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MY ARMOR

ACRYLIC PAINTING AND STORY

BY JULIA REYNOLDS

For my final I chose to paint an image that reflects the foundational moments in which my family shaped my identity and achievements. Although this project is focused on my time as an adolescent, I chose to depict myself in my slightly younger years because it was in those moments the seeds for a positive adolescent experience were planted.I was born with one arm and because of this there was a higher probability that I would face trials is self-consciousness growing up. Fortunately, my family always spoke of my arm in the most positive light imaginable. My parents in particular raised me with this outlook. They put me in every sport, every extracurricular and never once gave me the impression that having one arm was a problem.

The parenting style of my mother and father was “parental responsiveness”, which as taught by Steinberg, is when a parent responds to a child's needs in an accepting, supportive manner. My mother in particular had a talent for this. For example, she would let me choose my outfit every day for school, even when these outfits were slightly on the dramatic side, with long socks, tutus and bright mismatched colors. Another example is she would let me decorate my room anyway I’d like. Investing time and money into adding new paint, bedding, and posters to match my current obsession of the year.

These actions made me feel my mom trusted my judgment, valuing the things I loved, as well as the choices I made. Steinberg teaches that “adolescents who are permitted to assert their own opinions within a family context, that is secure and loving, develop a higher self-esteem and more mature coping abilities.”  This definitely was the case for me, this parenting style gave me space to express, explore, and build my identity as a person. I felt I could choose my own path of what I wanted to do when I grew up, and I felt that my worth was not dependent upon anything other than being me. This was a positive belief I had of my achievement capabilities . The intrinsic desire I had to achieve, or what Steinberg calls intrinsic motivation, shaped my achievement beliefs. The way I was born was not restrictive or even a disability to me, I truly believed I was capable of achieving anything I wished. This positive belief continued throughout my adolescence and held me up in moments of doubt when I began to compare myself to others.

Those intrinsic beliefs I had about my achievement abilities and the identity formed in my childhood, were truly the armor that protected me from comparison, self consciousness, and fear we all face in our adolescence and even adulthood.

That is why I painted that foundational moment in my childhood. There I am standing in the center of my living room, a little girl, born with one arm standing triumphantly in her armor, a pink tutu, a fire fighter hat and a lightsaber. That living room was my stage, my place to create, to choose, to be brave, to be unapologetically myself, and I knew I was always wanted. It would’ve been so easy for me to grow up and hyper focus on moments when my physical capabilities did not match those around me. Instead, I simply got to enjoy being me.  I am so fortunate my parents provided me that armor.

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For my final project, I decided to create a drawing of a self-portrait along with a backstory of my family and upbringing and how my adolescent years impacted my identity, achievement and strength. Comments from peers impacted the way I viewed my cultural identity in many ways, but remembering who raised me always brought me back to remember that those comments were ignorant and uneducated. Whether some comments were to hurt me or they were said jokingly, my grandma reminded me to stay strong and know that I am proud to be Mexican. My grandmother was a beautiful part of my life and her passing has made a big impact, but her legacy will live on forever.

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I Thought I Was Smart: A Short Collection of Short Poems

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I Thought I Was Smart: A Short Collection of Short Poems

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Hi you guys!

So I decided to use the medium of poetry for this Multi-media project

These poems follow a sequence that encapsulates the feeling of academic comparison that is inevtable amongst adolescents, and the ways it made me feel lesser, or inadequate.

Evidently, these cover the topic of school, specifically as it pertains to achievement and peers.

Thank you guys!

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Hi! I decided to write an essay about my family and how they impacted my adolescence.

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Final Project EDSC 320 - Larissa Quintero

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Hi everyone! For the final project, I decided to draw an abstract art piece with my pastels with items I gathered from my parents and myself. I focused on family in regard to intimacy and identity. My parents are a large part of who I am and I wanted to not only highlight myself but also them as well as their identity helped me make mine as an adolescent. I wanted to also discuss intimacy in my artwork as intimacy is usually thought of when it comes to significant others. I wanted to show intimate items as they are supposed to make the art feel more close and personal. The colors represent individuality and self-identity but also as a way to show how my parent made parts of my identity with the colors mixing.

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Hello everyone, I decided to write an essay on my parents' influence on my upbringing. I wanted to explore the idea that everything you do has a consequence, good or bad, intentional or unintentional. This dives a lot into the mental effects it had on me and how it's formed the person I am today.

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Hello! For my final, I wrote an essay on the influence my family had over my autonomy and psychosocial problems I faced as an adolescent. I found it very interesting how some challenges I faced were explained over the textbook in the class.

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For my Multi-Media Project I decided to write a piece of music for percussion ensemble titled Spark. This was written for percussion ensemble featuring Piano, Vibraphone, Marimba, Suspended Cymbal, Wind Chimes, and Bass drum. I titled this piece Spark to describe a spark of joy I have when I get to be me. I believe that true identity is revealed through intimate connections with others. My identity and the things that bring me joy have only been revealed in my connections with others in my life

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Hi everyone, for my project I created a time lap video representing from birth to adolescent. including the results of how my family impacted my identity and the achievements I have accomplished. As of now I can only see the positive of their impact in my life because I have only had a positive reaction to my experience and that is what I wanted to represent in the time laps video.

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For my final, I did an essay about my experiences on family relationship, socializing in school, and my achievements. I decided to talk about my own story and the hardships that I experienced after the COVID-19 lockdown was lifted.

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For my final, I wrote a letter to my 15 year old self, and posted a picture of me and my 9 year old looking through a telescope. The key to the picture is that it is in color. I wanted to write a letter to my younger self, because through this class I learned to wipe my lens daily. I was so ashamed of my adolescent years, that I blocked it all out. Much of it had to do with addiction and sexual assault. The decisions I made as a teenagers, only reflect the pain I was going through, and the lack of intimacy and structure. Coming from a broken home, I now realize that I wanted structure, I wanted to have a meaningful relationships with my mom, my siblings and mostly my dad, but at that time, I did not know how to voice it.

As I became an adult and parent, I feared that the younger generations/ my teen kids would turn out like me, but I started to see how to break the chain and provide the structure of a family, the adaptability of autonomy and the importance of intimacy.

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Hi everyone, for my project I wrote an essay on how my family during my adolescence played a role on my autonomy and my identity. The connections I was able to make on the benefits of having a close-knit relationship with my parents throughout writing the essay made me extremely grateful.

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For my final project I decided to write a poem about my problem with mass media and how my feed displays of bodies that seem unattainable, which can make me feel inadequate. I also talk about the importance of personal achievements, and I explain the quote by Steinberg when he states, "The pursuit of achievement is not just about personal success; it also involves contributing to the well-being of others." I also talk about psychosocial problems specifically dealing with anxiety, which I deal with where I often found myself questioning whether I would meet my family's expectations. Thank You!

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Here is my final project which is an essay regarding my experience as an adolescent when it came to school and my personal identity and achievements and how these aspects affected my life throughout this time.

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Hi everyone, for my project I decided to write a poem. I centered the poem around family, and I wanted to talk about how I have struggled with concepts of identity and autonomy in terms of my education. I am a first-generation student, so college was a confusing and hard process. I felt really alone because I did not have anyone to turn to for guidance. So, the poem talks about struggling while knowing you need to be better and do better for your family.

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For the final I chose to make a digital zine. I am really confident in my ability on canva and throughout my other EDSC courses I have been learning how to use different multimedia and digital elements in the classroom. Last spring in my creative writing class I was introduced to the concept of a zine and actually learned how to make one in the Makerspace in the Pollak Library. In that class I also dove into poetry particularly ekphrastic poetry which is poetry having to do with art or a picture. I knew I wanted my final to be centered on family and identity but I really didn’t want to write an essay. I created a ekphrastic poetry digital zine. There are three pages of actual content and they all have to do with family. The first page focuses on school and religion. I have a picture of me in my uniform and it talks about my religion as well having an influence in my going to private school because my family is Christian. It also is about how private school was different from public school because I didn't have the freedom that some of my other friends had but now as an adult I appreciate that school and religious upbringing because the lessons I learned have helped craft my identity. The second page focuses on family and sports. Sports was not one of the listed options however it is a key aspect to understanding my family and how I operate in life so I chose that to be my second page. That poem goes over the ideals installed in me through sports and my family's influence on that as they were coaches and watching them inspired me to be a coach myself. Both page one and two go over the lessons I learned because of my family. The last poem  brings it all together by touching on themes and characterics of me that I mentioned in the first two poems and how it has all helped me craft my identity.

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For this assignment, I was asked to explore the psychological development of my personal journey through adulthood. I chose to reflect on my relationship with my family, and I specifically chose to focus on two significant aspects of adolescents development. (This being Identity and Sexuality) The lack of acceptance I experienced from my family regarding my sexuality greatly influenced both my sense of identity and the way I choose to express myself physically and artistically. I chose to highlight the emotional, social, and physical impact these things had on my adolescence. Growing up in a family with traditional views on sexuality, I often felt that my confusion and curiosity would be dismissed like before. In my piece of art, one of the significant illustrations shows the divide of two groups of hands, which represent the contrast between the acceptance I found through others and the lack of support I received from my family. My family has always been deeply religious, so I chose to illustrate their hands reaching down towards me, as if attempting to pull me back from what they perceived as my “confusion” while hands reached from the bottom to bring me closer. I felt scared to disappoint, and this fear isolated and disconnected me from reality. To show this in my work, I made the background of my artwork vast and empty which symbolized the emotional distance I felt. Art became my outlet for self expression and it became a way to explore the other half of my identity and sexuality that I couldn’t openly discuss at home. The tension that came from my family’s lack of acceptance made me find outlets through art and it allowed me to explore myself throughout my adolescence!

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Hey guys here is my updated one I misread the instructions on the assignment. For this essay I wrote about my family's impact on my identity and autonomy impacted social, emotional, and psychological changes that occur during my adolescence. Growing up to the person I am today it had a major impact on how I was raised.

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For my final project, I made a painting that represents my family’s influence on my identity and intimacy during my adolescence. I aimed to captured my insecurities that grew from my family’s strands of influence, and my struggles with identity and opening myself to others.

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Hi guys for my final I decide to make a poem that explains my family life, achievements, and identity!

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Hello Everyone! I created a digital drawing of how my family has made an impact on my identity and psychosocial problems. On one side, there is a girl who is happily enjoying her parents under the sun filled with love. On the other side, there is a woman who is sitting by herself in a dark cloud filled with thoughts that stress her out and give her anxiety. My paper reflects how this image is impactful to an individual’s adolescence and the meaning of family dynamics impacting one’s life. Thank you!

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For my final project I wrote an essay that focused on the influence of family,school,and work that impacted my adolescent development. Growing up all of these three factors were always talked about such as always try your best so you won't have a minimal wage job. I often struggled with managing school and having my parents proud of myself I managed it all through high school and it felt good having the validation from my parents that would always motivate me to always do my best as soon as I turned 18 I wanted to explore a different path I applied to a job that requires you to help children, when I told my parents they weren't so happy since they wanted me to have my full time with college all of these factors were part of my adolescent and still play a major role in my current life.

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Hey everyone!

For my Final Project, I decided to explore how family has affected both my identity and my achievements. The painting depicts a hand from each of my immediate family members, each contributing their own characteristics that have shaped my identity. Because of the values instilled in me, I've been able to achieve many things I never thought possible, breaking into the world of my own accord. Through this class and the past few years of early adulthood, I've come to understand how important family is, not just for the sense of love and security they often bring but in terms of their lasting effects on adolescents and what we carry with us as we grow.

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Hello everyone, it is Joshua Samuelson and for my final project I submitted a creative essay. I'm not much a creative writer so I chose this as a challenge to improve my abilities. The context is family and the two areas of psychological development are identity and autonomy. Both body paragraphs attempt to illustrate how my self-perception was challenged in adolescents and how I transitioned from communication between my parents towards my friends.

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For my final project, I chose to focus on family, identity, and achievement because these themes are closely tied to my own experiences and the challenges many adolescents face. Growing up in a Hispanic household, I saw how family dynamics and cultural expectations shaped who I am and influenced my goals. By using ideas from Laurence Steinberg’s research, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s TED Talk, and the documentary The Mask You Live In, I was able to explore how family relationships and societal pressures shape adolescents’ growth. This project gave me a chance to connect what I’ve learned to my own story, making it a meaningful way to reflect on how these factors influence the path to success.

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For my final project, I wrote a paper that talked about the struggles of growing up in the early 2000's with the rise of social media and the influence it had on my identity and perception of success. I spoke about the difficulties in discerning reality from fiction and how it was very easy to be influenced by what we see online when it typically isn't the entire story. The constant need to be connected and aware of everyone's actions really affected me growing up because it took away a lot of time from the things that mattered. Also, seeing people flaunt excess wealth and expensive items over the internet really made me believe that wealth was the ultimate for of achievement and success.

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Hey everyone! For this final project, I wanted to demonstrate my knowledge of my own adolescent psychological development and passion for technology through a Prezi presentation. I chose to analyze my adolescence in the context of my peers, and under the autonomy and achievement experiences. As I have just left the adolescence phase of my life, this was really interesting for me to see how my peers really impacted me, even in ways that I didn't notice! Hope everyone had a good semester!

-Gabby Rodriguez

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My Adolescent Psychological Development December 13, 2024 EDSC-320, Section 52 By: Gabrielle Rodriguez Going from Peers to Friends By transitioning into a clique that was known for good behavior, it became harder to say no when someone wanted to do something bad. Peers: In

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Shaping Identity and Achievement Through Family and Education

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Shaping Identity and Achievement Through Family and Education

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This drawing is split into two parts, showing how my family and school have really shaped who I am and how much I want to succeed. On the right, there are a large amount of colors, flowers growing, and a classroom scene. That part demonstrates how learning and going to school have opened doors for me, making me feel like I can do more and be more--but on the left, it's a completely different feeling. It has a dead tree and everything is somewhat dark, which is characterized by the hard times and feelings of being left out I experienced during my youth. There's a girl sitting by herself under the tree, and that is mostly who I am, feeling alone. And there's a bird flying off, which, to me, was like a small spark of hope that kept me thinking: maybe things could get better, perhaps I could find my own path and who I really am. When you look at my drawing, it's a mix of the tough material and the good that's shaped me into who I am today.

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Shaping Identity and Achievement Through Family and Education

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Hi Everyone! Here is My Final Project. I wrote about Adolescent's development on Autonomy and Identity and how Families affect it. I used my personal experiences as my main context point but I tried to use sources to support my message.

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A hand written poem

Titled: Fancy words

Subtitle: on uneven lines

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Hi everyone! For our final I decided to create a Prezi that covers my personal experiences during my adolescent stage on how my family influenced my identity and psychosocial problems. Within my identity they helped me process and find my own ethnic identity. With some of my own personal mental health issues, I talked about my family, focusing more on my parents who were born and raised in Mexico cause their opinion on mental health different. I used the model talked about in our text, the diathesis–stress model of depression, having pre-existing conditions and exposure to stressful factors. I hope you all enjoy the Prezi I have created. Thank you and I know I have enjoyed seeing you all be creative and sharing your own stories!

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Family Influence on Identity and Psychosocial Problems

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Conclusion: Family Influence and Psychological Well-Being The family serves as a significant influencer in shaping one's identity and affecting psychosocial challenges. Understanding the dynamics within the family unit is crucial for navigating personal growth and addressing

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Hey y, y'all! For my final project, I wanted to share a few clips from my old skate videos I was able to recover! Skateboarding was a major part of my teen years as it allowed me to meet my peers who influenced who I am today! These clips show a small glipse of my teen years and are dear to me as it is all I have left from my old crew. Other than that I hope your finals are all going well and have a great summer!

Best,

Juan

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For this project, I really wanted to outline my adolescent development in coming to terms with my autonomy and identity in relation to how my family influenced me growing up. I chose to do an “I am” poem with each section depicting a pivotal developmental period in my life, ending in an “I am” statement that signifies my “identity” and “autonomy” at that point in time. Throughout the poem, my “I am” statements shift in concurrence with how our text outlines these areas of development. I gradually grow more secure in both my autonomy and identity, breaking away from the preconceived notions of who I “should” be in the eyes of my parents to who “I am” in my truth and my life.

I touch upon my tumultuous relationship with my parents and how that progressed over the course of my life. Like stated in our text, I express how “restricting my autonomy” caused me to feel depressed, angry, and jaded. I conflate a lot of their parental responsiveness and parental demandingness together because they went hand in hand. Their response of disappointment in me stemmed from me not turning out how they wanted or expected. I touch upon my sibling relationship as well, because I remember reading about how parental and sibling relationships usually go hand in hand, and I felt very validated in my experiences when I read that.

As I progressed through these stages in my life, my emotional, behavioral, and cognitive autonomy shifted away from my parents and toward my own individual ideas, though some could argue that a lot of my individuality came as a result of my parents and their expectations. My understanding and acceptance of who I am also developed overtime as my relationship with my parents changed for the better.

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Hello everyone! For my final project, I wanted to create a piece of art that reflected the chaos that I experienced through my adolescence. The design is meant to overwhelm the viewer at first glance, much like the emotional turmoil I experienced while dealing with issues related to family, mental health (psychosocial problems), and identity. The bold symbols hold significance to each of these factors as they played a major part in forming who I am today. I also incorporated artistic elements such as heavy brush strokes to signify finding a part of my identity through art.

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Hello! For my final I wanted to paint a bouquet of flowers that ultimately symbolizes my adolescence with dead flowers, flowers made of my heart or even stomach, and as well as flowers blooming bright since they are the ones that helped me a lot. The moth in the center as the "bow" can symbolize the chase and attraction that I tend to try to find in things that hurt me (similar to what moths do with their attraction to the light). The background I wanted to keep simple to ultimately just show hope I am looking for in even the gloomy days I had and/or going to have. Thanks!

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For my final project, I chose to create a sculpture that represents my struggle with my sexuality and autonomy in a family with traditional views and rigid expectations. Though I feel that this art piece could have multiple interpretations.

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For my project I chose to write an essay. I focus on discussing my personal struggles with identity and achievement during adolescence in my family.

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Hello everyone. For my project I decided to write a poem and I also wrote an essay analyzing it. It is based on the childhood trauma that I experienced growing up with my family and how it has affected me psychosocially and with my identity. I tied it in with what I had learned from this class with concepts such as the danger of single stories. For example, I try to see my family members and myself through the lens of there being more to us than one single story and that we are more than our flaws and mistakes. I talked about how my anxiety makes me hopeless at times, but through God’s love (both by experiencing it and by loving others) I can heal and help others heal.

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For my final project I chose to make a collage out of stuff I've kept from high school. Included are pictures, letters, artwork, and references my younger self would have appreciated.

My old high school belongings reflect the identity I held with my friends. Throughout my adolescence, I had a strained and insecure relationship with my parents. As a result, I tried to build my identity through my friendships.

This artwork is a reflection of the person my friends knew, and the hidden parts of myself I was ashamed of. My friends knew me as an artist. I was someone bright and funny, whereas, I knew that I was incredibly depressed and lonely.

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I thought it would be fun to make a song that represents my development in adolescence, since this was a creative project. Though I defined it the way I did, the piece can be interpreted in any way. Enjoy.

"This is a story about love. Not being in love, but the need for love as a necessity in life and development between families, friends, and strangers. Some describe it as a weapon, a feeling not to be trusted because love is dangerous and the desire for dominance overcomes the desire for love. Others describe it as a strand of truth that transcends distance and mortality that allows one to feel peace and comfort. In any interpretation, the existence of love is what gives character to life and the decisions we make comes from the love we receive or from the fear of love. My musical composition evokes personal emotions of intimacy and identity within the context of family and peers in the development of my adolescence.

The beginning of the piece (0:00 - 0:34) follows a pattern of arpeggios in a major key accompanied by a melody of light octave notes to represent the love and happiness that the beauty of new life brings. During early development, a baby learns by interacting with their parent and the environment through their sensory motor skills. Though it may seem that a baby’s needs are simply food, sleep, and poop, learning by the touching of skin, the sound of voices, and the sight of faces becomes nourishment as the baby began to associate their parents with care, comfort, and love. This part of the song embodies the nourishment I received since birth. The delicacy of the higher notes mirrors the softness of the voices with care, while the heavy running notes gives a hopeful feeling towards the future my parents are building for their children.

It slowly fades into the waltz-styled bridge (0:35 – 0:54) to depict the adventurous and innocent nature of childhood. Within early and middle childhood, developmental theorists believe that the attachment style and its influence carry over into adolescence and adulthood through the internal working model which measures the expectations on how one behaves within relationships. Therefore, it is important to receive the love from a secure attachment rather than anxiety from an insecure attachment. The section of the song carries my uplifting curiosity as a child developed by the support from my parents who didn’t discourage me from asking questions. The innocent carelessness of my personality is reflected through the melody, while the last chord strikes in as a means of peace.

However, it is short lived, and the heavy weight of chaos brought by the need for self-identity in the teenage years is represented through the loud chords in 0:55 – 1:10. The melody continues in a semi-cheery tune as my personality in childhood fights to stay relevant in a new school filled with different cliques and social crowds. The fortissimo dynamic is the loudness in my head speaking as my possible selves, developing into a low self-esteem and the lack of self-concept. It seemed that I couldn’t befriend people because I was too open and cheerful, and kids in middle school, who couldn’t wait to adult, deemed that too immature, so I had to watch as everyone grew up faster than I did. The isolated feelings are captured with a diminished chord at the end of this segment.

It quietly transitions into a state of tranquility and peace (1:11- 1:25) as one comes to accept themselves as they mature. The transition refers to my state from isolation into self-acceptance through music and art that aided in my development of identity and positive self-image. Suddenly, an accented minor chord is struck within the silence of peace as anxiety engulfs adolescents into adulthood, realizing that the future is unknown. Social pressures, academic pressures, at home pressures and many more begin to shape my behavior, and often times I start dissociating from anything that would cause stress. However, the conclusion of the song reminds us that at the end of the day, we are surrounded by those who love and support us, which brings motivation and peace of mind.  (1:26 – 1:48).

This was a story about love and the shape of a person’s heart. The sacrifices made to shape the heart, the desires held and the promises lost to shape the heart, the despair and the hope created to shape the heart. After everything ended, the only thing visible was the existence of love."

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My family was very important in helping me navigate my adolescence. Through their guidance, I was able to learn more about myself, my heritage, as well as who I wanted to be like as I got older without the burden of academic pressure. My parents always emphasized the value of health over everything and with that I still believe that to this very day. Although I was rebellious at times through this process, I found that my parents really allowed me to be able to express myself and communicate without fear of retribution, something I will always be thankful for.

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My family was very pivotal in helping me navigate the troubled streets of Azusa, Ca. In this process of living on Roxburgh St. I learned about who I was and who I will be from my experiences. My parents were very "protective" over me as a child, and I now believe it was because of their experiences in adolescence. Through this time, I developed a rebellious nature and sometimes I tend to talk in a certain way that may make others uncomfortable, but sometimes relatable. My speech is a product of the environment that I was raised in.

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Alma Fuerte-Jauregui Final Project Becoming Me

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Alma Fuerte-Jauregui Final Project Becoming Me

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My family influence was strong during my adolescence, I finally found autonomy as I grew older and discovered my identity represented in my drawing by the greenery sprouting from the area of my heart.  Parents try their best to guide their children and help them be successful human beings. I hope my parents are proud of who I have become because I am.