This week for Walden University I am to reflect on my childhood web when I was growing up. This is based off of Bronfenbrenner's Systems Theory that we are studying this week. I am going to reflect on 5 individuals who have helped me become the person that I am today. When I first started thinking about the people that I would conclude I thought this project would be very simple. In reality it is very hard. Being able to only choose 5 people who had a great impact on your life is not easy. There are so many people that I am thankful and grateful for in my life that this decision was tough. How I came to this decision was by looking at the thought provoking questions at the beginning of the unit. They were: Who were the people in your life who cared about you? Who were the people in your family who nurtured you? Who were the playmates, neighbors, or other adults or children who made you feel special, loved, and cared about?
Five People That Have Helped Me Become Me
- My Father
My Father has always been there for me. He has been someone that I can talk to easily and gave me the best childhood. He showed me how to use my imagination to have fun and really showed me truly enjoy life. He has cared about me and I know this because of the communication that we have had since I was born until now. Everyday after work I always call him to talk to him. We will talk about funny stories from the classroom, how our days were, or just something random. It is always nice to talk to him and he makes me feel special. He has nurtured me by making sure that all my needs were always met. He would put me in front of him any day. I was more than lucky enough to have a nice home, a great family, and food, but he also gave me many things that I wanted in life as well. He gave me the chance to get a great education, he gave me ambition in life to do what I wanted, and he gave me love everyday. I love my dad and always will.
2. My Mother
My mother is the most caring individual that I know. She is a healer, a friend, and a very wise woman. She has showed me how to be a good wife, a good friend, and how to succeed in life. She has always supported me in everything that I have done and is behind me 100%. She has always been supporting and has showed me how much she loves me every day. We talk almost every day over the phone and see each other at least 3 times a week. With her and my father, I am so lucky to have come from such a strong family. My mom gives the best hugs in the world and that is what I remember growing up. Sometimes a mother's hug is just what you need. When I was growing up I remember that I came home from school one day very upset. After we talked, she took me for ice cream and made me forget about everything that happened. It was easier going to school the next day knowing that my mother was going to be there when I got home.
3. My Cousin Susie
My cousin Susie growing up was like my Older Sister. Everyone says that I was like her shadow. She was the type of person I wanted to be. She would wear platform flip flops, I needed platform flip flops. She would want to go on a bike ride, I needed to go on a bike ride. She wanted to go get ice cream, so I needed to go get ice cream. She introduced me to so many new ideas and showed me that life is carefree and fun. Her first car was a pink Geo tracker. It was the COOLEST car in the whole world. The top would come down and we would drive everywhere in that car. She also taught me not to be embarrassed by things. I remember one time she would let me go into the mall until I sang a song out loud at the top of my lungs. She wanted to show me how to be carefree and have fun and she accomplished that. Without her nurturing and being my older sibling, I would not know how to be carefree and have fun. She is my older sister still in my heart.
4. My Sister
My biological sister is 2 ½ years younger than me, but without her I would not have had the childhood that I did. She was my playmate and the one person who would not judge. When I was growing up and playing “little kids games” was not cool anymore –she would still play them with me. I remember having sleepovers and making clubs all the time. I remember fighting with her, but then making up that night. She made me have fun in the summer, taught me lessons about how to make friends, and helped me learn how to nurture others. Without having her as my sibling, I would not have grown up as happy as I did.
5. My 4th Grade Teacher Ms. Strickland
Fourth Grade was a year of growing for me. Not only did I learn a lot of academic knowledge, but I learned a lot of life lessons from Ms. Strickland. I remember that at first I was terrified of her. She was known to do her hair very big and put on very heavy makeup. She wore some crazy outfits and always had long finger nails too. Without her though, I would not have become the teacher that I am. My biggest lessons in school I learned from her. My favorite memory about Ms. Strickland is how she helped me learn that making mistakes is not the end of the world. On papers when we got a bad grade on them we use to have to go to this bin and get a paper and staple it to the bad grade paper that we got. Well on one paper I do not know what happened but I got a bad grade. I was embarrassed to go get that paper in front of all the kids and to take it home to my parents and see their disappointment in my grade. Well I really started crying because I was upset on many different levels. Ms. Strickland saw how upset I was and she called me to her desk. She asked why I was upset and I told her. She said that one paper is not going to ruin my life. She then let me rip up that paper and throw it away and not worry about it anymore. By being able to rip that paper showed me that mistakes happen and some things are not as big of a deal as I think. That is a memory that I tell me class during the first week of school every year. I hope to be as nurturing to my students as she was to me. I hope that if she was to come in my classroom she would be proud of me and how I teach.
