born by parents of different ethnic backgrounds. In his view, racism or ethnicity should never be embraced in the society since it leads to moral degradation and death. He says that during his college life, they learnt with people from different ethnic backgrounds but he never assaulted any of them. Moreover, when we understand each other’s cultural beliefs, there can be no racism. In other submissions, the informant alludes that there exist various problems associated with increased industrialization. Increased population pressure, pollution and overutilization of resources are some of the problems associated with increased industrialization. There would be increased population pressure as people will be moving to look for employment opportunities in the areas where industries are being built. In turn, this leads to congestion. Environmental pollution would be evident since these industries would be discharging waste materials into the environment. Moreover, people would not be able to breathe fresh air. Additionally, resources would be over stretched in order to be used in these industries. This would lead to the overutilization and reduction of a country’s resources. In comparison to the interviewee’s experiences, we share several similarities with small differences. We share the same religious beliefs of Christianity. This means this interview would be of help to me when tackling issues such as dating and marriage in the future. My parents are also from different backgrounds just like the interviewee. We also share the same views regarding racism and increased industrialization. On the other hand, we differ in the dating experiences. Being still in college, I have never had any serious relationships. Therefore, life experiences are very important in shaping the future of any individual. They teach on ways of overcoming or handling life challenges. Read More