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Growing up as the oldest sibling of 3 girls, so many of my childhood memories include my sisters. I have always had built in best friends by my side and getting to use our imaginations and play together as children was so much fun. We constantly played house, school, grocery store, and so much more with our baby dolls and toys. I am blessed we got to express our interests in this way at such a young age.

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I was raised in a Christian household and have so many memories of Sunday's spent at Sunday school and summers spent at Vacation Bible School. Having parents who encouraged me to have a relationship with God and to connect with others through the church was amazing. Connecting with other kids who had the same values as me at such a young age definitely set me up for success as a teen/adult. The time spent at church singing, doing crafts, playing with toys, and worshiping the Lord most certainly helped shape the person I am today.

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Me and my middle school coach (favorite "teacher" ever)

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As someone who attended public school from kindergarten to 12th grade, I learned so much about myself through my experiences with my peers and educators. I always felt connected to my teachers and had a very strong drive to do well and give my schooling my all. I now look back and realize that teachers were such an inspiration to me even before I knew teaching would be my career. I was very lucky to go to schools that allowed me to feel comfortable enough to express myself and be creative even if I wasn't always learning things I was super interested in.

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Family has always been a huge priority in my life. These are some of my cousins on my mom's side of the family and they are my favorite people ever! I am so glad I grew up in a family where holidays are spent with extended family and where cousins are like best friends. I have memories with my cousins from when we were very young and would play with toys, have dance parties, sleepovers, etc. and now we spent our gatherings laughing and playing board games. We have a cousin promise that we will make sure our children get close with one another when we all get older and I can't wait for kids to make memories like we have.

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I have lived in the Austin area my whole life. I grew up in Round Rock, which is 30 minutes from campus, but I definitely consider myself to be an Austin girl. This city helped shape me into who I am and I'm blessed to have grown up in a place with so much fun and diversity. I started going to ACL in middle school and one of the first places I wanted to drive when I turned 16 was down to Zilker Park for a picnic with my friends. I have no plans of leaving this city (except for travel) because I truly feel so at home here.

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My parents are my best friends and number 1 supporters. I am so thankful to have a mom and dad that want to support me and be on my team no matter what. They both have always been there for me in the best and worst time which is something not everyone gets to experience. I hope to one day be as good of a mom as my mom has been for me and get to have that same wonderful impact she had on me, on my future children!

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I was raised in an upper-middle class family which allowed me ample opportunities to be involved and connected with peers in my community. From a young age I was involved in things such as cheerleading and gymnastics and went on to spend many years playing club and school volleyball. I also volunteered within my community from 6th through 12th grade with my mom which allowed me to find my love for philanthropy and meet other girls who had similar values as I do. Being given the opportunities to explore hobbies and choose things I wanted to do heavily shaped who I am today!

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Me and my childhood best friend dressed as "Sophia Grace and Rosie" from the Ellen show. 

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Being a girl most definitely influenced my play and development as a kid. Femininity is something I have always embraced and that has always been something I identified myself with. Dressing up, doing makeup, and playing with dolls are all things I have very fond memories of and helped me to discover myself and my interests. While being a girl has its challenges, I am so thankful that my gender is something I fully embraced and that allows me to feel so content with myself.

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Agency played a huge role in my life growing up as the oldest child with super fun parents who wanted me to take initiative and do what I wanted. There are very few times looking back at my childhood where I felt pressured to do things, but I still don't believe I was ever forced. I saw agency enacted in my life in many ways, but one was the way in which I always had many many many toys to play with and got to do so whenever I wanted. My bedroom was always a play space and not somewhere that I was told was only for sleeping which I greatly appreciate. As a child I wanted to be just like my mom so at the early age of 3 I already wanted to have makeup, carry a purse, and play dress up. I think some people would say I was "growing up too fast," but I am so glad my parents like me participate in things I found interest in not just age appropriate things. Based off of the readings and lecture this week, I am understanding the difference between agency and capabilities and can see how I only have capabilities because of the agency I was allowed as a child. I believe through what I read that children who don't experience much agency will have a harder time grasping common capabilities which explains why unstructured/free play is so important in the early stages of development.

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Week 4 - Revisit - Culture & Community Expertise

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Week 4 - Revisit - Culture & Community Expertise

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Over time, I have noticed that culture impacts my life through the ways in which I interact and communicate as well as what and who I value. My family dynamic and the level in which I respect the opinions of my parents most definitely had a huge impact on the way I acted as a child. I care deeply about the ways in which my words and actions make others feel and I know that stems from wanting to please my parents while growing up. When it comes to bringing an understanding of culture to my interactions with children there are many things I plan to do. I will likely be teaching early elementary aged students and want them all to feel celebrated when inside of my classroom. My goal is to find ways to allow students to represent their cultures and educate those around them and in doing so feel connected to who they are as well as who the people are surrounding them.

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In my own schooling experience I think control and bias played a big role and likely in a more negative way than positive. I had wonderful teachers going up, but they all taught in very similar ways and I would say I learned in very stereotypical public school classrooms. When a teacher or peer was talking I was expected to be quiet and listen, I had to ask to use the restroom, I was told what do my projects over (most of the time), and don't remember ever having much time to really interact or collaborate with others when in the classroom. I feel like most of my teachers did have habits of being biased towards students and while I was one of the students who was usually on my teachers' good side, I think that did more harm than good for me in the long run. I notice issues with control and bias in classrooms still, but I am glad it is an issue future teachers are becoming aware of and finding ways to trouble shoot.

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Based on our discussions on Tuesday and Thursday I have become very aware of how factors like control, bias, & ableism contribute to the amount of agency children receive and why this is so important. Some parents and educators are believers in the fact that agency is something that needs to be earned or that not all kids are able to handle having agency. This issue is seen very frequently with students who have disabilities because society is so quick to place labels on individuals and decide for them what they can and cannot do. Being allowed agency no matter what abilities you have, what race you are, where you come from, etc. is so important for children and is a vital part in growing up and finding independence. All of our conversations this week reminded of my cousin Abbie. She has Down Syndrome and while she has a wonderfully supportive family, the public schooling system has tried to put many restrictions on Abbie throughout the years. Abbie is incredibly smart and has always shown a great level of independence and determination. The Texas school district she is enrolled in did not want to allow her to be in gen-ed classrooms, play sports, or spend extended amounts of time with the "normal" students. My aunt has fought so hard to advocate for Abbie and give her the opportunities that every other student gets and while it is an ongoing challenge, I can see how much it has benefitted her and why it was worth the fight.

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White Black Photo Collage Elegant Autumn Mood Instagram Post

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The more-than-human world refers to everything in nature beyond humans, such as plants, animals, water, and the land, that we live among. It’s about recognizing that these beings aren’t just background to human life but active parts of our world that we can learn from and connect with. Both Marin and Bang and Terrones show that the more than human world holds its own wisdom and can be a partner in how we understand and make meaning in our lives. When children interact with the more-than-human world, they gain important capabilities like observation skills, curiosity/inquiry, and empathy. They learn to notice details in nature, make connections between living things, and understand how their actions as humans affect the environment. Marin and Bang, as well as Terrones, show that through these interactions, children also build relationships and knowledge that go beyond books or classrooms, they learn through experience and connection. As a child, I was very in touch with the more-than-human world around me. My dad is very much an outdoorsman and many of my childhood memories involve me being outside and involved with nature. Whether it was jumping on the trampoline, coloring on the back porch, searching for frogs in the neighborhood gutters, or planting flowers with my dad... I was a child who felt at home when I was outside and I am so glad about the experiences I had.

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Looking back at my childhood and revisiting things I have already written about what my life looked like growing up, it is very clear that gender roles played a huge part in who I was and who I am today. I was raised around ALL of the stereotypical "girl" things like dolls, makeup, cheerleading, & shopping and while I can see why it might have been limiting in some ways, I think had I been given more choices I still would have picked to do and play with all of the same things. Growing up I definitely placed gender on toys and activities without necessarily realizing it or realizing the harm it could do, but I don't think I ever allowed it to hurt me or others. My dad is very much the stereotypical dude who loves to hunt, fish, BBQ, and spend time outside so he dragged my sisters and I along with him and while I had more fun out shopping with my mom... I also loved getting to do the "boy" activities and it most definitely helped to expand my range of capabilities greatly. There was never an expectation placed on me or restrictions on which types of toys I got to play with, I got lucky that what I was surrounded with was exactly what I loved and I didn't have to beg for different toys.

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Growing up community was something I was always in and something that myself and my parents prioritized. From a very young age I was on sports teams and volunteered in a various ways throughout my community and I think this very much gave me a sense of belonging as well as allowed me to help out and understand others on a deep level. I have always been aware of the fact that all people are different and there is so much beauty in that and I think that is heavily correlated with the fact that I have just simply always been surrounded by so many different kinds of people. No matter what it was that I was involved in... volleyball, NHS, NCL, Sweethearts, cheerleading, etc. I was always someone that shared my thoughts and opinions, but also always wanted others to do the same. I found and continue to find my sense of belonging through supporting those around me, but also feeling supported by them.

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Revisit - Week 10 - Race and White Supremacy

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Revisit - Week 10 - Race and White Supremacy

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During my childhood I was definitely very aware of issues surrounding racism, but I think I tried to ignore it at times because it scared me. I was worried to say the wrong thing to the wrong person and so instead of asking questions or voicing my opinions about the issue... I kept my mouth shut. Growing up as a white girl I think I have been benefitted in many ways that I wasn't and may not even be fully aware of. I know that I have felt insecurity due to the color of my skin or felt that the way people act towards me is due to my race which is a huge blessing. I have always felt like the issue of racial inequality was talked about in a "past tense" light and I appreciate the idea of it being "a now issue" as well because that is something I have always thought. Yes there have been changing and evolution surrounding the issue, but it is something that still effects us all to this day and we should not hide from it or shield it from the youth. I wish there had been more opportunities for discussion in the classrooms I was learning in and that I had felt more comfortable speak up. In my own classroom I hope to create a community similar to Mr. Wright's classroom where students are not shielded from the real world, but rather fed information in ways that makes sense for them and allows them to learn and feel safe while doing so.

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Anti-Racism Resources & How to Be a Better Ally - Lemon Stripes

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Revisit - Week 11 - Why are children’s languages and identities so important to their development?

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Revisit - Week 11 - Why are children’s languages and identities so important to their development?

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Language has always shaped how I connect with others. I grew up primarily monolingual (I learned Spanish, but it obviously didn't stick very well), but I was surrounded by friends and classmates who spoke multiple languages at home. Hearing different languages made me more curious of other cultures and I always wished I effectively could communicate in some other language that was not English. I hope to make my classroom a safe and welcoming environment for students of all backgrounds and I truly want to find a way to celebrate everyone's individuality.

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Revisit - Week 12 - What key themes or points from this week's trauma lecture resonated with you? How can you see this information informing your work with young children?

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Revisit - Week 12 - What key themes or points from this week's trauma lecture resonated with you? How can you see this information informing your work with young children?

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I believe the thing that resonated with me the most from this week's lecture was the idea that no child acts out or does "bad" things for no reason. It helped me to really try to always remember to take the time to get on the students level and talk through their feelings and actions with them rather than discipling even when it is hard. This lecture felt very heavy, but I also think it gave me insight and reminders that I will use throughout my entire career. Being able to remember that you truly never know what a child is going home to is so important. For some children school may be their safe space and I may be the strongest role model in their lives. I hope to always be an open door for my kiddos and let them know they can come to me with anything and I will be a support system for them.

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Quote on Moving Forward from Childhood Trauma