Essay Sample on Social Impact on Quality of Life

Introduction

A person's social class and social location of upbringing have far-reaching consequences in the overall quality of life. It should be noted that the social class of individual impacts on the family upbringing and other issues that affect the quality of a life. This can have a significant effect on the overall success in life in social, political, and even economic aspects of life. Families have important functions which include reproducing in the society and upbringing both biologically and socially. The experience one gets in the family is imperative to the goals and dreams regarding his/ her achievement in life. The societal functions, behavior, and culture also affect people's life. An example is the American Dream which has significantly impacted on the American society. The America Dream entails a set of national ethos regarding liberty, rights, and opportunities that impact on freedom and prosperity (Wysong, Perrucci, & Wright, 2014). Hence, living in the US requires one to develop certain attributes based on the American dream which impacts on the decisions made and hence the overall life structure. In this paper, I will analyze the impact of family upbringing based on its social location, origin, and opportunities or lack of based on these factors. In essence, my upbringing in the US society has provided both opportunities as well as challenges to my family's quality of life as well as my chances in life. In this regard, I will argue that the social costs of inequality are much lower in Pakistan than in the United States, hence despite the social challenges in the US society, my parents and I have accessed more opportunities to develop our personal potential.

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Social class in the US has been a significant controversial issue which has impacted on differences among social scientists regarding the existence of the social classes and how they impact on the quality of life (Wysonget al., 2014). My parents', having moved from Pakistan faced numerous challenges to adapt to life in the US. It is important to note that despite the attempts by the Pakistan government to develop and reform education, it has still faced numerous challenges. Therefore, my parents had only basic education which was not very competitive in the US. However, their education background enabled them to migrate to the US. This would not come easily as they had to face numerous challenges of social and racial discrimination even in workplaces. In this regard, migration to the US impacted on their physical health, ability to access adequate medical care, as well as overall nutrition. Since they were brought up by my hardworking grandparents, they toiled through to ensure they were able to raise me properly and to be a successful person. Thus, life in the US provided both opportunities and challenges for my family. However, it is important to highlight that the personal achievements must resonate with the ethos of the individualism which is impacted by societal integration. This entails the social policies that may bring integration or disparities, especially to the US immigrants. However, my parents took the opportunities to become hardworking individuals to ensure I gained access to proper education. This would have been possible considering the social development of the US society including better security that enabled my parents to follow their dreams including family businesses.

The global migration debate regarding its social and economic consequences has been significant, and it also impacted on our personal development. Moving from a less developed country to a developed country like the US offers numerous opportunities as well as challenges depending on the social confinement and society that one interacts with (Garcia, 2012). In this regard, my parents saw the opportunities in the US which were not present in the Pakistan society and decided to work to improve their lives. The new society offered them opportunities to expand their access to middle-class social life as well as economic resources. However, this was not easy at the beginning especially with just green cards. It was established that acquiring jobs with green cards is not easy considering the natives who felt that they deserved more. However, the legal framework in the US that allows the legalization of residence stay enabled them to take advantage of the situation to formalize their stay. Therefore, the provisions in the Immigration Reform Control Act also played a role in giving them a leeway to practice their duties without much negativity. Securing jobs meant that although the resources were scanty when they migrated, they had the financial output to amass more within the good and supportive neighborhoods. With the new private resources, they were able to set a platform for my future education in good schools.

Education is an imperative and decisive contributor to social mobility and economic success in the modern world. In the United States, which is a developed society, education is taken seriously for personal development and national contribution (Coontz, 2000). Since the challenges of the Second World War, American society has been more aggressive than ever with many parents undertaking various measures to facilitate education for professional development in their young ones. therefore, despite the earlier challenges to secure a job due to discrimination in the US, my parents were able to secure a good education for me. Despite the segregation challenges while trying to get a job, American society demonstrates a sense of interdependence. This was an opportunity for my parents since they could receive help from neighbors to enhance societal prosperity. This coupled with the public policies that supported the growth of families was an opportunity for my parents to take me to school. Although I started at a bottom level public school, the educational resources in the US demonstrate even the lowest social classes cannot lack education. However, securing a better job enabled them to move to a better neighborhood and consequently, I could school in a great public school. This has been a huge opportunity for me to develop myself and works for a better future.

Moving from a poor geographic location to a developed geographic location offered numerous opportunities to my parents for economic and social development. In the new home town, there is a high racial integration due to the high number of immigrants. The information provided entails a total population of about 52,000 dwellers in which whites are about 20.4%, African Americans 2.3%, Asians about 77.2%, Hispanics about 3.8%, and Indians about 0.6%. From these populations, it can be established that the Asians are the majority while the whites are part of the minorities. Therefore, the new location offered more opportunities for integration with less racial discrimination as most of the people were not white natives. The location also has a high percentage of middle-class earners which offered opportunities especially with the support from neighbors (Coontz, 2000). For example, the house tenure data illustrates that the owner-occupied housing units are at 82.6% while the rented units are at 17.4%. This illustrates the advantages the parents had living in a well-developed neighborhood. The well-developed neighborhoods enabled better public amenities, establishments of study, and recreation. Besides, the hometown provided with better medical facilities as well as security hence facilitating securing of future. Therefore, the new hometown was an opportunity for my parents to develop themselves.

References

Coontz, S. (2000). "We Always Stood on Our Own Two Feet: Self-Reliance and the American Family." Pp. 68-92 in The Way We Never Were (the second edition). New York: Basic Books.

Garcia, C. C. T. (2012). The impact of immigration on children's development. Basel: Karger.

Wysong, E., Perrucci, R., & Wright, D. (2014). The new class society: Goodbye to the American dream?. Lanham, Md: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.