A sociological imagination is the capacity to think systematically about how things we experience as personal problems. Student debt, poverty, and obesity are all examples of common social issues that people share similar experiences with. Sociologist, C. Wright Mills, came up with the idea of sociological imagination and wrote that, "the sociological imagination enables us to grasp history and biography and the relations between the two within society." Mills explains that to understand the world around us, we have to think in a deep way about how it works and how we can improve it and ourselves (Arum, Haney, and Manza 2013).
             Sociological imagination helps us to ask hard questions and seek answers about the social worlds we live in and can help reach our own personal goals. Sociological imagination also challenges us to engage our thoughts and think critically and creatively. By doing that, it can help us understand our social issues that we encounter and improve society One situation that often triggers our sociological imagination occurs when we see that some kind of widely shared assumption we have long taken for granted is incorrect. The first step is to develop sociological imagination and look at ideas in a new way (Arum et al. 2013).
             Obesity is a huge social issue in today's society and many people create stereotypes about people who are overweight. For example, many assume that people who are overweight have caused their own obesity by overeating and not exercising but sociologists suggest different social factors that contribute to people gaining weight. Sociological imagination challenges stereotypes by building questions about what they are based on, who stands to benefit from them, and why they are harmful. This helps us to understand and think in a deep way about people who stereotype people who are overweight (arum et al. 2013). Childhood obesity has increased over the past few decades that have cau...