Product of My Environment
Jane Doe
PSY 202
Professor Althea Artis
July 31, 2011
Outline
1. Where are you from?
a. Springfield, MA
b. One brother
c. Raised by my mother
2. What things do you remember about your childhood?
a. Not having a stable home environment
b. Mom abusing drugs
c. Struggling in school
d. Craving for a better life
3. What were you like as a teenager?
a. Afraid, but determined
b. Loved to dance
c. Teenage mother
d. Seeking a better life for my son and I
4. What are your future plans and goals
a. Complete my degree program
b. Start a career as a financial advisor
c. Use my skills to help families in my community to be financially empowered.
Product of My Environment
I often wonder what the world would be like if every child were raised in a loving and supportive household. How would the world be if every child received a quality education? What if every child was raised to believe that they could be anything they wanted to be in life? Would the world be a better place? Would children grow to be better adults? Are we all just a product of our environment? Allow me to share my world. A childhood that wasn’t so childlike. Teenage years and all its challenges and most important, my future, where I break down barriers and make my dreams come true.
The Term Paper on Product life cycle and its stages
In today’s world, where market is unpredictable, strategies play crucial role in defending a firm’s product position. “The main reason why companies must continually develop new products is because products have life cycle”, (Bittel, 1980). Just as operation managers must be prepared to develop new products, they must also be prepared to develop strategies for both new and ...
I was born August 23, 1979, in a small city called Springfield just an hour and a half away from the big city of Boston, Massachusetts. I was raised by my mother and have one brother who’s three years older than me. My mom, brother and I lived with my grandmother off and on and shared one room for the first ten years of my life. My aunts and cousins also lived with us from time to time. I remember my cousins and I often times creating meals like fried spam and sugar sandwiches when food was low. Aside from my mom spending a lot of time away from the home life seemed fine, but I often thought it to be strange that everyone lived with my grandmother and dreamed of one day having my own room.
My grandmother never seemed to mind having a house full of kids in her house everyday. She would have late night parties in the basement and my cousins and I would sneak downstairs to listen to the music and eavesdrop on the latest neighborhood gossip. My grandmother was a really flashy lady. She loved designing and making her own clothes and wearing lots of jewelry. My cousins and I never minded living with a house full of people because we could occupy ourselves with wearing my grandmother’s custom jewelry. I spent a lot of time with my grandmother. Going to fashion shows and even participating in some of those shows. I always loved to entertain. I just knew that I would one day be a star. There were a lot of good memories in that home, but I still dreamed of having my own home with just my mom, my brother and I.
When my mother finally found her own apartment I remember feeling so happy. I could finally have my own room and no longer had to smell my brother’s funky feet. Our new neighborhood had plenty of kids my age and everyone seemed to get along so well. My brother introduced me to my new friends and from that day on we were all inseparable. Shortly after moving into our new home I noticed that my mother would spend even more time away from home. I was left to care for myself with no supervision and no guidance Days would turn into nights and nights into weeks. I remember feeling afraid and lonely, even abandoned at times. My friends thought it to be cool not to have any restrictions, but I thought differently; I needed my mother. My brother on the other hand enjoyed his freedom and got into a lot of trouble because of it. I later learned that my mother was abusing drugs and had been spending her nights in a drug house. I was embarrassed and often lied about her whereabouts to my friends saying she worked a lot. Sharing a home with my whole family didn’t seem so bad anymore. At least I wouldn’t have to be alone.
The Essay on Brother Home Time Lot
Today I went to my school to pick up my books. It was a lot of fun. I can not wait until I get to go home for summer break. I love to go home.However, my parents are divorced and really do not like each other very much and therefore, it is kind of hard for me to go home all the time. I really like to spend time with my brother and my dog though. And, through the whole thing, my mom is still my ...
During my middle school years I found myself in a lot of trouble. Skipping school, failing classes, fighting and constantly disrespecting my teachers. I was angry, lost and confused. According to Flouri (2009) “Chaotic home systems have been linked with children’s adverse psychological and academic outcomes”. I needed a better way to express myself and deal with my living situation. So, I started to dance. Every since I was a little girl I dreamed of one day being a famous dancer. My friends and I started a dance group and would enter several dance competitions in our town. With dancing I had a voice that I could use without speaking. Dancing had a way of lifting my spirits and for a brief moment the world didn’t seem so bad. But something changed and dancing would soon be put on hold.
By now I was fourteen years old and entering into high school. Things had seemed to get a little better my mom was spending more time at home, but she was still abusing drugs. I spent a lot of time dancing when I should have been studying, but school was never a priority and there was no one in my life to remind me of how important my academics were, something I paid the price for later in life. I woke up one morning full of excitement. My friends and I had entered into one of the biggest dancing competitions. And I remember feeling really sick. I was experiencing strong stomach pains and I couldn’t stop vomiting. I remember thinking “this can’t be happening. I need to get to the competition” Sadly, I never made it. My heart was broken and I cried for hours. I later found out that I was pregnant. Fourteen and pregnant, could life get any worse.
Telling my mom about my pregnancy wasn’t easy. I don’t think I had ever seen her so upset and disappointed. My mother said terminating my pregnancy wasn’t an option. “How in the world was I going to care for a child” I thought. For the next nine months I suffered from a great deal of depression. I was scared. In November 1994, I gave birth to a beautiful baby boy who I named Ronald. I gave birth surrounded by a room full of family and friends, but when it was time to go home and face reality I was alone again with no family in sight. Not long after I gave birth my mother moved to Mississippi leaving me and my son behind. By now, I was used to being alone. I rented an attic apartment from a family friend just big enough for my son and me. As I mentioned earlier, school was never a top priority, but now that I had my son I knew I had to go to school and do well if I wanted to provide him with a good life. I spent so much of my high school out of school that I never retained much of the information, but I finally finished, just barely graduating.
The Homework on High School Life 5
High school is a place where young teens learn to become mature and responsible. It is a place where students get trained to take on bigger challenges in life. Obstacles such as college. From my own personal experiences, high school didn’t seem that way. Students were more concerned about getting a passing grade then about what they were taught. They would even cheat their way out of high ...
Right after high school I went on to college. I was excited about college and had big dreams, but college proved to be much harder then I thought. The years of skipping school and worrying more about dancing instead of studying finally caught up to me. For the next ten years I would drop classes and just give up whenever I was asked to write an essay. I would take semesters off because I was forced to work two jobs to provide for my son. Once again school went to the bottom of my priority list. But I knew in the back of my mind that I needed to return to school or else I would only find entry level jobs and be forced to work two jobs just to make ends meet. It was time to regain focus and to stop letting the challenges of my past get in the way of my future. Our text explains that, “you are the product of the way you were raised” (Witt & Mossler, 2010, p 11) and while I agree with this statement I also believe that we control our own destiny and don’t have to be defined by our past.
My future looks brighter every day. Enrolling to Ashford University has so far been one of my better decisions in life. It took me years to decide what I would go back to school for and what school I would choose. I had to consider so much like what type of I job I wanted to spend my life doing and most importantly how I could afford to pay for tuition. I am excited about this new venture in life. I decided to go back to school with the hopes of becoming a financial advisor and using my skills and experience to help families to become financially empowered. In ten years I would love to see myself managing my own non-profit. There are so many families struggling and I want to help by giving them the tools to be financially stable. I would like to help families with credit, budgeting and rebuilding their future.
School College Job Parents
When I first enrolled here at the University of Memphis in the fall of 1998, I never thought I would ever be in the position to graduate. Finishing college was a huge goal growing up but it was also my biggest fear. But after three and a half years of dedication I plan to get my degree in the fall of 2002. Getting this far in college was not easy, it took encouragement from family, dedication, and ...
It has often been said that good things come to those who wait, but when you’re living in a world where all things seem uncertain it’s kind of hard to believe that. My childhood taught me about survival. However, I would have preferred to be playing with dolls and imagining that the world was an innocent place. There was no chance to be a teenager. Instead I was a mom, a provider, a protector of my own child. Through all of my trials and tribulations I still rise each day ready to face the world. Gone are the yesterday’s where a childhood wasn’t so childlike. Hello to today, even though I am still in the struggle I am in control. Looking forward to tomorrow where my future is bright. I am more than a product of my environment. I am Ebony, strong, determined and blessed.
References
Witt, G.A., & Mossler, R. A. (2010). Adult development and life assessment. San Diego,
Bridgepoint Education, Inc. (https://content.ashford.edu)
Eirini Flouri. International Journal of Behavioral Development; Nov 2009, Vol. 33 Issue 6, pg
496-503, 8p, 2 Charts