Power

Prior to reading the chapter, the list of different types of power that influence my life were:

• family, friends, peers, relationships
• technology - iPhone, Mac 
• money
• appearance, clothing
• advertisements
• news, social media
• school, community, professors
• art
• survival

After reading the chapter, I learned that there are three main types of power: domination power, consensual power and transformative power.  All three of these types of power influence my life on a daily basis.  For example, the fact that I have agreed to pay large sums of money and do the required work in order to be educated by Penn State is a form of consensual power.  I agree to these consequences and no one forces me to do it.  As a child, I strongly depended on my parents and family, so they would punish me if I misbehaved.  My family is full of loving people, so this domination power is no where near to the example of a dictatorship, but I have become the person I am today because of my dependence to them.  The relationships I have formed with my friends and significant other have been more of a transformative power.  In these relationships, everyone feels fairly equal to one another and rather than one person having power over others, we act as a team.  Therefore, all three of the examples of the powers examined in the chapter are influential in my life.