Journey of life paper due no later than 2:00pm tomorrow

Draft Journey of life

Infancy

As an infant my family tells the story of a very loud crying baby. I was very small; however I made my presence known. I was so small they made my sleeping quarters from a dresser drawer. I was a happy baby and very independent at an early age. Things that upset me were loud noise and becoming overheated. I did not like hot weather, or a wet diaper. My aunt said my eating habits were not that great, I was forced to eat and I did not tolerate milk very well. I was a happy baby in the attachment stage I was able to separate from my primary caregiver; however I did not like strangers. My family said I was very curious, and if I went missing you could find me hiding in the kitchen cabinet banging on pots. I guess my motor skills were working just fine at this point. I find these stories very interesting simply because these things remind me of my youngest son. There is one story that stands out. My mother was getting ready for work and left the hot iron unattended and I being curious pulled the hot iron down causing it to fall onto my right foot. The burn mark is still there to this day. The part of the story that stands out is the fact that I was not taken to the hospital. Instead I was taken to a lady house that prayed over my foot and healed it. The socio cultural tradition is how we understand norms and rules of our culture works interactively. This tradition is centered on the creation and enactment of social reality (cite). The fact that I was not taken to the hospital was mind blowing to me, but my family said this is how things were done in the African American culture. Our families relied on the nuclear family, single family, or extended family (cite).

Childhood

My childhood was fun, and very busy. I feel I mastered the culturally valued skills completely. I was advanced when it came to sports and academics by childhood. My knowledge and self discipline, was what my father depended on because I was his helper. My father depended on me to help cook, clean, and help with my younger siblings. My school activities as well as after school activities was plentiful. I was able to master them all. Running, jumping, skipping, kicking, and dancing was fun, besides I was a very rambunctious little girl in my childhood. I was smart, but there was this one thing I struggled with. My fifth grade teacher noticed that I was mixing the same sequences of letters and I was said to be dyslexic. This was a very important time in my developmental stage, therefore she spent extra time to help me overcome or learn how to work around the dyslexia. During this stage I also learned I did not like when other kids was made fun of (bullied). I would always stand up for anyone who could not or would not stand up for themselves. I was the smallest in the class, but I had the biggest heart. This characteristic is probably a trait from my father “nature” (cite).

Adolescence

Who am I? A skinny brown girl with lots to say. Who am I, with that pimple on my face? Who am I, a lot have changed? Who am I, do I like what I see? Who am I? I am me. A skinny brown girl, what do you see? In this stage of my life I was confused and frustrated. I felt everything on my body was changing. I hated boys which was strange because all my friends liked boys. I concentrated on sports, dancing, and school work until Adolescence was over!

Early Adulthood

My life experiences up to this point, be it nature or nurture landed me here. I can survive on the bare minimum. My mission is to smile daily and make my smile infectious. I find inner peace when I am happy and others follow in my happiness. I am a dreamer. My father told me often “you are a princess and I am going to build you big castle like Cinderella”. Cinderella story was one of my favorite books as a child. I would sit on my front porch and dream about how I would decorate my castle, and still to this day I day dream about things. I day dream about what I want to accomplish, things I want to do, and things I will buy to decorate my castle. I can get lost in my thoughts sometimes. As I have grown in early adulthood, I appreciate the rawness of things, things unbothered, flawed, and messy. One of my favorite quotes are “She dances to the song in her head, speaks with the rhythm of her heart, and loves from the depths of her soul” (Dean Jackson). This poem embodies me. This is how I feel every day, even on my say days I am happy within, and nothing or no one can take that from me. I ask myself is this due to the nature of my father’s words? Or is this nurture from growing up to fast? Whatever the case my life was altered dramatically when I realized I was not really given a childhood. My adult responsibilities at such a young age have given me the ability to slow down and breath. I am living my life.

Biosocial Status

In my early childhood I remember being shy around people I did not know. However, around my family and friends I talked a lot and ask lots of questions. I was a smart child very articulate, and well behaved. I was leader in most things; I never wanted to do what anyone else suggested. I always had a better plan. I was very happy and energetic. I loved being outside playing, running, and riding my bicycle. I can remember a big tree in front of my house that I would always climb. That tree caused me plenty of spankings, because I was told not to climb the tree. My god mother would intentionally put me on dresses in an effort to impede me from tree climbing. Needless to say no dress stopped me from climbing the tree. This was defiance at its best. I do believe my inner rebel surfaced early in life.

Growing into adolescence puberty is the way parents dealt with a child basic sexual and aggressive desire, which would determine how their personalities developed and whether or not they would end up well-adjusted as adults (Sigmund Freud). Growing into puberty my world was more focused around my father. My father was my world and in my eyes he could do no wrong. However, my mother was not so perfect. I did not have a close relationship with my mother, in fact she was never around much and I had to deal with that issue. The fact that my mother was never home and when she was she was drunk, which made the interest for my father heighten.

I am very petite in stature. During puberty I can remember my breast growing and being much larger than other girls my age, and this made my outgoing personality fade. The fact that someone would always make mention of the fact my chest was bigger than all my friends made me uncomfortable. Even though I withdrew a little when it came to talking I still excelled in sports and academics. I was also good at art projects. I won first prize in every science fair I entered. I believe this made me popular, because I was always getting my picture taken and hung around the school.

During this crucial time in the developmental stage you would think having lots of friends and being popular would be fun, however this for me was confusing. I did not know what to do with breast they got in my way when I ran and all the attention made me feel even more awkward.

As I moved into early adulthood I began to be more comfortable with how my body developed. I continue to excel in sports and academics, my family and friends praised me on all levels. My family structure looked perfect on the outside, but on the inside it was far from perfect. The dysfunction within my household was plenty, and I believe because of it I became more socially mature. My friend’s maturity grew much faster than most children in my age group. “The Evolving Self” theorist Robert Kegan explains how people become progressively more socially mature across their lifespan. However, in order to understand Kegan’s theory of social maturity it is important to understand Jean Piaget earlier theory of cognitive development. Piaget’s theory described how children’s ability to think develops from birth through early adulthood. As I pass through stages of develop Piaget explains as pre-operational, and concrete I am at the operations stage where I can figure things out by myself. I learned very early in life that my father depended on me to do good in school be responsible as the oldest girl, and help with my brother, and sister, because my mother was not present mentally. Therefore, I learned at the early age of 9 how to cook, clean, do laundry, and take care of my siblings. This stage in my life was very challenging, but I knew my father depended on me, so I did not complain. I don’t think I even knew this was not the norm. I just did it and in return my father danced at my wedding. What else could a girl ask for?

Self Theory

I believe I have grown into a beautiful young lady who loves life. I see myself traveling the world and taking one day at time. I feel I don’t take life to seriously and being a free spirit is a good thing. I believe that working hard is the only way to ensure a successful life and to never take anything for granted.