Reflective Essay

Reflections of Myself
Shannon Velez
PSY 202
Megan McLaughlin
March 4, 2013

I. Introduction a. Thesis statement- As I’m working hard in my present to ensure a better future, my knowledge of developmental theories will help me to learn from my past, be more productive in my present, and plan my future in a more beneficial way to me. II. What were you like as a teenager? b. Artistic (music, drawing, painting, sewing) c. Rebellious d. Social e. Anorexic III. What did you do after you left school? f. Joined Army National Guard g. Got married and had a child h. Some college i. Separated from husband and had another child IV. What jobs did you have in your life? j. Customer service jobs k. Combat medic in ARNG l. Force protection security m. Stripping V. What are some of your favorite memories n. Living/visiting in Hawaii o. When I was happy in my marriage p. Times when I’ve dropped everything just to spend some random time with those I love VI. What are your personal, professional, and academic goals? q. Learn to trust men again and have a lasting relationship/possible remarriage r. Get out of stripping for good and write a book about it s. Earn degree, become ESL teacher, learn Arabic and Spanish t. Join Peace Corps, work for NGO’s, help 3rd world countries, possibly work for UN VII. What would make you happy in the future? u. Having a respectable career path both my children and parents can be proud of. v. Helping people and making a difference w. Showing my children the world and educating them beyond the confines of traditional grade-school learning. x. Achieving all my goals

Reflections of Myself
The principal of my high school just called my name so I get up out of my seat to walk to the podium and receive my diploma. I look back at my family sitting proudly on the bleachers. Adolescence was rough for both my mother and I but we made it to the finish line. In two weeks I’ll be shipped off to basic training and off to a great start on my future.

I had it all planned out and thought nothing could go wrong; but, being the young girl I was, I got distracted with a few things and made a few bad decisions that I thought were good at the time. Life happened and dreams got put on hold. Just when I thought I was stuck in my current lifestyle, I came home from work one night angry enough to drop the excuses and take my life back. The next day I made a few phone calls to get back to work on my degree, and now I’m sitting here writing this paper for class.

How did my life get to this point? Why did I make some of the bad decisions I made? The developmental theories I learned in class helped me to understand how attachment theory and nature versus nurture had an influence on my past experiences, how psychosocial development theory influenced decisions I made as an adult, and how cognitive theories apply to my present and future.

As a teenager, I was definitely very artistic. As a matter of fact, art I would say was my first love, be it in the form of visual arts or musical arts. Arts and music ran in my blood; although, I was never exposed to it much as I was raised far away from the rest of my family by my mother, who had no artistic abilities whatsoever. Although I was a social butterfly and had positive ways of expressing myself through art, I was indeed very rebellious and would break all the rules for the fun of it, just like my mother in her teenage years.

My mother and I having this personality trait in common confirm how strongly genes influence personality. As the text states, “Genes provide the blueprint for development, but the environment continually modifies their expression, both biologically and psychologically” (Witt and Mossler, 2010, Nature Versus Nurture, para 11). Combined with my rebellious

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