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Prenatal Influences
First of all, before I was born my parents already had 3 other children. This must have put a lot of stress on my parents, especially my mother because not only was she carrying me, she is a stay at home mom. Stress can do a lot of damage to pregnant woman, which brings up my second prenatal influence. When my mother was ready to have me, she had complications and doctors told her to expect the worst. My mom didn't get specific with this, but I'm sure something was wrong at the time. -
Birth to age 2
In my sensorimotor stages, my parents always said I was the only child to pick up things very quickly. I was very curious and eager to learn. For example, in my picture, my mom said I used to stack pillows and get up on the couch myself. My mom would praise me, and I would get happy. That connects to me learning about my physical environment. It also reminds me of Behaviorism, because my mother was rewarding my new finding, and to this day I really like being praised for my accomplishments. -
Birth to age 2
I think I mentioned this before, but my parents always told me as a child I was a "wonderer." As soon as I started walking, I would always stray and be in my own little world. My dad recalls this family picture because he said I kept taking off so he had to hold me. It's quite funny as well because although I see my brother & sisters having fun, I'm just observing them. I wonder what was on my mind? (Strange child) -
2-5 years old
I think one of the most common milestones in a childs development is when they learn how to ride a bike. I remember how proud and scared I was. This is like Erikson's Early Childhood stage, where I was learning to be more independent, and feel secure enough to actually let someone help me learn to ride a bike. -
2-5 years old
With my quick grasp of things, you can't imagine how happy I was when I got to go to preschool. I was four then, and during that time all I can remember was doing fun art projects and singing at school. I was in Piaget's Preoperational stage where physical and visual learning played a big part in my development. To this day, if I don't have a concrete idea or example of things, I don't understand things fully. -
2-5 years old
Kindergarten was a great event in my development. I began learning so much from school like how to interact with people other than my family. I think the more I began to enjoy exploring things with groups of people, I stopped wondering off on my own. I liked sharing my ideas and making friends. -
5-12 years old
Of course every little girl wants to be a princess. This was me when I was 5. My elementary school used to have Navajo Language & Culture Pageants to keep the youth educated in Navajo tradition. My culture is a huge influence on my development, and I still practice it today. -
5-12 years old
Here in my development, I was in Erikson's Middle childhood task.I began choosing who I wanted to befriend or not based on how I wanted others to see me. I was a bit of a book worm, and I used to be so competitive with my schoolwork. Not only with my peers, but also with my siblings. It's strange as well because I grew out of this during my adolescence, but when I actually decided to go back to college, I once again felt competitive with school. -
5-12 years old
Here I am in 6th grade, and this is when I met my closest friend. She is a major influence on my development in the later years and present because I still talk to her today. We are completely different in so many ways but we're so close, I see her more like family than a friend. I don't even know where to begin on all the crazy things we've done together. -
12-18 years old
As an adolecent, I had a more realistic perspective on the world. I was also much more emotional, and sensitive to negative remarks. -
12-18 years old
Starting High School is a major influence on my development because it was really different. I had to quickly adapt, because teachers had different expectations of me. I was also intimidated by older kids due to body image, popularity, and bullying. Since High School, I was no longer a star student because I worried more about not letting others torment me. A lot of bad choices were made then. -
12-18 years old
In 2008 and the year later, I suffered the loss my beloved paternal grandparents. Throughout my life, my grandparents have always been there, their knowlege and wisdom all at the palm of my hand. I took life for granted and when they were gone, I had a really hard time with thier passing. I had trouble at school, because I worried about their health, their medical bills, and etc. It was a really hard time in my life and from this, I truly saw how life can be so harsh. -
12-18 years old
After my grandparents passing, I was doing really bad in school and I got really distant. I was trying to understand death, and it's permanance. Things just weren't the same and it effected me psychologically. -
12-18 years old
After I reevaluated what was most important in my life, and the people who didn't give up on me I realized my family was the greatest influence of all. They cared for me, and my parents went through the same loss I did, but they still had to be strong for my brothers and sisters. At this time in life I'm very thankful to have them, because not everyone has that support. -
12-18 years old
One event that I think was a major influence in my development during my adolescence was getting out of my funk, and running for senior class president. I got the part, and it showed me a whole lot of responsibility. I had to set up events, fundraisers, meetings, and do pep talks for our school. I think this is when I really came into my own and started making the best choices for myself. -
12-18 years old
Graduating High School was the greatest accomplishment of my adolescence. I was so happy to have passed everything and it showed how much I was capable of. I realized I was going to be ok, and that was good enough at that point in time.
