The Pivotal Influences On My Development

It is only natural for teenagers to struggle with their sense of identity. One of the biggest challenges one faces during their “coming of age” is trying to discover various parts of themselves. I will be exploring the idea of how family and friends can socially influence an individual’s identity and affect the process of finding one’s true sense of belonging. I will be exploring this idea through the four texts; The Fault in Our Stars by John Green, Divergent by Veronica Roth, The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky and The Catcher in The Rye by J.D. Salinger.

The field of study that examines patterns of growth, change, and stability in behavior that occur throughout the entire lifespan is called lifespan development. Lifespan development takes a scientific approach in its study of growth, change, and stability. This development emphases on human development. Developmentalists study the course of development in nonhuman species, the most popular examine growth and change in people. In contrast I will focus on the ways people and myself change and grow during our lives, with the consideration of stability in our live span. Together, these findings suggest that we will go through

As Bernstein (2010) points out, often times people with ADHD “zone out” and miss valuable parts of conversations. This results in them bouncing back, often with a quick lie in order to continue the flow of conversation. These lies occur so quickly in order to fill voids of conversation, and so often, that they can sadly become a habit.

* P1 Explain the principal psychological perspectives applied to the understanding of the development of individuals

These insights foster a strong personal identity based on mature interpersonal relationships, not based on performance or meeting the expectations of others. When a child realizes that his great value and worth is based on his relationships to God, family, and friends, he strives even harder to cultivate his or her unique gifts for the service of others—finding himself through the sincere gift of himself. Excellence in academics, arts, athletics, “social intelligence,” etc. is the immediate fruit of this strong identity. It also foster a child’s appreciation for the unique gifts and talents of his schoolmates, as well as teamlike collaboration in cultivating these gifts and talents in his

Growing up as a child, I was different from the rest of the kids in my current community. I grew up in a tiny religious dot, barely recognizably on a map; West Union, Ohio. I moved to Cincinnati shortly before my first grade year, but I can visually account for many memories that were created during my first portion of life in West Union.

‘Explain the influences of two predictable and two unpredictable major life events on the development of an individual’

No matter who you are I believe that everyone will go through stages in their life that will get them to where they are on today. I am a person who has a very interesting story; this is the first time it will be told in full. We were asked to use Erik Erikson’s theory of development as a guideline to telling the story of our lives. At first I was very nervous; however, I soon realized that this would be a fun task. Erik Erikson has eight stages of Development (Zastrow and Kirst-Ashman). I will be walking you though my life using each one of his stages drawing out the map of my life. Within my life I have had some very interesting encounters. I have been through foster care, abuse, rape, molestation, starvation, adoption, depression, and

Since I was a young girl, I have always been thoroughly influenced by the arts. I come from a musically inclined family. My brother is a saxophone player who can finesse any instrument he picks up. My mother is infamous for her loud singing in the car, making up words she doesn’t know. My sister is a classical singer who once attended NSU. She was in choir and studied under Terri Sanders. I’d say my love started from birth, really. I started singing at age 2 and never stopped.

Throughout life, we face various events in our lives that shape us into the person that we will overall become. These events that shape us to who we will become can begin as soon as we are children. In my case, the major six events that I consider have shaped my life to who I am all started at a very young age. The most meaningful events all happen when I was young as I was still learning and developing. These lessons and events have resonated with me though my life. As I age I carry these six special events that as a child I did not understand the lesson behind the event, but I have been able to slowly unveil the significance of them.

There are many things in my life that has influenced my identity. I think the one that has made me who I am the most is being in cheerleading. I joined cheer in middle school, when I was in seventh grade. I was never confident in myself before this, and I never would have guessed that now, I would be a highschool cheerleader.

My life in many ways has not aligned with the norm. From kindergarten through all of high school, I was homeschooled. This made me different from many of my friends who went to traditional school. However, I was also different from many of the children in the homeschooling circles, in my interests and more outgoing personality. As a child, while I enjoyed playing with my friends from church and the neighborhood, I also really enjoyed listening to NPR, radio dramas, and watching documentaries. I am comfortable and accustomed to being a little different from others. When I was 16, I began to attend College of Lake County. There, my age is what separated me from my peers. I was never afraid or ashamed to talk about what made me unique, and one of my favorite things is learning what makes others individuals and their quarks. However, there is something that makes me different than many of those I’m surrounded by, that for many years I hid, denied, and felt ashamed of.

I chose Urie Bronfenbrenner’s bioecological model of child development to reflect on my stages of development. In the microsystem of Bronfenbrenner’s model, my early childhood family structure included my uncle, his wife and their five children. I went to live with my uncle after my mother passed away. By middle childhood, my uncle and his wife migrated to the United Sates and I went to live with one of his daughters( Erica) and her two children. They became my construct of what a family represent. Although I was welcomed in Erica’s family, I felt as if I did not belong in their family. The only place I felt accepted was at school. The classroom represented a place where I expressed my feelings without being ignored or judged by my peers. Also, I had very observant and understanding teachers who had the best of my interest. I had one teacher , Mr. Francis, who believed that I was capable of improving academically. At the end of his class, he noted in my report card that I had potential to be academically competent, however, I needed to settle down and apply myself to learning. His comments motivated me to do my best throughout elementary school. During elementary school, I maintained healthy relationships with my peers. There were never any reports of misconduct of any misunderstanding amongst my peers. In fact, interactions with them thought me how to engage in fair play, wait my turn, build trust and explore my environment. In exploring my environment, I

I am a twenty-two-year-old, white female. I grew up in Elk Grove Village, a village in the Northwest Suburbs of Chicago, with my father, mother and two older brothers. I went to a predominately white elementary school. However, my junior high, and high school were apparently diverse in race and socioeconomic status.

From an early age I loved to read. At just two years old I would beg my mother to enroll me into school. I watched as my older sister meticulously picked out her outfit each night in preparation for the next school day. At such a young age I somehow knew that this thing called “school” was the answer to something spectacular. My home was chaotic and reading became an escape and helped distract me from the unpleasant family dynamic.