The concepts listed in the previous section from sociology classes I have taken previously that relate directly to sociological institutions have aided in structuring my own personal behavior, attitudes, and beliefs. Of the biggest contributors to my beliefs and attitudes was my Marriage and Family class. In this class, we learned about different types of families, parenting styles, and about marriage. These three key concepts have changed how I view my life after college. All in a good way have my views changed. When learning about different types of families and parenting styles, I have taken those and incorporated them into how I want my family to look like and when I have children, how I want to raise them. What I was learning in this class, especially from our texts we read, were things I most likely never would have known outside of the classroom. This especially applies to our Marriage Contract assignment we did. While I know I am not actually getting married anytime soon, this assignment made us not only think about our partner, but it also required a lot of self-reflection. I learned new things about myself I did not know or realize were that important to me. The second biggest contributor was my Family Violence class. This class brought to light what I wanted to do with my career. Learning about the different forms of abuse and the data of how many individuals are in an abusive relationship, family, and/or household made me realize I wanted to make an impact and help. Then being taught different resources and ways to help a victim made me realize that I can make this impact I am wanting to make.
The different skills and knowledge I have learned about the different sociological institutions has helped prepare me for the job of a victim advocate. The knowledge I have learned thus far will allow me to better perform and excel in this field of work. The concepts learned in my Family Violence class, like signs of intimate partner violence, child abuse, and resources for victims will allow to be very resourceful as a victim witness advocate. When put in certain situations, I will already have previous knowledge and will be able to do my job to the best of my abilities.