Personal Troubles Brought On By Public Issues

A little about myself, my name is Jane Perez I was born in Oceanside, California on September 8, 1991. I am 22 years old and currently unemployed. My mother is employed by the state of Washington as my grandmother’s caregiver. My biological father I know very little about because he was not a part of my life. My mother’s husband was the father figure in my life growing up. He is employed year round doing agricultural work. I will be discussing some significant personal troubles in my life and the role some issues have in creating them. In “Sociological Imagination,” C. Wright Mills explains “Troubles occur within the character of the individual and within the range of his immediate relations with others; they have to do with his self and with those limited areas of social life of which he is directly and personally aware.”(Mills, 2000, pg. 8) A trouble in my life, according to Mills’ definition of the term, is not being married yet. I live with my boyfriend and basically live the married life. We can’t afford the traditional catholic wedding so we’ve chosen to wait until we can. My cultural background plays a big role in the formation of this issue. I’m reminded every Sunday at Mass that I'm living in sin unmarried in the same household with my partner. I get pressure from family to make it official because of our religious background. I could afford to have just the church ceremony, but the tradition is to have a celebration along with the ceremony and that’s not a possibility at the moment because of my financial status. Not being married directly relates to another trouble I have, being unemployed. It’s my personal trouble because there is opportunity for me but I haven’t applied for jobs for the chance to be hired. Mills explains “… the statement and the resolution of troubles properly lie within the scope of his immediate milieu-the social setting that is directly open to his personal experience and to some extent his willful activity.” (Mills, 2000, pg.