Looking back on most of my blog entries throughout the semester, most of them involve me trying to relate lessons to aspects of my life I enjoy. In a way, I felt doing this was the most appropriate approach to applying the lessons I learnt in SocSc 11. I believe we shouldn’t have to look too far when it comes to applying a subject literally titled “Understanding the Self”, especially given there’s so many aspects of our lives that apply lessons in Social Science without us even realizing it.
Some lessons throughout the semester I found easier to contextualize than others, especially as a college freshman. Individuation and the influence of peers is the first that often comes to mind. Starting out college, everyone’s given the chance to rebrand and redefine their own cliques and crowds. However, we’re often unaware of how these cliques and crowds reshape us as well, especially as emerging adults. Our lesson and group discussions on gender identity and sexual orientation captivated more interest in class as well, as it’s during this time that romance and sexuality became a valuable pursuit for many. Ultimately, that lesson solidified the often-told importance of loving and being comfortable with oneself before sharing that love with others. It was the lessons like these I felt delivered on the promise that was made in the start of the year that SocSc is meant to assist in our transition into life within Ateneo.
Some concepts, on the other hand, I felt were farther apart from my current context than they actually were. I recall systems thinking to be off-putting for me at first, as it seemed like the type of overly analytical topic that tends to repel people from Social Science; it almost crossed the line to becoming biological for me. I won’t lie by saying that I had the same sentiment when we discussed our first lesson, globalization and hybrid identities. However, having reflected on them more while writing my blog entries, I realized that “farther from my context” wasn’t the right term to use. Rather, these lessons were more general to everyone’s context, more timeless ideas to remember as we live in society.
Throughout the semester, I learnt a lot more about human nature and the components of both people and society. While I may have difficulty applying everything I’ve learnt in my current context, what I learnt in SocSc will hopefully stick with me as I continue to participate in the world around me.
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