Jessica Lynch

FHS 1500
All About Me
My Name is Jessica Lynch. I was born on March 28, 1982 in the LDS Hospital in Salt Lake City, Utah. I was
born to my mother and father, who already had two children, my sisters Amanda who was 6 years old,
and Miranda who was 4 years old. I am the youngest of the three girls. After I was born, my family
moved to Las Vegas, where we lived for one and a half years before my mother and father got a divorce,
and my mother moved my sisters and I back to Utah where I have lived ever since.
My mother immediately got a job whereas my sisters and I were sent to a Day Care center called Sunny
Day Care Center. Once I turned 5 years old, I attended Kindergarten at BellaVista Elementary School in
Cottonwood Heights, Utah. After my Kindergarten year, we moved to a home in Sandy Utah where we
attended Edgemont Elementary School from 1st -6th Grade. When I was in the 3rd grade, my father whom
I barely knew and who lived in California at the time, passed away from a heart attack. I then attended
middle school at Eastmont Middle School, then moved on to attend and graduate at Jordan High School.
The home in Sandy that we moved to was a very important beginning to the rest of my life thus far.
When I was in the 3rd grade, my father whom I barely knew and who lived in California at the time,
passed away from a heart attack. I also met and grew up with my now husband, who lived 4 houses
away from me for most of my childhood. He was one of my best friends uncles, and we didnt know
that we would end up even liking each other until I was 13 years old, and finally maturing into a young
woman You know how older boys can be.
Growing up and attending a Center Day Care, I was, as the reading state separated infants from older
children, a good strategy for ensuring that everyones developmental needs are met. My older sisters
would do different activities than I would. I remember having nap time with the children that were my
own age and wishing I could do the fun things that my sisters were doing. I feel that growing up going to

a day care center did help me in my social life. It helped me be able to separate from my mother without
having separation anxiety all the time, and it helped me to know how interact with other people my age.
It also helped me learn how to respect other adults that were not family members.
I do remember growing up and wanting to be like my sisters. I did have episodes of overimitation,
where I would shadow and imitate the things that my sisters would do. It would drive them crazy, being
older and having a little sister following them and their friends around.
When I grew up, my friends and I would have imaginary friends. I had my imaginary friend, Shannon,
who I would go shopping with all the time. My friends and I each had our special friends, and we would
play with them all the time. We grew out of that around 9 or 10 years old. I still think of Shannon all the
time. I had the same best friend from middle school through high school. We did everything together
and could tell each anything. I felt like I could be myself around her.
My mother growing up and still now, was a very authoritative parent. She was, as the readings state,
set limits, but they are flexible. (pg. 217) She always set limits for us on curfew, made sure that our
chores were done before we could play, and always made sure that we had dinner as a family together
as much as possible. These limits that were set for me, and the respect that I was taught to have for my
mother helped shape the hard worker and respectful person that I am today. I am thankful for the
mother she is.
My Grandmother took care of my sisters and I a lot. When my mother would work evenings during the
Holidays mostly, we would go and stay with my grandmother, what is described as kinship care in the
readings. (pg. 236) This way, my mother could work and not have to pay someone to watch us while she
was working. This helped us become closer to my Grandma and Grandpa while we were growing up.
One thing that is important to my social life from age 8-18 was my physical activity. I played softball for
10 years straight on regular recreational teams and on accelerated teams. This not only helped me with

my social development, learning to pay with other children as a team, but also helped me to keep
physically fit. I always needed to be physically fit in order to play my best on the team.
My self-concept was built throughout my life. I went through times where I was made fun of for
having short hair, and looked like a boy, to being made fun of for not having a dad that lived with me.
Those times were trying to me, and always brought me closer to my mother and sisters, because no
matter what people at school would say to me, we always had each other. As I grew older, I learned to
not let others comments bother me so much, and I had a great self-concept, knowing that I was great
just how I was.
Growing up in a single-parent family, there were definitely trials that I had to overcome socially and
intimately. And I feel like not having a father figure in my life has caused me issues not only when I was a
child but also as an adult. I still yearn for acceptance from other people, just to make sure that I am a
decent person. I still feel like I need to be able to be independent and do things on my own because that
is how my mother had do live, and I still step on my husband of 14 years toes because my mother did it
on her own, and I feel like I need to be able to do that as well. Thank goodness I have an understanding
husband who grew up with me and knows what I went through.
Growing up and going through puberty and identity confusion, trying to figure out who I am. Around 6th
and 7th grade, there were a lot of changes that my body went through. I started developing and having
hormonal episodes. I became a normal teenage girl, worried about my body image, going through
changes with my skin and hair, and worrying about what I eat and how much exercise I can get. My
friends and family helped me get through these physical changes. As a teenager, I had boyfriends, dated,
and looked for acceptance through these boys. I was never sexually active with anyone, because
growing up, I had my religious values, and knew the importance of them. I never did drugs or alcohol but
was offered them many times. I think growing up with my family being so close and my sisters being
some of my best friends, we were able to keep our heads on straight and be there for each other.

When I graduated high school, I was already engaged to my now husband, and got married 2 months
later. This could be part of the insecurities that I had from not having a father figure in the house,
wanting to have a man in my life so badly that I felt like I needed to get married right away. We have
definitely had our trying moments, and have survived these 14 years, 2 beautifully amazing children, and
many arguments, with love and with acceptance for each other. I have been a mother for almost 10
years to my beautiful son, and almost 6 years to my beautiful daughter Shayne.

Reference: Invitation to The Life Span, Second Edition (Kathleen Stassen Berger)