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Kyiona Jackson Human Growth and Development Prof. Taylor 20 April 2014 My Development: My Life in Six Pages Infancy I was born on August 24, 1994 in Indianapolis, Indiana. My birth was a normal birth like most births are until my mother stopped pushing. This stop caused me to form a blood clot on top of my head and have to stay in the hospital for two extra nights. I was blessed in that my mother was a stay at home mom so I did not have to enter into daycare until I was of school age. My mother tells me all of the time that she would just let me crawl around the house that was not safety-gated off and explore. Being the first and only child, my parents were extremely cautious and did everything by the books. My parents, particularly my dad, pushed education fairly early in my life. I believe because of this I was able to achieve walking at nine months and being toilet trained before I was two. I was able to hold full conversations and obey several part instructions by the age of two. As the first and only child I was only around adults. Being around adults in the very beginnings of life cause an increase in maturity, especially since I was at home with my parents until I was four. This maturity stayed with me throughout the span of my life thus far. By the age of two, my family grew. My sister was welcomed and I did not take well to her in the beginning as most children tend to do, especially when entering into the "terrible twos." Once my sister was born, there was a shift in the way I interacted. I became more able to play on my own and learned how to entertain myself since the attention was shifted from me onto my sister. This shift in my life I feel is a significant part of me as a person. To this day, I still do not readily interact with people and would stay reserved and to myself before I would begin a conversation with someone new. Every friend I have ever made is my friend because they came up to me and began a conversation with me. This lack of being outgoing can and possibly will hinder me

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in the nearer future because life and being successful is about making connections and networking. Early Childhood At this time I have already introduced my sister, but as life would have it by the time I was 4, we have additionally welcomed my brother. By this time my sister and I are able to play with one another and by my mother being a stay at home mom she was able to facilitate our imagination play. I can remember her buying us all of these dress-up clothes and dressing up with us. Since I was used to being a big sister by now, I became "mommy's little helper." I loved helping my mom make meals for the family and especially feeding my little brother. My mother was one of those mothers who made all the funny faces and doing the noises, so it was fun to be able to imitate her and feed my brother. I had to start my educational career at the age of four since my birthday came right before school started in September. Luckily, the elementary school I was attending ha a Pre-K program that I started with at four. Starting Pre-K increased my social skills ten-fold. I was finally able to interact with other kids who may have been slightly older than me, but because I was so well prepared from my parents, the other kids and I were on the same educational level. By kindergarten I was already able to recite and identify my letters and numbers. I absolutely loved my kindergarten teacher Ms. Kanya. She was genuine to each student and always add me feel like I was in good hands. Still though in kindergarten I continued to play by myself. I had a couple of the other kids I played with, but for the most part, it was just me and my blocks. I can remember at a parent-teacher conference Ms. Kanya expressed her concern to my parents about my isolation. That of course made them try to talk to me about why I liked to be alone and looking back on it today, I feel like I liked being alone when I could because I was always around someone at home. I'm addition to that, I learned in my home life that my parents had now three other children to be concerned with, so it was easier for me to try and help out and stay out of the way as much as possible and this is an ideology I maintain as an adult. Throughout my years in school, I was always coined as being the smartest in the class. What many of my teachers did not know is that once I got home, school did not end. My dad always made my

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siblings and me do homework as soon as we got home while he and my mom cooked dinner. I adapted a strong work ethic to get things done in a timely manner and get them done correctly. There was a split between my parents as to who I would go to for help with my homework. My mother I went to for math and science questions and I went to my dad for history and language arts. However, once my other siblings started entering school, I was back to having to figure things out on my own. I believe that although some people may look at my upbringing as if I were somewhat neglected, but I think that it formed the foundations for me being self-sufficient and able to get things done on my own. I do not necessarily have to ask for help on much of anything and the people in my life know that if I am asking for help then that means that I truly need it and there is no other option. Middle Childhood By this time in my life, I am the oldest of five children and my family is now complete. I attended McGlinnen Elementary and I loved being in school. School came so easy to me and I never really had to work all that hard to be successful in school. I had this natural hunger to acquire more information and learn something new. It was during this time that my parents began having problems in their relationship and my mother took my siblings and me and left my dad. This event had a great impact on my life. My mother did not just move us down the street or somewhere I was still familiar with, but we wound up in Illinois where she is from. I was starting to come out of my shell and began to become more outgoing; however, once we moved I quickly retreated back into what I felt was safe and regained my reserved and shy personality. It was also during this time that my life began to become very unstable. I was back and forth between my mother and my father so I bounced from school to school. I developed the idea that it was no point in making any friends because they were just temporary until the next time I moved. On top of that, my dad had no idea about how to do a girl's hair so I also had to learn how to do my own hair and quick. By fourth grade my grandmother eventually took guardianship of me. This provided my life with stability. I stayed in one school and was able to make friends that I am still friends with to this day. I soared in school due to the difference in rigor between Michigan and Georgia education. So again, I

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became one of the smartest in class and people looked to me for help with assignments. This shift from turbulence to stability allowed me to come out of my shell some but I still maintained a hint of reservation. And just when I was feeling comfortable in my surroundings, my menstrual cycle started. This start was difficult to me because my grandmother had two boys so she did not know how to approach the situation. We never had "the talk" nor did we talk about having a menstrual cycle. I became self-cautious and I felt like everyone could tell and that they knew. Over time, I grew to understand that no one knew unless I made it be known and there is no telltell sign stamped on my forehead. Being able to talk to my band teacher was instrumental in my development during these years. She was able to talk to me in a way that I was able to understand and felt comfortable with. Never did I feel pressured to feel any way or say anything I did not want to. I feel that this was important and is important for kids who are going through such a tough time in their development. Adolescence My adolescence years seemed to go by so fast. In school I was on the basketball team and became captain of the team. It seems like in middle school, any small triumph leads to an immediate boost of confidence. I maintained a well and respected reputation of being a leader and holding school as my top priority. After all of my acne cleared I eventually starting loving myself and possessed the confidence that I wanted. In high school I became more involved in school. During my first two years in high school I became a cheerleader on the football, basketball, and competition teams. Needless to say I remained busy throughout the year. However, no matter how busy I was I still maintained my grades. I had dreams of going to an Ivy League college and becoming a corporate psychologist. But as the saying goes, "all good things come to an end." My junior year of high school we moved from Lawrenceville to Grayson. This move meant a whole new set of friends and classes and a new environment to get used to. As any teenager my age, I was angry. By junior year in high school everyone already has their circle of friends and are not really looking to make new friends. So, again it was just me. I did my work but remained quiet during class. I did not talk to a lot of people and made three true friends.

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There were people that I talked to during class but there was only three people I would truly call my friends. It was during this time that I learned that it was easier to be alone. Then you do not have to worry about the awkward goodbyes and trying to maintain relationships. I held this idea until I got my first boyfriend. I was never big on dating but when I met him, everything just clicked. Once I got a boyfriend for the first time, I saw the point in making connections and meeting people. He showed me that although the goodbyes are difficult, it is the hellos that make it all worth it. At seventeen I had my daughter. Having her came totally unexpected. I did not know I was pregnant until I gained obvious pregnancy weight and went to the doctor. I felt like I shamed my family and I kept the cycle going of having a child at a very young age. I stayed in my room and blocked the world out. However, a talk with my pastor lifted my spirits. He told me that "God doesn't look at all of the bad things we do in our life because he already died for the bad. God looks at what we do when the bad comes." After hearing this, I picked myself up and began to live my life again. I no longer cared about the whispers in the cafeteria or people staring at me when I walked down the street and on August 18, 2011 my daughter Isabella was born. As I sit next to her today as she lies in a hospital bed from a tonsillectomy, I still don't regret having her. Having a child at seventeen forced me to become even more mature than I already was. She showed me what was important in life and who was important in my life. I became more family-oriented and less concerned with the amount of friends I had. I graduated high school on-time and with honors. I refused to allow my situation to be pitied and get in the way of my education. This is a mentality that I maintain today. I work, go to school, and raise my daughter. This experience is teaching me how to be truly independent and self-reliant. Emerging Adult I have only been in this stage a couple of years, but this far I have no complaints. I have moved out of my grandmother's house and into my own apartment. I am in college at a university and my daughter is bright, healthy, aside from this surgery, and happy. I am still in the same relationship as I was in high school and my life is stable. This stage in my life has made me grow emotionally, psychologically,

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and spiritually. I am still learning how to balance work, school, and motherhood but I am starting to get pretty good at it. I have my bad days, but as I have learned, it is okay. I am not going to get it right every time and that is fine with me.