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My Birth
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The First Two Years
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Psychosocial - Emotional Development
November 3, 1983, I smiled for the first time. I was smiling regularly at 8 weeks. -
Biosocial - Motor Skills
July 4, 1984 at 8 months old I pulled up on the end table and took one step. At 13 months I was walking well and would climb into my mom’s rocking chair and “rock-rock” as I called it. -
Cognitive - Emotional Development
I believe I suffered from separation anxiety. Any time my parents would leave me with a babysitter, I would cry from the time they left until the time they returned home. Eventually my parents found a babysitter, Mrs. Arman that was able to shut me up. Apparently when I would begin to cry, she would look at me and say “Shelly, shut up!” and I would stop crying. -
Cognitive - Language Development
I began talking at 14 months. At 16 months, I was making simple sentences. -
Psychosocial - Termperament
I was slow to associate with adults, but would go to children immediately. Our family friend’s son Joshua, who was about 2 years older than me, was my favorite person. I loved chasing him around the house. -
Biosocial - Nutrition
I was a very picky eater. At 17 months, I was still breastfeeding and did not like to eat solid foods. On March 1, 1985, my mom began a “cold turkey” weaning process. The only solid food I really liked and would actually eat most of the time, was Familia Swiss Baby Muesli cereal. I came to call it “baby crunchy”. -
Psychosocial - Emotional Development
I did not like to hear the word “No”. I would get angry when things didn’t go my way, and I would hit objects. -
Psychosocial - Social Bonds
October 1985, my mother and I took a trip to Texas to visit her family. My Aunt Joyce gave me my first tricycle. I helped my Pa Pa (my maternal grandfather) assemble the tricycle. I ate ice cream for the first time. It was cold and bothered my teeth, so my Pa Pa put it in the microwave to warm it up for me. I also developed a bond with my uncle Calvin’s dog and cat, Dee and Morris. -
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Early Childhood
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Biosocial - Improving Motor Skills
September 1986, I took my first Ballet class with my best friend Elizabeth. I was the youngest child in the class, but I was very attentive and enjoyed the class. I also was enrolled in gymnastics and enjoyed that as well. I continued with dance classes until I was 17. -
Biosocial - Brain Development
My parents discovered I was a left-handed child as they noticed I favored using my left hand. -
Psychosocial - Playmates
My favorite playmate was my best friend Elizabeth. In the Spring of 1988, she moved from Canton, Michigan to Algonquin, Illinois. We kept in touch and would visit with each other every summer. -
Biosocial - Artistic Expression
Spring 1988, I participated in my first Ballet recital. I performed on stage at Salem High School. My number was called “Shy Lions”. -
Psychosocial - Playmates
July 1988, I attended our church’s summer educational program mini camp in Orr, Minnesota for the first time. I made a lot of new friends, the closest of which was Shanna. -
Cognitive - Learning & Language
On August 30, 1988, at 5 years old, I began kindergarten at Isbister Elementary. I loved to read and it became a strength of mine. My kindergarten teacher would occasionally allow me to read books to my kindergarten class. -
Psychosocial - Self-Concept
Social comparison made middle childhood difficult for me. I was a black girl in a mostly white community. Therefore there were noticeable physical differences between my peers and myself. This was difficult for me because I didn’t understand why I was different. One day one of my white peers asked me why my hair looked different from hers. I didn’t understand why, and my mother was the one who took care of styling my hair, so my response was “I don’t know, I guess my mom messed it up”. -
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Middle Childhood
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Biosocial - Health
October 30, 1989, I lost my first tooth while eating pancakes at breakfast. I also managed to get through my entire childhood without ever having a cavity. -
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Adolescence
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Biosocial - Puberty
I experienced menarche at age 13. This was particularly memorable to me because I experienced horrible menstral cramps along with it throughout adolescence. -
Biosocial - Body Rhythms
I served my first after school detention! From birth I've been a "night owl" (eveningness). That trait coupled with the phase delay in my sleep-wake cycles made it very difficult for me to wake up in the morning for school. I was often tardy to first hour and as a result had to serve after school detentions throughout my high school years. -
Cognitive - Egocentrism
I struggled with self-esteem. I always traced it back to the self-concept events that occurred during my middle childhood years, but during this course, I learned egocentrism likely contributed to my self-esteem issues during these years. -
Biosocial - Sexual Maturation
In April of 2001 my longtime on-again-off-again high school sweetheart and I found out I was pregnant. On June 1, 2001 I made a life altering decision and terminated my pregnancy. -
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Emerging Adulthood
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Adulthood
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Late Adulthood
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My death
My expected life expectancy is 88 years. I chose the date January 12th because oddly enough, both of my deceased grandparents, my paternal grandmother and maternal grandfather passed away on this date, 28 years apart.