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I was born.
I was born at a healthy weight at around seven pounds. My mom was careful to avoid teratogens during the pregnancy. The only disorder that was notable is that I had jaundice. To remedy this my mom put me next to a sunny window. -
Started to walk
I began to walk shortly after one year of age. I gained weight relatively fast, so I was a chubby baby. By this time I was able to recognize my parents. -
Began speaking
According to Piaget, this would be my preoperational period. Language is the use of symbols, and toddlers are very fast at learning new languages. First I learned Spanish and then I learned English from cartoons and school. The first sentences that I used were short and grammatically incorrect. -
Sister was Born
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Started pre school
By this time I think I've developed an insecure attachment. In pre school I began to interact with peers. I don't remember much, but the beginnings of parallel play and social play were probably happening. My dad introduced me to soccer and would act as a playmate. -
Started Grade School
The first time we were taught to read, we all had our turn to read a sentence. I couldn't read but I memorized what the other kids were saying to repeat when I was called on. This could be a demonstration of Sternberg's theory of Successful Intelligence. I didn't actually have the knowledge to read, but I successfully completed the task using "creative" methods. My mother valued my education highly. She was probably a big influence on my early success in school. -
Met my first best friend
The parenting style that was used on me was ideally authoritative, but often times permissive. I didn't cause trouble so there weren't too many critical eyes on me. I met my first best friend when I was 6. He was my cousin that had come from Mexico. We were of similar age, and we got along instantly. -
First Grandparent died
My paternal grandmother died when I was seven. I had little contact with her, and I don't remember grasping the situation. My emotions were more likely referenced based on my parents. -
Started Middle School
Began to understand the greater social context of my peers and how I fit into the group. Race became something that defined us and sometimes prejudice was present. The popularity, or socioecenomic level of my peers was an important quality that everybody considered when interacting with each other.
School became difficult for me, and my self esteem started to drop. I began to compare myself to others more. I began to notice the opposite sex more. -
Puberty Started
When my voice changed, I was proud and showed it by talking too much. My body hair increased significantly, and all the other male changes occured. These were the primary and secondary sexual characteristics manifesting. However, even with all these changes, I was still much smaller than my peers, and it affected my self esteem. -
Moved to New House
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First time going to college
At this point I went to college as an obligation instead of a choice. I had no real goals and spent much of my time distracting myself. I avoided shaping an identity, which is another form of shaping identity. I was working part time, which was a positive experience overall. With this job came the first taste of independence. -
Started to Care about Fitness
I started to spend more time with another cousin, who was into sports. Up to this point I was a walking skeleton. When I started to lift weights, it felt like I went through a second puberty. -
First Real Job
In this period I experienced isolation from family, friends, and relationships. To add, there was also depression. The job was good and it seemed to be appropriate for my social clock, but I experienced alienation. -
Lived in Mexico for a few Months
After quitting work at Tyson I started to travel to Mexico periodically. In this time I experimented and did edgework. This is the time where I truly started to build a life span construct.