Sociological Imagination

In most cases, single parenting is viewed as something negative and not necessarily good for the children involved. However, being raised by a single mother influenced me in numerous ways that I consider to be positive, and unquestionably made me the person I am today. Growing up in a single parent family, as the middle child with two brothers, obviously had its disadvantages but instead of affecting us badly, it ended up making us stronger and closer.
In comparison to a more traditional two-parent family, I feel as if having only one parent to rely on created a stronger bond between my mother and I that may not have been as strong had I been raised by both my mother and father. Having this type of relationship with her developed my sense of self worth and confidence, taught me how to be independent, provided me with an overall example of who I wanted to be when I got older, and countless other valuable life skills. In addition, having her play such a strong role in my life now affects my relationship with my own daughters, who I share a very similar bond with.
Being that my mother had to work two jobs to support my brothers and I, chores that many of our friends were doing to earn an allowance were more of a necessity in our home as she did not have the time to complete household duties. This instilled in me a hard working attitude as well as a sense of pride in being able to contribute to my families’ functionality. Together my brothers and I learned the importance of teamwork and personal responsibility at a young age.
As I mentioned previously, there were downfalls to our alternative family. Participating in school activities and sports with only one parent to cheer me on and come to support me was discouraging at times, especially since most other friends had both of their parents there. It affected me because it wasn’t the “norm” at the time and it made me feel different from everyone else in our small community. None the less, even the difficulty of feeling different from most of my peers helped me to become self accepting.
In retrospect, I realize that what I always thought was a bad thing and wished were different, actually had a tremendous affect on me in a good manner. I was fortunate enough to learn early on in life that struggle can be good. Our family may not have been like everyone else’s but that’s what made it great and that’s why I’m the woman that I am today.