6200 wk 5 discussion

Transcript: Dominique

The adolescent phase can be described as middle point between childhood years and adulthood. A phase where the child goes through puberty including developing of more adult features such as breast, the presence of a menstrual cycle, and for young men the deepening of the voice along with facial and body hair (Zastrow et al., 2019). Not only physical changes occur during this time, but psychological changes can occur as well. More specifically how the child views his or herself and in comparison, to others. Not only having to conquer any self-image or body issues, during the adolescent phase certain live events and experiences can occur that may alter who the child becomes in their adult years.

I can relate to this as an event that occurred during my adolescent years still influences me as an adult. Growing up I participated in art programs such as dance and pageants. The art of dance and the world of pageants while can have a positive effect on the participant’s confidence, it can also have a negative effect. As a participant you are subjected to judgement based of your looks, techniques, personality, and talent. I remember around age 12, I practiced so hard for this pageant, I had the most beautiful yellow gown and thought I met all requirements. I grew up in a community where there were a minimal number of African Americans. That alone created a self-ideology to look different than who I was. And while my parents never taught me to judge by color of skin or that anyone was different, it was for the first time that I can remember that I was different. I remember hearing from judges and other adults that I was too dark to wear that color, that my dress would look so much better on a tan skin, or that my hair wasn’t meeting the pageant requirements.

Hearing this at the age of 12, during my adolescent phase where I was still processing who I was becoming, affected me more so psychological than anything. The social factors that played a part of this was my peers who all looked different than me, and the arts community who while said open to all did not display forms of different races.

While during my adolescent years, social media was not prevalent as it is today, there were still televised commercials and popular music videos present that I and other adolescents would watch and compare to. For me the social environment from doing pageants impacted how I viewed myself as a young woman of color. I began to hate how I looked, always preferred to have my hair straightened so that it could be smooth and long, like my Caucasian friends. It was not until my teen years when I began to view myself differently after having taken and African American studies class. This class brought light to the African American culture and values, giving a sense of pride in being a part of the race and community. Learning about my culture was the greatest strength in getting me through that phase of life. Now, as an adult I do not compare myself as easily however there are still thoughts that if I dress, talk, or fix my hair a certain way then I would be judged based off my looks rather than who I am. More importantly, as a mother of two girls I am now more aware of this as they are in a similar circle of peers as I was. And while I experienced the negative portion during my adolescent phase, I am making sure that they do not feel the same as I did, and if so to be sure I step in to guide them through it.

 

Zastrow, C. H., Kirst-Ashman, K. K., & Hessenauer, S. L. (2019).  Understanding human behavior and the social environment (11th ed.). Cengage Learning.

RESPONSE2 ALEXANDRIA

Identify an event in your childhood that influenced you as an adolescent and continues to influence you today as an adult. 

I grew up in a small town, and my grandfather had a hobby farm. He had pigs and cows. To support his hobby farm, he would go bale hay on various parts of land around the area. I can’t remember why, but for some reason, you can’t let the hay bale sit and must flip it. Growing up, I was permanently attached to my grandfather’s hip and followed him everywhere. He paid me half a cent for every hay bale I flipped from him. Some days I would follow my grandmother behind her car for hours, flipping hay bales.

Spending time watching my grandfather work influenced me a lot. Helping him work influenced me even more. It helped me learn and establish a work ethic. I could see what work was and learn the benefits of putting in the effort. He tried real to me. The more I worked, the more I earned. I learned that work isn’t always fun, and you don’t always enjoy the process. However, in the end, the benefits of putting in the work are always worth the pain.

Identify your developmental stage when the event occurred and describe the critical psychological, biological, and social factors that typically occur during this stage.

At that time, I was around 7 to 8 years old. I would have been around the time of concrete operations developing the ability to think logically. I would have been learning empathy and understanding (Zastrow, Kirst-Ashman, & Hessenauer, 2019). At that age, I would have been more adaptive and more able to be trusted with an allowance. I would have been more interested in understanding various social situations. I would have been more sensitive to the reactions of the people around me. I would have been close to becoming more aware of myself and the world around me and developing my identity (Zastrow, Kirst-Ashman, & Hessenauer, 2019).

Explain how the social environment impacted your experience. 

At that time, my grandfather was a large portion of my social environment. Because we moved a lot growing up, I didn’t have many friends in one place. My dad worked hard, but it was more behind the scenes for me. I didn’t get to work with him, so I wasn’t as “aware” of him. I don’t even remember meeting my friends’ parents for the most part. I didn’t start making real friends until I was closer to 10. As a result, my grandfather was the main person I looked up to and looked towards for an example of expected behavior. Had I had more of a social influence, I may not have had such a positive impact on this particular experience.

Identify your strengths during that time and explain whether these strengths have changed as you have developed.  

My main strength at that time was that I would have moved a mountain if my grandfather had asked. If he thought I could do something, then, well, I could. I never questioned him or my ability. Failure wasn’t a thought. And if something did not work for some reason, my grandfather always insisted I do it again.

Now, I question things more, but not a lot. I never start out thinking, “what if this fails.” Failure isn’t a thought. And even when something happens, and society defines it as a failure, to me, it isn’t. I learned something. I got better somehow. One time I started a business. I closed the business. I learned that this isn’t a time in my life to run my own business, and there is a high likelihood that I won’t ever be that person. However, it was a great ride, and I’ll never see it as a failure if I didn’t make it alone. My grandfather isn’t here anymore to push me, but in a way, he is. So, I don’t suppose that in his aspect much has changed.

 

Resources

 

Zastrow, C. H., Kirst-Ashman, K. K., & Hessenauer, S. L. (2019). Understanding human behavior and the social environment (11th ed.). Cengage Learning.