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Prenatal Influences
Age: One prenatal influence that could have affected my development was my mother's age. She had me at 44 years old, which is towards the end of child bearing years. Chromosomal abnormalities also factor into pregnancies that happen in a person's 40's, which can lead autism in a child.
Psychoactive Drugs: The use substances such as alcohol, heroin, cocaine, etc are a far to common occurance according to about.com (link provided). -
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2 prenatial influences that coud have impact development
Age: One prenatal influence that could have affected my development was my mother's age. She had me at 44 years old, which is towards the end of child bearing years. Chromosomal abnormalities also factor into pregnancies that happen in a person's 40's, which can lead autism in a child. Psychoactive Drugs: The use substances such as alcohol, heroin, cocaine, etc are a far to common occurance according to about.com (link provided) The abuse of such substances can lead to short term and long term -
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2 events from birth to age 2
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Infancy
My mother was a career woman so she could not care for me for my entire first year. Thankfully, my Mom hired my oldest Aunt to care for me while she was at work. My attachment in the making according to Piaget made me favor my Aunt more. I hold truth to this because as I grew up my love for her grew stronger. -
Colic
According to my developmental history form I was colic in my first year of life. I feel like this is also related to attachment issues that I had in my toddler and early childhood. Attachment issues such as seperation anxiety from my Mom. -
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3 events from age 2 to 5
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Shy Toddler
At this age my attachment to my Aunt was slightly stronger towards my Aunt. This strong attachment made me more reserved. My Mom also reffered to me as cautious in my toddler years. It would also explain why I was able to play alone and easy to manage as a toddler. THe alternative as stated in the textbook would have been an exuberant toddler that is joyous, fearless, outgoing, and adventurous, all attributes which I did not exhibit in my earliest toddler years. -
Intiative vs. Guilt
Erickson's third psychosocial stage is where I believe I understood that I was gay. According to Erickson this stage is where a relationship with basic family is crucial. At this age I was more feminie, but my brothers would always tell me to act more masculine. I can recall a time when I was trying on clothes and I asked my brothers if I look pretty. His response was you look "cool." and that pretty is for girls" I remember being so shut down by his remarks which in turn lead to guilt. -
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3 events from age 5 to 12
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First day of Kindergarten
My first day of kindergarten consisted of tears becausse my mom was leaving me in a place that was so unfamiliar. I believe that my attachment to my Mom was the main reason for my behavior as well as not leaving Erickson's third stage with the most intiative. To some degree I did progress normally, for instance I was obssessed with toy cars and collected them until I was about eight years old. -
Industry vs. Inferiority
During my school years I was not the happiest child. I was always satisfied, but I never felt confident in anything.Unresolved feelings of Inadequecy and inferiority that came from my brother's comments and others like it is the reason why I felt like I was not like everyoine else. It was what ultimately lead to more ingeriority than industry. -
Egocentrism - Piaget
I was not a calm child when I was about 7 years old. If I didnt get what I wanted from people I would cry. Sometimes my mom wanted time for herself on Friday nights, so she would go hang out with her friends. Granted I was not home unsupervised. I always wanted to know when she would be home and if she wasnt home at the time she said, I would yell and scream at her over the phone. I did not understand that my mom was a hard working person that also needed free time. -
Concrete operations
By age 12, I thought situations through more logically. Whenever my mom didn't come home right after work, I trusted that she would be home whenever she felt best. My mom also trusted that I knew when to be home at the end of the day. We used to live walking distance from a mall and I would walk there on my own from time to time. I became more curious and understood that I could do things on my own. -
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6 events from age 12 to 19
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Identity vs. Role confusion
The fifth stage of Erickson's stages of development is the transitional period between child and adult. At age 13, I began to make friends with an honest group of people. It was the first time I felt somewhat comfortable with a steady group of individuals. I was in my last year of middle school, but I was still not as confident as other people. It was definitely a turning point in my life because I was slowly creating my own opinions and becoming more intrigued by the concept of the future. -
Sexuality - Identity
My first year of high school went much more smoother than I thought it would. Up unitl middle school, I had been bullied for "acting gay." High school was very different. I connected with all types of people and felt like I finally fit in. I also knew that I was gay, but I never admitted it to myself, let alone other people. I interalized the idea that being gay was wrong so I also tried to deny myself. -
Changing Schools - Identity
I had to change schools my sophomore year of high school which opened up a new start for me. I did not really continue to deny that I was gay, rather I set the issue aside. I engulfed myself in my studies and along the way I found Laura & Jamie. They changed my life forever. They were the first people to see me as a person and not as gay or as fat or what ever I was self caustious of at the time. Their presence helped me find my identity. -
Higher Education - Identity
My junior year of high school consisted of even more education. I was accepted into the ACE progrom which helped me start classes at Glendale Community College. I fell in love with all the opportunities I recieved and I was happy with Laura and Jamie, even though they were the only friends that I had. They also helped me find more intiative and get over my guilty feelings of being gay. -
Finding myself - Identity
By the end of my junior year, I finally had the confidence to admit, out loud, to myself that I am gay. It is a fact of my life that I had been denied. Denied so many times that I interanlized it. Jamie and Laura definitely helped me come to terms with myself. so naturally, they were the ones to know first. -
I am who I am
My first year of college marked another new beginning. One that I wanted to make truthful. I came to Durango with the mindset that I will act how I truely feel and speak what I want to say. Not only have accepted myself, ultimately leading to the virtue of fidelity.