-
Infancy; Emotional Development
I was very securely attached to my mother as an infant. I think that may be what led me to have a better temperament as a child. Or possibly, in comparison, my brother and sister were having to share our parents which could have left them less secure and lead to a worse temperament. -
Infancy; Physical Development
I separately asked each of my parents when I was able to walk on my own. Needless to say, they each gave me different answers. From their input, I am guessing that I took my first steps at around 8 to 10 months old. I was able to walk on my own at somewhere between 12 to 14 months old. According to what we have learned in class, these ages seem to be either average or just slightly earlier than average. -
Infancy; Emotional Development
From the stories my family tells me, I was a perfect child. I'm sure that's not exactly accurate, but it must have some ground, because compared to my younger brother and sister, I had to have been easier to raise. Maybe it was because they always had someone their age to fight with (they're twins), or maybe I was just a well-behaved child. But I find the latter option hard to believe. -
Early Childhood; Emotional Development
As I got old enough to start preschool, my temperament definitely changed. I went through a shift from being shy to needing to be the center of attention. I was probably a teacher's worst nightmare. I was constantly bouncing off the walls and always energetic. Especially before my brother and sister were born, because after they were born I almost immediately began being their partial caregiver. -
Early Childhood; Cognitive Development
Around 2nd grade, I was in a vocabulary and grammar class that I distinctly remember. My teacher was very strict, but that somehow worked for her teaching style. She was very immersive in vocabulary and pronunciation, often showing the way to move your mouth to make the correct sounds like you would do to help a child with a speech impediment. That was a very helpful part of my language acquisition as a child. -
Childhood; Physical Development
My childhood home had an enormous yard with a cow pasture adjacent to the back of our property, a well hidden pond, and a natural spring that turned into a small creek running the length of the property. Before my siblings came along, I got all my exercise from exploring every square inch of that land almost every day. I absolutely loved it, and I’m sure my parents did, too, once I had completely worn myself out. That was the most positive attitude I’ve ever had about getting exercise. -
Childhood; Physical Development
The exercise I was getting at this time was pretty equally split between gross motor functions and fine motor skills. I would run all over the place and swim in the creek occasionally, developing gross motor skills. I would also sift through the sand, pebbles, and rocks to collect the ones I liked. That, in addition to the balance and focus it took to get to the natural spring, helped in the development of my fine motor skills. -
Early/Middle Childhood; Cognitive Development
When I was in elementary school, I was one of a group of students chosen to take an IQ test. I scored relatively high, somewhere between 135 and 145. That was the first time I realized that intelligence had nothing to do with what grade you were in or how old you are. I think it humbled me, because I was very shy as a child and I didn't want to come off as boastful that I did very well on a standardized test. That was when I conceived the notion that intelligence has more than one facet. -
Early Childhood; Cognitive Development
I was an only child until I was 7 years old, so I had to make my own fun. I would make hideouts, explore our vast yard and the neighboring landscape, and collect geodes in my own yard. When I was inside, I was always playing with Legos or something that you could be creative with. Whatever I was doing to pass the time could be classified as forming concepts and categorizing types of play, such as explorative play or creative play. The attached photo is very accurate of everyday life back then. -
Adolescence; Physical Development
As an adolescent, I didn’t live in the same setting that made the little exercise that I was getting enjoyable at all. I exercised only when forced to, which was P.E. in school five days a week. This involved running laps, doing push-ups and sit-ups, and playing games such as kickball or dodgeball. I didn't like being forced to exercise the way the school demanded. The freedom to exercise at my own pace in nature was the only thing I enjoyed about exercise in begin with, so I started to hate it. -
Adolescence; Physical Development
During this time, my gross motor skills were developing by the jogging, push-ups, and sit-ups we were required to do. I was mostly only developing gross motor functioning from these exercises. I did occasionally get some kind of fine motor development from the sport games we participated in, like aim in dodgeball or when weaving between the opposing players to capture the flag and make it back to home base. -
Adolescence; Physical Development
I think that when I was an adolescent I entered puberty at around the same average time as my peers. I didn't really have any friends outside my class at school to compare to. I think that if I were to have started puberty significantly earlier or later than my peers that it would have had a minor lasting effect on my self-image throughout most of my emerging adulthood. -
Adolescence; Emotional Development
My most important relationships as an adolescent were with a group of four or five very close friends. From the time we started turning 16 and getting our drivers' licenses, we were always hanging out with each other and being mischievous little teenagers. Once, I ordered a 6-pack of Jones Soda and sent in our picture to be placed on the bottles and then gave them to my friends as gifts. Sternberg would have classified our relationships with one another as affectionate love. -
Adolescence; Cognitive Development
I took the ACT many times before graduating. I went to an ACT Prep course and took practice ACT exams every semester. The final time I took the ACT, I hoped for a 30 to qualify for a scholarship. When I got the results, I was in awe that I scored a 32. But when I got to school afterwards, I noticed several people who were upset at their scores. These were intelligent people. I just happen to have an affinity for standardized tests. That made me realize that there are many types of intelligence. -
Early Adulthood; Emotional Development
My closest relationship is with my best friend, and I would have to describe it as secure attachment. We can find a way to pass the time happily doing almost anything. When we are apart for long periods of time, we might not talk to each other at all. But when we meet again after a long time, we can jump right back into our friendship without skipping a beat. -
Early Adulthood; Emotional Development
Fast forward a few years after I had the special ordered Jones Soda bottles made for my friends. We are in our early 20s at this point. Although we drifted apart after high school, at least most of us kept that bond of Sternberg's affectionate love. If I were describing what kind of bond that I think we each were individually seeking out at this point in life, the answer would be consummate love (not between any of us on the Jones Soda bottle, though). -
Adulthood; Physical Development
Entering adulthood, I tried several times to get into a habit of some sort of light exercise. I could never stick with it, though. The strongest influence to exercise for me was all the walking I have done since Pokémon GO was released in July of '16. Since its release, I have walked 981.7km with the app open. That's 610.0 miles walked in 17 months. Adding an element of enjoyment to the exercise is what it took to break my sedentary lifestyle. It's light exercise, but it's better than nothing. -
Adulthood; Physical Development
Since the only exercise I regularly get now is from walking while playing Pokémon GO, you wouldn't think that any motor skills would be developing. However, it takes skill and very steady fine motor functions to throw curveballs accurately. Sometimes, I will even use both hands on my phone to achieve better accuracy. The only gross motor functioning that I get currently is just from walking; however, as stated in the referenced post, I walk a tremendous amount more now that I have motivation.
