Education determines the quality of life one can have, and I understood that from a very young age, after reading my text and listening lecture, I realized how my life was greatly affected by the idea of the social clock. I grew up in a family that pushed education and not that there was nothing wrong with that but my life took a different turn growing up I was told finish college get a good job to marry and have kids, however, that was not the way things planned out for me. I started college with all intentions to finish but when my father got unemployed, I was forced to move back home find a job and support myself and my family.
I told myself I would work for a year and then go back to school to complete my degree, but once again life happen, I became a mother before even graduating college my entire family became disappointed, I settled for a low-end job and life began. Returning to school was a very hard decision for me, however, it seemed to be the next logical step in my personal and career goals. My ultimate goal is to be happy and healthy and to become a registered nurse and be a good provider and role model for my daughter.
Starting My physiology class and understanding how the human mind works and how society can view and analyze the human mind from birth to adulthood amazed me from the first chapter I began to question things such as the social clock and why certain society put expectations on what stage a person should be married have kids or accomplish one’s career. That kind of expectation can mentally and emotionally affect a person I am living example my mind is set on where I should have been in life and the chronological order society believed I should have followed.
When considering developmental psychology many questions come to mind when trying to explain human development. Maturity can form many guises in the form of physical, social, psychological and cognitive changes within the individual. Are these developments independent of one another or is the progression of maturity inter-linked? In an attempt to answer these questions, one must consider if development is a conscious or unconscious process. A great body of evidence suggests that both levels of consciousness are present throughout human life.
According to life-span and human development author states. Why are age norms important? First the influence people’s decisions about how to lead their lives. they are the basis for what Neugarten (1998) called social clock-A person’s sense of when things should be done and when he or she is ahead or behind of schedule dictated by age norms (Siegelman & Rider Elizabeth A. Rider, 2009, p.4)
According to the psychologist, we must bear in mind that each social group settles on its definition of the life span, the age-grades within it, and the norms appropriate to each age range and that each social group experiences developmentally. (Sigelman & Rider Elizabeth A. Rider, 2009, p.5).
10 years later I made a tremendous step to start school, and not focus on what was expected from me. I must now focus on what type of expectations I want for myself and not what society expects from me, and I plan to create a plan that will guide me to the end of my nursing program. So, my first expectation for myself is to find a healthy and stress-free way to adapt to my everyday routines that includes work school and being a mother. It was much easier in the past when I first attended college because I didn’t have a lot to juggle. Considering how hard things are at the moment I must say I am very blessed to have the strength to push through each day. I consider myself to be a very well-rounded individual who has the potential to achieve all the courses necessary to better my knowledge for a better future need. If I start analyzing my daily schedule, I will have time to be more relaxed and focused when it comes to time, I need to spend focus on school and assignments. I also want to be able to understand and take heed on what I have learned when the course is over because that will allow me to apply what I have learned to all areas of my study which will result in how much I have learned. also want to be able to look back years from and see all the improvements I have made.
In conclusion, Education sets the foundation for our future. Education expands our vision and creates awareness. It enables us to know the world beyond our surroundings, however, I have to disagree with the social norms and standards that society has set. I believe that there’s no age limit to education and going back to school and getting married having kids cannot determined by no social norm. everyone’s timeline is different everyone process is different.
