Kendall Cox

12/10/2013
EDC 230

Development Reflection

There have been a lot of influential and developmentally changing

events throughout my life. Some have been much more traumatic and
stick out more in my memory as something that changed me. I chose
a few events from each period of my life to show this development.
The events that I chose to include both in this paper and on my visual
project have a deep meaning to me and have a story behind them.
Whether the story is positive or negative, it has had a major impact on
my life. These are events that when I think about them, an emotion is
triggered and a story is brought back to the front of my mind.

Since I don't remember the infancy and toddler stage of my life, the
events that I have included are very generic and typical for a young
child. I began walking when I was 10 months old. According to Infants,
Children, and Adolescents, the average age for a child to start walking
is 11 months and 3 weeks, although the range is from 9-17 months
(184). I was just above the average for the time that I walked, but I
don't think that it was anything too dramatic or worth noting because I

was right in the range of children walking. The other large

developmental leap that I made in the first two years of my life was
beginning to talk. I began to talk when I was around 2 years old.
"They [infants] also start to comprehend some word meanings and
around 12 months of age, say their first word. Sometime between 1
and a half and 2 years, toddlers combine two words" (233). According
to my parents, I didn't start talking until I was 2 years old, but when I
did, they were combinations and full words. I think that that is very
interesting because rather than taking the normal steps; I combined
two and just hit the ground running when I really did begin to speak.

Early childhood is foggy in my memory but there are still

developmental steps that are clear to me. I started kindergarten when
I was 5, but my parents told me that I could have started the year
before if they chose to place me in it. I began going to daycare when I
was about 2 and developed a lot through that. I consider my daycare
provider a teacher because she really did prepare me for kindergarten.
I was a very independent child and I was also very intelligent. There is
still a part of that in me today that sometimes causes me trouble and
distraction. I was very curious as a child and asked multiple questions
about everything. I had a very large need to understand and
understand from every aspect of the situation. In my early childhood, I
was also forced to grow up and be the bigger person when my brother

was born. Bryce was born when I was 5 and a half and I knew the
responsibility that I had been given. My parents made it very clear to
me that I had to be a good role model because he was watching
everything that I did. This was a big step for me. I had been given a
responsibility that I did not know what to do with, and I also was not an
only child anymore. I had to learn very fast how to control my
emotions and also how to interact with my brother socially and to
share my toys.

Middle childhood was by far the hardest time for me as far as

developing. Right before I began second grade, we moved across town
to a new school. I was really excited about school and everything that
the new school would bring me, until I met Aimee. Aimee was my
second grade bully who pretended to be my friend in the beginning.
She began as my first friend at my new school and very quickly turned
into someone that was emotionally abusing me without me really being
conscious of it. Aimee was the mean girl in school and picked on girls
with my personality. I was very open to new friends and playing on the
playground with everyone. I was a very open child that wanted
everyone to be involved. Aimee took advantage of that and made me
cry on a daily basis because she was horribly mean to me. I was a
chronic victim of bullying. "Chronic victims tend to be passive when
active behavior is expected. On the playground, they hang around

chatting or wander on their own. When bullied, they give in, cry, and
assume defensive postures" (348). My persona and activities changed
drastically when she began to be mean to me. This hurt my
development. My parents worked through it with me and I slowly
learned that people like her do not matter in my life because she did
not treat me like a friend. Today, though because of that incident so
long ago, I am quick to judge people and close myself off. I judge a lot
of people by their cover because I am afraid to open up and let them
close to me too soon.

Adolescence brought constant changes and hard decisions for me.

When I was a freshman in high school, the school decided, based on
budget cuts, to cut the high school gymnastics program. This was
devastating for me because I had had dreams of high school and
college gymnastics since I was little. I made the decision to begin
diving later that year and fell in love with a new sport. Looking back at
that year, the budget cut was the best thing that could have happened
to me. I was able to spend the next six years of my career winning
medals and improving drastically. Another change in adolescence was
puberty. "Female puberty usually begins with the budding of the
breasts and the growth spurt. Menarche, or first menstruation,
typically occurs relatively late in the sequence of pubertal eventsaround age 12.5 for North American girls" (536). I began my period at

an average age but it came without the growth spurt. I also had very
quickly developing breasts and invasive acne. I was an awkward
teenager for a few years to say the least. I was not the super skinny
girl that looked awesome in a bikini. I was also very different than my
friends because I did not start wearing make up until my junior or
senior year and even then it was very minimal. These reasons caused
me to struggle with self-esteem and self-image issues. I am built very
much like my mom and so she was right there beside me, making sure
that I was okay and that I knew I was beautiful no matter what I looked
like.

"Making an occupational choice is not just a rational process in which

young people weigh abilities, interests, and values against career
options. Like other developmental milestones, it is the result of a
dynamic interaction between person and environment" (591). This is a
quote that I wish I would have known in high school and the beginning
of my college career. I was under the impression that by the time you
went to college, you were supposed to know what you wanted to do
with the rest of your life. If I had known two things, I would have been
so much better off. I wish that I would have known to go with my heart
and to choose the career that I wanted to do and was passionate
about. I also wish I would have known that I had time and did not need
to make a hasty decision. I thought I needed to know right away and I

picked a career that I wasn't passionate in but just wanted for the
money. If I had known what I know now, I would have taken my time
and not wasted three semesters with classes I now do not need. I have
also become more conscious of my body and what goes into my body.
As you get older, food becomes more important and more detrimental
to your health.

As a future educator, I am very glad that I have gone through some of

the things that I have in my life. I think that an education in child
development is one thing, but in order to really relate to your students,
teachers must recall their childhood and their development. I think
that I am aware of what I was like when certain events were happening
and that makes me more aware of my students and what they actions
may signify. I have a very positive outlook of my future students
because I really do feel like I can foster and safe and comfortable
learning environment where students are very comfortable my ways of
teaching and handling situations.