# data[].attributes.body
My family has truly shaped me in becoming a mature, responsible, and caring women. In 2017 my parents got a divorce and it took a toll on my mental health. My mother taught me to be strong and how to take care of myself. My dad taught me how to love unconditionally. This event has changed the way I interact with other kids with divorced parents because I can relate with them on another level.

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
This is the church I would go to with friends 

# data[].attributes.body
Growing up my family was not religious therefor we never went to church. My parents never wanted to force religion on us but also wouldn't be opposed if I wanted to go to church with friends. This only affected me when I was little and I wanted to play with friends on the weekends but most of them would be busy on Sundays at church and other church related activities.

# data[].attributes.body
My Dad was born in Germany and my Mother in Texas. So naturally growing up I was exposed to both German and English. Being able to understand both languages has helped my development of communicating with others, and my experiences with play when I went to school in germany.

# data[].attributes.body
I was raised in San Marcos Texas where the summer is the best time of the year because all the college students are gone and the river is cool. If you look around san Marcos you will notice theres a lot of diversity. I've been exposed to many different kinds of people if thats at school, the grocery store, or at the square. With having only one high school in my town growing up meant growing up with everyone. As young children we learned how to play together, accept each other and advocate for each other.

# data[].attributes.body
Growing up female I have always been around strong independent women. This affected my development because I looked up to them as role models, always wanting to improve how I appeared to the world. When I was little I enjoyed playing with all the "girly" toys like barbies and watching all the OG youtube queens.

# data[].attributes.body
I went to a title XI public school and it is the main reason for my development. San Marcos has several low income areas therefore the State funds and gives grants to my high school so every kid can get equal opportunity's. Another bonus was my large school of 2,800 people. It gave me a lot of opportunities to meet new people and grow with them.

# data[].attributes.body
I grew up with my Sister Olivia. We are 18 months apart and right now we have never been closer. Growing up we would only have each other to play around which mostly led to argument and fights. When we both started to grow up is when we truly decided to value our friendship. My sister is very mature and I think thats impacted my development over the years. I've always wanted to do my best around her.

# data[].attributes.body
My grandparents are very inspirational to me because they have sacrificed a lot to be where they are now. My grandpa was the youngest of 11 and my grandpa the youngest of 7. Their family's migrated here from Mexico to start a better life. My grandma raised my mother with so much respect and responsibility. A lot of my development comes from because she has pushed me so much to become the women I am today.

# data[].attributes.body
Growing up my parents wanted to expand our agency in our family by letting my sister and I problem solve between each other before coming to them for solutions. However my Elementary was very strict and it was not very encouraged to express ourselves therefore we couldn't expand our agency through capabilities. But as I grew up and went through middle school and Highschool I came to the conclusion that Agency is needed to improve the way students move, connect and show compassion to build strong relationships with each other.

# data[].attributes.body
I identify as white. I personally have never been negatively harmed by racism. I understand that I can go on a walk at night and not be afraid of a police officer stopping me because of the color of my skin. However I have seen racism around me. My childhood best friend is Taiwanese. Growing up she would get comments like "where are you actually from" and "Nǐ hǎo." Hearing this as a white person you get emotional, angry, and upset. As someone with white privilege there is nothing you can do but standup for her. Being white is also understanding color blindness and white supremacy. "failing to see race, fails to see racism and falls into racist passivity."

# data[].attributes.body
Growing up female I always felt like I had to prove something. That I was mature, proper, kind. My mom would sign me up for Girls Club and we would learn proper etiquette but the boys got recess time. I always thought this was super unfair. In High school my mom wanted me to be in the deb ball but it felt like it was society's way of pushing me to be more feminine.

# data[].attributes.body
Currently I am only 100% fluent in English. Growing up my parents spoke German to my sister and I, and for an awhile I was bilingual. My dad had to learn Spanish for his new job when he immigrated to the US. So whenever we would visit my grandparents on my mothers side, my family would incorporate Spanish into their conversations. Spanish was not used as often as German and I think that’s why it never stuck with me. When my parents divorced my sister and I lived with our mother, and every other weekend we would stay with our father. My mother no longer spoke German in the house only when we were in public and when she didn’t want other people to listen in on our conversations. Therefore over time I wasn’t able to speak German well. Overall language has had a big impact on my life and my development as I’ve been able to understand others who speak other languages, and recognize and appreciate other cultures.

# data[].attributes.body
I dont have a disability. However, I went to public school growing up so I was always around students with disabilities. Students with disabilities were often in my general education classes but were taken in and out for interventions. From my perspective and my new view on disability, my general education teachers used the medical model when interacting with students with disabilities. They would often try to fix the students actions instead of the environment to help the student learn better. This is obviously a problem and I think general education teachers need better training on teaching students with disabilities.

# data[].attributes.body
My Mother is super strict and and my Father is lenient when it comes to an education. My mothers side is hispanic and my fathers side is German. My mothers grandparents were taught that you have to work hard to get the best. They were super strict on my mother do get an amazing education. Which she succeeded and achieved a doctorate in higher education. My father only went to trade school and was able to get an amazing job here. So my mom was always focused on my grades because that was the was she was raised and my dad wasn't too focused on achieving the best because he knew that the best would come out. I have always felt welcome in my community growing up and I would often partake in Hispanic culture like baile folklorico to please my grandmother.

# data[].attributes.body
Growing up I wasn't surrounded by technology, at least at home. We used it(I pads, computers, etc.) at school and that would be my only source of technology. Instead of technology as play growing up my parents would give my sister and I books to read, toys to play with, and each other as company. Now as society is evolving withe world around us, I see technology used a splay more often. You go to the grocery store and see a kid playing on their iPad as entertainment. I think technology is affecting children communication skills, cognitive thinking skills, and social skills.

# data[].attributes.body
My parents chose to raise my sister in the Texas Hill country because of the seclusion it gave us from any big cities, and the amount of acreage they could get. My grandfather is part Native American so I was always told that where we live was a sacred space. I think its important to incorporate land and nature in which how children play.

# data[].attributes.body
I've learned a lot taking this class. But what I truly took in the most was learning how to take children seriously. As an adult its important to listen to children, talk to them as adults and not babies, and help guide them through their learning. One of the quotes we have in my house that really reflects this class is, "Prepare the child for the path, not the path for the child." Its so important for adults to allow children to use their agency instead of limiting it because of a certain mindset they have.