-
Infancy, physical and emotional, I was born (Attachment)
On this day, history was made. A legend was born!
My mom keeps telling me "When you have a baby, pray to God he or she is like you." She says I slept through the night, was always happy, and wasn't hard to teach. By this, I glean I was an easy child with an easy temperament. I would be securely attached to my mother for a good while. This would change later in life. -
Infancy, emotional, When I met my brother
I met my brother on this day, according to my parents. Our relationship would be rife with typical sibling rivalries. Now, we have an unconditional and unsurpassed love for each other. -
Infancy, Cognitive, Sensorimotor stage
I cannot remember this, and neither can my parents. My dad did, however, mention that when I was about 8 months old, my grandmother told him that "peek-a-boo" didn't work anymore. -
Early childhood, Cognitive, First word and language acquisition
No one remembers the day I learned to speak. I had the advantage of having a Korean-speaking mother and English-speaking father. Apparently, my first word of "Ohma" (Mom in Korean.) It would be a few more months before I said "dada." Having both languages gave me extensive flexibility in my ability to attempt other languages because there are phonemes in each language that simply don't exist in the other. Ask a Korean to speak the sound for "r" or "l" and you will understand. -
Early childhood, Physical, Learned to Walk
I, apparently, learned to walk just before my first birthday. -
Early Childhood, Cognitive, Preoperational stage
Around this time, my parents tell me that I enjoyed picking up sticks and swinging them around like a sword... Something that, admittedly, I still do to this day sometimes. -
Early Childhood, Cognitive, Started reading
Being a younger brother, I had an advantage of having material advanced for my age at my disposal at all times. At the time, I sought out anything with written words. Now, I find myself reading predominately non-fiction. I don't find conception formation or categorization in this period. I looked for words, that was it. -
Early Childhood, Cognitive and Emotional, First grade
I started school around this time, a year earlier than most of my peers. I would be described as a strange child, a loner, but unbelievably smart and hard working. I was consistently described this way until I reach high school, where I would be described as abrasive, lazy and "just smart enough." -
Middle Childhood, Emotional, First trip to Korea
This was the first time I realized I was different. -
Middle Childhood, Emotional, First Family Meeting
On this day, I met the other half of my heritage. This side of my family has grown. I have yet to have a comparable event on the American side of my family. -
Late Childhood, Cognitive, Concrete Operational Stage
Around this point, I apparently asked a lot of very strange questions about things I didn't understand, specifically about things I could not see. My mom remembers me asking her about how we can feel wind, but not see it. At the time, because she isn't a native English speaker, didn't have the vocabulary about how to explain it. -
Middle Childhood, Cognitive and Emotional, Placed in first "gifted" program
Around this time, I was placed in a "gifted program" after I took my first IQ test, which I know now was the Stanford-Binet style. I scored a 150. The program directors told me I had high intelligence, but, at the time, I didn't know exactly what that meant. My attitudes toward learning never changed, and I still hold those same values. Intelligence is a mix of hard work and inherent skill, but is scaled more heavily on hard work. -
Adolescence, Cognitive, Formal Operational Stage
This was the point I began to search for reasons why people experience emotions the way they do. I truly began to dive deep in to the concepts of love and hate. I had a lot of books that would be considered love stories and also read a lot of war. I am still a student of history to this day, taking particular interest in World War II. -
Adolescence, Physical, First sport
This is when I joined my first, and only, sports team. I have never really been a "team player," and preferred to be alone -
Adolescence, Physical, Puberty starts
And thus, I became the most awkward, and hated, part of my life...... I started later than the vast majority of my peers. -
Adolescence, Physical and Emotional, Began weight loss
At this point, I have been obese all my life. My senior year in high school would change this. I have been relatively inactive, except for the 4 months I was on the baseball team. Now, I would begin intense cardio, mostly running, and eating better. I would go from 305 to 160, a total of 145 pounds lost, in this year. I continue to remain active, with the addition of strength training, and working low impact cardio and sometimes running because I know have bad knees. -
Adolescence, Physical and Emotional, Puberty Ends (Steinberg's attachment theory)
Still awkward, still hated. I ended either a little later or right around the same time as a vast majority of my peers. Throughout this period, I would be single. I held no relationships in high regard. I could feel totally alone in a crowd of people, regardless of their relationship to me. I don't know how you would define this kind of attachment. -
Adolescence, Emotional, Graduated HS
I graduated from the IB program on this day. I would later come to discover no one, not even the instructors, though I would pass the exams. -
Early Adulthood, Emotional, Graduated with AAS in Culinary Management
I graduated with an Associates in Applied Science in Culinary Management, a hybrid cooking certificate/business degree. I honestly thought this was going to be the start of my career... How wrong I was. -
Early Adulthood, Emotional, Graduated with first BS degree
Degree in Restaurant Management, still thinking restaurants were where I wanted to be. -
Early adulthood, Emotional, First trip with girlfriend, now wife, to Korea
On this trip, I knew I had found my soulmate. Also pictured are my mother (far left) and youngest aunt (middle right.) I would proceed to propose to my girlfriend on this trip. -
Early adulthood, Emotional, Married (Attachment)
I made the love of my life my partner for life. Six years later, I still feel this way. Attachment is secure and love is passionate, affectionate, and committed. -
Early adulthood, Emotional, Acceptance in to Nursing School at UAB
A new chapter in life is being written.
