Exploring Sociology in Everyday Life - Essay Example

Exploring Sociology in Everyday Life All of a sudden, I found myself thinking sociologically when I was in a deep conversation with my sister, Sarah. We were talking about the concept of marriage as she had married her long time boyfriend who happened to be Black and thus had a different cultural background in comparison with ours. With various topics ranging from cultural norms and beliefs, I could not stop thinking about the rate of intermarriages in the globe. In the past, people who planned to marry from different ethnic and social backgrounds faced enormous challenges as opposed to the modern world.

In the contemporary world, there is a high rate of intermarriages among individuals of dissimilar cultures and race. Previously, I had not given the issue of intermarriage much thought, but the experience of a member of my family had finally pushed me to analyze the relations between the different cultures. Due to the difference in culture, the type of food, religion and social gatherings seemed awkward to Sarah’s husband at first. The positive attitude that my sister’s husband John received from family members and friends indicated how the world was changing in a diverse way.

The tradition, culture and family structure pose a challenge in mixed marriages especially when the couples were from different geographical regions. For instance, an individual from Africa and has a partner in China. Even though John had not adapted to our culture and tradition, the essential part was that he had accepted it. This shows the amount of sacrifice and compromise that individuals in a mixed marriage faced altogether. Accepting our culture clearly meant that John’s culture would become a subculture.

The compromise also transcends to the both families, as they have to learn and accept each other’s cultures to ensure a smooth friendship. The difference in how individuals celebrate prevalent holidays as well as their choice of diet is often expected. Sarah informed me that they had talked with John about the diet restrictions as well as how Christmas and Easter among other holidays were celebrated. Conversing with my sister enhanced my capability to look at the world more insightfully as numerous aspects of life were rapidly transforming at a rate that no man had imagined.

According to John, he had always failed to understand individuals with strong religious beliefs. However, the situation’s complexity worsened when he met Sarah, who had strong religious beliefs and perspective regarding life. Because they knew the issue of religious and cultural beliefs would pose a challenge in the future, especially in the event of a child, as they would not know whose culture to follow when raising their children, they sought the assistance of a marriage counselor. This enabled the couple to have an understanding of how to maneuver around the challenges concerning parenting and how to accept the different cultures they faced.

At the end of our conversation, I realized that in a mixed marriage or relationship, the partners have to adopt an open-minded and flexible perspective about life especially when facing marriage issues and challenges as well as accepting their different cultures, personalities and beliefs. Work CitedScott, Susie. Making Sense of Everyday Life. Cambridge, UK: Polity, 2009. Internet resource.