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I was born in Detroit, MI at Sinai Grace hospital.
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I was raised by my mother and father. My mother did breast feeding and formula with me. I was also immunized with all the typical vaccines of the time.
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I grew up in America learning English but I was mostly babbling. My favorite word was "bida" which was what I called those things that babies typically suck on. Like most babies I was always trying to explore my surroundings.
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As a baby I was always very shy of unfamiliar people and would express stranger wariness. I would often cling to my mom or my dad because I had a secure attachment to them.
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I didn't have any imaginary friends unless my favorite teddy bear counted. I also played a lot on the playground with my group of friends all the time in preschool. We would sometimes be rough but mostly we would be devious and scheme up ways to cause the teacher grief. A rather funny example of pyschological control my mom and aunts used was that if I misbehaved they would sell me to the gypsies. I had no idea what a gypsy was but I knew it wasn't what I wanted.
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My father was a very smart man and was always teaching me and my siblings big words. I wasn't the best at math, but I was always good with my words. Since my dad loved to read he always got us to read as well. I went to a Montessori school where I learned some fundamental education.
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When I was growing up I was always a rough and tumble kid with lots of energy. This afforded me the nickname "beast" by my dad. I also got myself hurt a lot like getting stitches in my cheek because of my brother. I had good nutrition, and was fortunately not maltreated.
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My dad continued to build my vocabular simply by speaking to me and then later giving the definition. He'd also teach me all kinds of idioms and sayings. I went to private school all throughout this period of my life and my mom was always helping me study.
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During this stage I was still in a two-parent household although because of my dad's job he was always on the road, But he would always call home at least twice a week to talk me and my siblings. He was home every weekend as well. With my peers I didn't have too much trouble making friends because I had established myself as the class-clown. There wasn't really any bullying in the school and I always tried to befriend the unpopular kids.
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It's safe to say I was far from the risk of obesity because I was a scrawny kid and a finicky eater. I was always active and decided at age 8 to start doing the sport of wrestling and played football when it wasn't wrestling season. My dad is a smoker and was back then; by some miracle I don't have asthma (probably because he would rarely ever smoke around me and always outside.
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The only identity crises I had were that regarding religion and vocation. I had made a few friends who challenged all that I believed in and made me do a lot of deep thought. In regards to vocation I had no idea what on Earth I was going to do with my life, and had lost a little bit of sleep trying to figure it out. I shuffled between so many ideas of my future my senior year. I never questioned my gender and political identity too much and I was all right with that.
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I don't think egocentrism had a positive effect on me at all during this time frame. It made me quite depressed because I hardly belonged to any of the cliques in high school. That combined with the personal fable was a terrible cocktail that maid me think I was better than everyone who I didn't fit in with. That caused a lot of stress. With the help of many positive role models I sorted things out though.
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I was still doing wrestling during this period of my life. Estimating how much time it took up I'd say around 30% of my time. I was always at practice. If I wasn't at practice, I was running to lose weight for the next meet. I was very thin at this stage of my life because of it. It might have been bad for me in the long run but so far I don't see any reason to believe that yet. I'm pretty sure I hit puberty at 13. I remember that I was more emotionally aware starting at that age.
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I have my 21st birthday coming up in May and I don't think I'm getting another inch at this point. That's okay though I don't need it. Of course I play rugby now and exercise regularly. Without exercise I feel as though I might get too bored. I am eating well and I plan to continue the trends that keep me healthy throughout this stage of my life. I haven't done drugs and I don't ever plan to start. Alcoholism runs in my family and I'm going to have to watch out for that.
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I have had and continue to have the problem with dlay discounting. Time management has always been a struggle for me, but I work at every day hoping to improve it little by little. I do notice myself growing morally throughout this period. Simply going to college and being responsible for my own education has given me a sort of independence.
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Culturally I prefer to embrace being an American. My ancestors left Ireland and Mexico for good reasons, and I don't want to waste my time pretending to something I'm not. I'm still looking for my significant other and I hope I am emotionally ready for when that day comes.
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I think in my adult years I'm still going to be active in sports. It might not be as brutal as rugby, but I'll find some new contact sport to get into. I'm probably going to join a running group or a softball league. I'm probably going to stop drinking sometime before I have my first kid. I don't think drinking will benefit me in the long run.
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I don't expect to have a midlife crisis. I think I've figured out what I want to do and where I want to be. There's a 50/50 shot I won't get divorced so I'll take those odds and say I'll stay happily married. I'll always have my friends though in case things go south. My best friend and I have known each other since kindergarten, and I'm very good at keeping friends like that. I also think I'm going to adopt a child. I feel as though someone should and maybe I could handle it.
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At this point I should have graduated college and should start working as a nurse. I might step out of the hospital and go teach somewhere. I'm likely to continue my flexible expertise and take things as they come to me. I hope to be a good father to my future children. I want to help them find whatever it is they are good at and help them excel in it.
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If injuries from previous sports haven't gotten to me by now I'll still be exercising. I hope to continue to stay healthy and independent.
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I hope that my long time friends are still with my at this age. If not I hope I'll have a family by now that I have a good relationship with. I hope that I can be there for them during retirement like all grandparents want to do.
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I believe that through being active I can help keep my brain healthy and possibly not come down with a neurocognitive disorder. If I do I hope I will not suffer with it long. They way medicine is looking now though I predict there will be some very effective treatments available.
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If by age seventy-five I come down with a serious illness like cancer I will not fight it. I think it'd be best to just say my goodbyes with all my loved ones and see what's on the other side.