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Personal Event: In most Mexican cultures it is tradition to have your babies’ ears pierced along with having a set of jewelry such as a gold/silver bracelet and necklace. I believe this is an age-graded event that most Mexicans go through because it mainly happens when the baby is 9 months to 2 years. Many people believe this is torture, but I experienced this, and I was great then and I am great now. Many other Mexicans that have experienced this and are now more grown and mature can say that they are glad it happened as a baby rather than having it happen today as a teen or adult. Since we are in the valley most people can relate and will continue the tradition. A non-normative event is something we have all experienced. As an adult, I cannot possibly remember memories as an infant/toddler but luckily my family does have memories because they were way older and aware than me. When I was around 1-2 my great grandmother passed away. My family is very close, so this was something difficult to process. I do not remember nor have memories of this, but my family would tell me how she would hold me in her arms and just cherish my existence. When they mention this, it makes me smile but a bit sad at the same time because I can’t remember her.
World Event: As I mentioned above, I am eight-teen years old. I was born in 2003 during the month of April. My family and I do not recall any history-graded influences that had impacted my development during my first two years of life. The only possible event I can recognize that had a minor impact on me as an infant was 9/11. Although this happened before I was born, it influenced those around me therefore it influenced me as well. Everyone was more alert and unfortunately, there was way more discrimination. Many children were taught to think a certain way from an early age. I did not realize this influenced me until I was older and noticed it was a form o discrimination to think a certain way. I am now more aware and open-minded and can comprehend the world much better.
Concept: Erik Erikson’s theory of psychosocial development consists of eight stages. The first stage is Trust versus Mistrust. Erikson believed that creating trust versus mistrust is the very first developmental task of life. I relate to this very much and strongly believe and support this as well. I cannot necessarily remember my life as an infant, but my family can recall those memories for me. I was always told my mother did everything for me. She kept me safe and was my brave guardian. I see photos and I can see how I was always taken care of and pampered. My aunts say how I was always spoiled because of how my mother was always there for me to make sure I had what I needed and was secure. I look at Erikson’s first stage and I fully support it. It is very important that an infant creates this sense of trust. Now that I am older, I can see the trust Erikson spoke about. I still go to my mother for my needs, and she continues to make me feel safe. As a baby I 100% would have not understood these theories or concepts but now as an adult, I see how I can relate.

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Personal Event: I graduated kindergarten at the age of 5 or 6. I have a small memory of looking back at my mom as I walked onto the field to be organized by our teachers. I remember the balloons and teddy bears I received that day. It was an amazing day although I was a bit nervous. Graduating from kindergarten would be my age-graded event. At the age of 6, I was involved in a car accident. I can recall every detail as if it happened yesterday. I remember being in my seat and seeing the van not slowing down as he reached the stop sign. Suddenly as we reached the intersection the world around me became slow motion. Everything was black and white. My vision was grainy like those old TVs with static. I couldn’t wrap my mind around what I was seeing, but I was frightened. I was more calm and observant rather than hectic. I didn’t realize the car did a full 360 until later when I got off the car. I noticed the car wasn’t facing the same way we were going originally. I never lost consciousness, and I realized my mom was trying to get out of her seatbelt but was unable to do so. The other driver was a male who was drunk. His beer cans were around the field and stop sign. When both our families arrived along with the police and medics, his sons tried to help him escape. My uncle stopped this from happening. This would be my non-normative event.
World Event: In the year 2008 former President Barack Obama was elected as president in the USA. During this time, I was in my early childhood stage. In the valley, we are a bit diverse but still lack human decency. I was wondered what the “n-word” meant and why people used it. I heard it everywhere I went. When Obama was elected there was much discrimination towards him. I started to hear more of these slurs and remarks towards him. I now knew what that meant. I didn’t understand the discrimination, and this impacted my mindset very much. I was frustrated on why these types of situations occurred. From that moment my mindset changed dramatically. I was more aware of my surroundings and different types of culture. I continue to wonder why the world is the way it is.
Concept: Gender differences is a concept I was confused about but then understood during my early childhood. For the majority of my life up until maybe the age of 13, I was raised around boys. Since all of my family including aunts, uncles, and cousins live on a ranch, my cousins and I spent most of our days together. As I mentioned I was primarily raised around boys meaning all my cousins were males. They were much older than me by a couple of years to many years. I did not attend head start or daycare, so my friends were my cousins. I enjoyed playing in the dirt with them. I enjoyed being loud and messy with them. I especially enjoyed the conversations and humor they shared with me because although I was younger than them, they never left me out. They treated me like one of them but at the same time protected me. I even dressed like them! It wasn’t until I entered the first grade at the age of 6 years old. I remember being confused about why the girls acted slightly differently than the boys. They would even say things like “girls’ rule, boys drool.” I guess I believed I was a boy in a girl’s body. As the year progressed, I slowly realized the gender differences. The concept I mostly focused on and saw the most was the different types of aggression boys and girls presented. I was extremely accustomed to boys showing more physical and verbal aggression. I realized how girls would show relational aggression. (of course, I did not understand the term relational aggression, but I noticed the concept of it). The conversations I held with boys were different from what I had with girls. Now that I am older, I can say that point in my life is when I began to notice and comprehend gender differences.

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Personal Event:  As I was in the 6th grade, I was 11 years old. I was still insecure about my arms and to top it off, this is where I began my menstrual cycle. I specifically remember having really bad stomach pains the day before. The following day I began my period, and I was extremely out of place and frustrated because I had already forgotten my jacket in the car. Because we were already taking sex-ed classes I understood what was happening and what I needed to do. At this age, most students begin sex-ed classes, and most girls begin their menstrual cycles. This wasn’t a big deal for me because I was already familiar with the material. I had already seen my mom and cousin go through this. At the age of 7-6, I recall asking my cousin what a period was because she said she needed to change her pad. I was really confused when she explained that she bled. I laugh when I recall these memories because I remember asking if it hurt when she bled. As if she was cut. Sex-ed and menstrual cycles were age-graded events that I experienced during my middle childhood stage. My non-normative event would come into play at the age of 12. At this age, my parents officially divorced. For as long as I could remember, my parents never seemed compatible. They argued often and I couldn’t understand why they stayed together if all they did was argue. The divorce was a really harsh event in my life. It was not smooth and in fact, was quite the opposite of smooth. I still hesitate to speak up on the topic, but I know this is progress and I must heal from it.
World Event: As humans grow the world must keep going as well. Mexican culture and our people are unique and beautiful. We have so much to offer. Even though we are rich in culture, we have some flaws that affect our way of functioning and thinking. Throughout the valley, the n-word is heard dramatically. This is an issue because the use of the word is not appropriate for our use as non-black. Black people have suffered and continue to do so, and the use of that word only contributes negatively to their suffering. In 2013 I was 10 years old. Former President Obama was inaugurated for his 2nd term on January 21, 2013. Because Obama is a person of color this affected the emotions and actions of people throughout the world. Because of his inauguration, people were reminded once again that a colored man was the president of a white supremacist country. This affected me in my middle childhood stage because I was able to understand things more clearly. I understood racism. His previous election opened my mind, and I was able to see what was happening in the world. His inauguration was a boost to opening my mind even more. It was as if the hatred and racism impacted me in a positive way because I was able to look further into why and how it was happening. Awareness in a way. At first, I thought it was only black people experiencing these types of things but as the year's past things such as his inauguration shoved information and experiences into my life, and I realized that it was not only black people but any person of color that suffered. Mexicans in the valley will most likely not experience racism because we are surrounded by our own people. On the other hand, if I were to travel to the upper states, I would most likely experience some type of racism. Every life event we experience affects our development. At some moments we do not notice, or we do notice. In other times we realize it after time passes.
Concept: Middle childhood was a very fun life stage for me. At the ages 10-12 I was in grades 5th and 6th. These were the best of my school experiences. Not including freshman year of high school. I made so many new friends and was outgoing. (I also had new crushes!) Although I was very outgoing and friendly, I was experiencing the concept of body image dissatisfaction. Throughout my whole life, even to this day, I have had keratosis pilaris in my arms. I did not know the term until my recent years but as a child I noticed it and it made me self-conscious. This caused me not to be confident in some aspects. I thought the world around me would be embarrassed for me. Keratosis pilaris impacted my life in a negative way very much at this age. I rarely took my jacket off. I would suffer in the heat and sweat if it meant not exposing my arms. I would see how other boys’ and girls’ arms were so soft and clear. It didn’t make me jealous but rather sad. I thought something was wrong with me and because of that, I thought I wouldn’t be accepted into friend groups, etc. It wasn’t until my high school years that I began to see how foolish it was to have that type of mentality. If someone did not speak to me or bully me for my arms what does that say about the person? I realized I shouldn’t be ashamed. Everyone has what other people's “flaws.” Body image dissatisfaction is a concept I greatly connected to during my middle childhood stage.

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Personal Event: At the age of 18, I graduated high school. Graduating high school is very common and expected at the age of 17-18. Although covid-19 happened, I enjoyed my years and graduation ceremony. This is my age-graded event. Painfully, just because good things happen does not mean we can avoid the bad things. During my senior year of high school, my grandmother passed away. I don’t cope with my emotions very well and this was something difficult for me. I wanted her to see me cross the stage. I wanted her to see how her risks and sacrifices were not a waste and I put effort and love into them. I know she watched me from afar as I walked the stage with my high school and associate's degree. I worked hard for her and myself. This is my non-normative event.
World Event:  I have been struggling for the world event portion of our past journals but we’re stepping into the big plate with adolescence now. As we all know, Trump was elected president in 2016. His election opened my eyes dramatically. It also influenced my mentality. It is safe to say Trump's election impacted my life overall. I saw the rawness of pure evil and hatred that existed on this earth. This only made me strive for better for myself and my environment. Ashamed to say, but if it wasn’t for Trump's election, I would have probably remained ignorant in many aspects. I was and am aware of the threats in our world, but Trump's election and campaign created a new perspective to my life that changed me for the better. I now try to spread correct information and spread awareness without being aggressive and respecting boundaries.
Concept: I can most certainly say my adolescence life stage has been the most interesting part of my journey I call life. Around the age of 15, during my freshman year of high school, I began to loosen up and take risks. The thought of doing something risky was very exciting for me. Even at my age right now-18, I continue to do risks that I would normally not do. I love the thrill. The concept of risk-taking is something that makes me smile because I love that I can relate to it. I love having fun even if I get nervous. Risk-taking gave me ideas, excitement, adrenaline, etc. Doing things that had certain consequences, good or bad, would be unusual coming from me. I continue to take risks because I want to live in the moment.

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Personal Event: As I mentioned I am in the emerging adulthood life stage. At this point in life, most young adults have entered college. This is a big event and moment because it is part of what determines our future. I entered college at the age of 18. Becoming a student once again is my age-graded event. On the other hand, I do not recall experiencing a non-normative event. The closest thing I could say would be getting pulled over by a police officer for the first time. I was very frightened because I drive very safely ONLY to avoid the police. (ofc for the safety of others and myself) I was also mainly confused because I am an extremely safe driver. The cop stated I ran a stop sign when I most certainly did not. I even have a dashcam! He asked for a license and registration and let me go free after. I am now traumatized (not really. all jokes) because I do not like the police. Those are my events.
World Event: Of course, I know how stupidity works and how much it runs in people’s veins, but I was not totally aware. When Biden was elected as president and as his term continued, it influenced my perspective. I firmly believed that the majority of people in the united states understood how the economy and government work. I also believed they had common sense. I am in no way trying to make my statements political because I would not care if anything happened to Biden right now or tomorrow or the day after or in a month, but with everything that has been going on people seem to pin everything on Biden. Some people will even go as far as blaming their cat’s death on him. My life in the emerging adulthood stage has been interesting but frustrating at the same time. I would have never thought that because Biden is president, I would see the raw stupidity in people. I am now more aware of how people perceive life and how it should change. We want to blame one person for something instead of looking back at ourselves and wondering maybe the change stars with us. Biden being elected was the world event that impacted me.
Concept: Intimacy has always been a very strange topic to me. I never truly understood it and very much feared it. It is almost as if I was scared to let someone in. As I entered the emerging adulthood life stage my mentality was the same. I struggled with the concept of Intimacy vs Isolation. I struggled out of confusion and fear. I chose isolation at every point in my life. I felt more relieved knowing I would remain safe alone rather than creating a relationship with someone. I was frightened at the thought of opening myself up to someone just to have my heart shattered and played with like a toy. I guess one could say my past experiences and traumas are the roots of this issue. Although I never had an intimate relationship with someone and yet alone date, I still had relationships such as mother to daughter or father to daughter or friend to friend. I truly convinced myself I was unable to love someone because I could barely love myself. This is part of the reason why I chose the negative side which is isolation. I wanted to enjoy a relationship. I wanted BOTH pros and cons of intimacy, but I was fully convinced I was put on this earth to give love but not receive it. At certain times in my life, I felt as if I did not deserve a relationship or the love that comes with intimacy. I have endured a variety of life lessons and depressing moments, but I made it through each second. I speak of this in past tense because I have accomplished what I thought could never happen. I worked on many areas of myself that were obstacles to me. I understood things such as I do love myself and I do deserve love. I am in my emerging adulthood life stage and chose Intimacy over isolation. I chose myself over opinions, depression, anxiety, fear, traumas, overthinking, etc. Although this was something that did not happen overnight, it was able to happen. I worked hard to embrace and overcome many aspects of my life and I can truly say I am glad I took the leap. I am now happy and have a healthy relationship with my boyfriend. Because relationships and Intimacy are something new to me, I am still cautious with certain things. My boyfriend assures me that we can do this together and it is okay to let people in. I want to create and explore this part of myself with him.