Section 2 Person Paper

Reflection on Person 1 and 2 Paper

This assignment taught me that it is easy to take people and life for granted. After writing my
person one paper and read it back to myself, I thought to myselfwow I have had a lot of interesting/exciting
things happen in my life. My person one paper was mostly about my life and how it was growing up, with a
few fictional parts in there. I feel like a lot of my life I took things for granted, and would tell my parents a lot
that my life was just horrible, but really it wasnt. I actually had a great life and was raised very well. This
paper also challenged my brain a lot because it was a little hard to think of so much detailed things to write
about. I really enjoyed this assignment.
The person two paper was also a lot of fun because it also challenged my brain to think of things that I
would want my child to become, or hopefully become one day. If I had a boy I would be very scared when he
decides to move away from home into a dorm. I know that one day when this does happen to me I will
probably end up having to talk to him about sexual education, and drugs, because I will be a nervous wreck Im
sure. Also I thought it was very interesting to think of myself in that type of situation. Overall these two
assignments taught me a lot of things that I thoroughly enjoying learning about.

Section 2 Person Paper

Section 2 Person Paper

Lorin Peck
Salt Lake Community College

Section 2 Person Paper

Chapter One
I am going to tell you a little story about me. I will start out by telling you a little bit about my parents
and how they met. My mom is GS13 at the Utah Army National Guard. She is 25 years old, and has had this
job since she was 18 years old. She has had some college education, but that just wasnt for her because she felt
like she already had a great job. My dad is a manager at Lens crafters. He is 27 years old. He has had no
college education, and has no desire to go, because he feels like it is a waste of money. They met in high
school, and seemed hit it off from the first time they talked to each other. My dad is Italian, and he is a very
hard person to get along with. My mom is a very sweet lady, and gets along with most people. My mom and
dad are currently married, and have one other daughter together that is currently 2 years old. At this time in my
parents life they seemed to be struggling a little with their marriage, and were arguing, and fighting a lot.
My mom had been noticing that she had been feeling a little nauseous lately, and was getting sick every
morning. She had been pregnant before, so she thought that maybe she could be pregnant again. She got in her
car and hurried to the store to buy a pregnancy test. While she was at the store, she figured that she wouldnt
believe the first test, so she bought six of them. She hurried home to take these tests, and sure enough she
was pregnant. At that time she was so scared, and didnt know how to tell my mom because they werent
getting along to well lately. She waited till he got home from work so that he wouldnt be freaking out about it
at his job. About ten minutes after he got home, my mom sat him down and said, I need to tell you something
that is going to alter our lives a little. He was scared he didnt know what to think. Then all the sudden my
dad turned to her and said, we can handle 2 kids, and we will be just fine. My mom was very relived to hear
him say that. So. There I am developing in my moms belly. My mom had to make some health changes
because she was a smoker at the time and participated in a few alcoholic beverages once in a while. After she
found out the she was for sure pregnant she didnt take another drag on a cigarette nor did she take another sip

Section 2 Person Paper

of alcohol of any sort. From then on my mom and dad were both very health conscious and did a lot of research
on how I was growing week to week. My mom found all the research that she did very interesting, because in
her first pregnancy she was so young and it happened so sudden that she didnt do any research. She was too
scared. While researching my mom found it very interesting that from the fourth month to the six month that
my brain increases six times in size. Up to half a million-brain cells per minute are created at peak growth
during mid-pregnancy. (Dowling, 2004, Chapter 2, Page 60)
I was born on a warm summer day in early August. I was actually supposed to be born later in August,
but apparently I wanted to come sooner. My parents got to the labor and delivery room at about midnight that
night to see if they were actually going to admit her or not. When they got their and my mom got checked, the
nurse was very surprised that they didnt come sooner. When my mom got all settled in her room the nurse
checked her again and she was dilated to a 7. About 30 minutes later they came in again and checked her. After
they checked her they immediately wheeled her up to the delivery room and had the doctor waiting there in her
room ready to give her an epidural. This was much faster than my mom had expected. About two hours after
arriving to the hospital out came a sweet little girl. I was delivered with no problem and was placed in my
moms arm immediately after for a skin-to-skin contact. My mom chose to breastfeed me for about 12 months
and soon after began supplement with formula. Breast milk is sterile; always at body temperature; and rich in
iron, vitamins, and other newly discovered nutrients for the brain and body. (Drover et al, 2009, Chapter 3, Page
109)
I was a very active baby, and always wanted to be awake. I was also with some things considered ahead
of the normal as for as milestones go. I was able to hold my head up at about one month, could roll over at less
than 9 weeks, crawled at about 7 months, and started walking at about 10 months. My first word was NO and
that was around 7 months. My parents were not too happy about that, because all I wanted to say way No

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everything. 6-15 month olds learn meanings rapidly; they understand about 10 times the words than they can
say.
(Schafer, 2005, Snow, 2006, Chapter 3, Page 121)
When I was about 9 months old my parents were not getting along at all and my sister and I had to hear
them fight, and argue almost every day. My sister actually remembers drawing pictures on her chalkboard of
my mom crying and my dad yelling at her. My grandma had a sit down talk with my mom, because she was
there for a lot of their fights as well, and she told her that it would be best if my mom and dad just separated,
and they could parent separated. My mom agreed with my grandma. Only a couple of days after my mom had
that talk with my grandma she moved out and filed for divorce. My dad was not at all shocked because he
knew that it was only going to get worse if they stayed together. When they separated my mom knew that it
was important for me to bond with my dad at an early age so I got to see and be with both of them regularly.
Fathers enhance their childrens social and emotional development in many ways. (Lamb, 2010, Chapter 4,
Page 148) Synchrony, attachment, and social referencing are all apparent with fathers, sometimes even more
than with mothers. This was doubted until research found that some infants are securely attached to their father
but not to their mothers.
(Bretherton, 2010, Chapter 4, Page 148)
When I was about 4 my mom took me to a wellness checkup and my doctor told her that he was
concerned about my weight. I was suffering from over nutrition and my mom was not aware of it. Heart
disease and diabetes are becoming epidemic because overfed children often grow up to become overweight
adults. (Saul, 2008, Chapter 5, Page 168) My mom started monitoring my portions, but when I would go to my
dads house for the weekend he would feed me whatever I wanted, and how much I wanted. My mom was very

Section 2 Person Paper

concerned and had to call my dad to talk to him, and tell him he cant do that, and that he needed to actually
help her out with this problem I had. A few months later I was able to get back into the healthy weight zone.
When I was about 6 years old I hated going over to my dads house. My mom was a little concerned that
every weekend I had to go there I would throw a fit. I didnt like going over there because the only things that
my dad would let us do during the day was watch TV, play with my Barbies, or play video games. At the age I
didnt like doing those things. I wanted to be outside playing with the neighbors, and riding my bike. My mom
would make me go over there because I wasnt old enough to make my own decisions. Every child needs
guidance and protection, but not too much-overprotection seem to be both a cause and a consequence of
childhood anxiety. (McShane & Hastings, 2009, Chapter 6, Page 218). When it came to punishment I was
never physically punished. My parent both agreed not to use physical force while disciplining because it can
have a negative consequence later in life. Research finds that children who are physically punished are more
likely to become bullies, delinquents, and then abusive adults. They are also less likely to learn quickly in
school or attend college. (Stratus & Paschall, 2009, Chapter 6, Page 228).
Some problems that I did face in life were that I was diagnosed with severe anxiety at age 12, and I had
to be put on a medication for it. My grandma told my mom that it could have been because of her making me
go to my dads when I didnt want to. I was also diagnosed with asthma at age 13. The doctors said that it could
have been because my body wasnt able to get used to all the microbes and allergens at a young age. Some
experts suggest that a hygiene hypothesis, proposing that the immune system needs to tangle with the microbes
when we are young. (Leslie, 2012, Chapter 7, Page 250). I am able to keep active with an inhaler and
breathing treatments at night and in the morning.
In my high school years I was very popular and was on the dance team at Brighton High School. I was
the captain of the dance team and I loved the attention I got from all the boys. I found that some of my friends
thought they were cool and would make fun of other peers for being different for many reasons. I chose to take

Section 2 Person Paper

an anti-bullying pact with a few other friends that had the same feelings as and its something we strive to pass
to younger kids in school. Bullies usually pick victims who are already rejected by most classmates.
(Veenstrate, et al., 2010, Chapter 8, Page 307). We try to include everyone as much as we can and if we see
someone singles out we try to make them involved in what we are doing so the feel included.
I am also ready to graduate and I am so excited to attend college. I have taken some of the AP classes in
my high school years, and have been studying really hard for the ACT. My school is making it a lot easier for
us students to be ready for college. The United States is tying to raise the standards so the all high school
graduates will be college ready. One way to accomplish this has been to increase the number of students who
take classes that are assessed be externally scored exams, either IB or AP. Such classes have high standards and
satisfy some college requirements. Unfortunately, merely taking such classes does not leas to college readiness.
(Sadler, 2010, Chapter 9, Page 345).
I continue to have a relationship with both my mom and my dad, and love my life right now. The
paragraphs above are just a glimpse to my 18 years of life, and there are many more adventures to come.

Section 2 Person Paper

Chapter Two
Ive never been a religious person. Im not even sure if there is a god. Growing up, my family never
went to church regularly. I attended some LDS events a few times with my friends but was never really a
member of any set organization. The guy Im sharing a dorm with was raised very strict catholic. He said he
hasnt practiced nor does he really believe in any organized religion now. This is interesting to me as very few
adolescents totally reject religion if theyve grown up following a particular faith, partly because religion
provides meaning as well as coping skills. (King and Roseser, 2009) I think being away as college will open my
eyes to many different religions and I hope to make friends with people that have all sorts of backgrounds. Im
interested in exploring many religions to see how I feel about them and maybe establish a relationship with a
higher power, whatever that may be.
Have I mentioned that I am extremely excited to be here in the College life? It was always a dream of
mine to attend college at the University of Utah. Now not only am I attending here, I am on a full ride
scholarship and am going to be in the starting lineup for the upcoming football season. In preparation for the
football season and I am watching what I eat and making sure that I am getting plenty of good macro and micro

Section 2 Person Paper

nutrients to fuel my body to ensure I keep as healthy as possible. I have grown out of my childhood asthma and
dont have any kind of breathing issues holding me back anymore. Specifics confirm the health of emerging
adults. Serious diseases are not yet apparent, and some childhood ailments are outgrown. For example,
childhood asthma disappears as often as it continues. Although many emerging adults continue the poor health
habits they had as adolescents, the trend is toward better diets and regular exercise, and that improves mental as
well as physical health. (Walsh, 2011)
Before coming to college both of my parents felt that it was necessary to have a family meeting about
premarital sex and sexual diseases. At this point in my life I have not had sexual intercourse and am really
trying to wait until I am in a very serious relationship and its something that both of us are ready for. As my
parents talked about this with me it was equally awkward as it was informative. One of the scariest diseases out
there in my opinion is HIV/AIDS. Within the past 20 years, primarily because of the sexual activities of
emerging adults, HIV has become a worldwide epidemic, with more female than male victims, more
heterosexual than homosexual victims. (Davis & Squire, 2010)
Of course after the whole sex talk we had to talk about drugs. How many times can we talk about drugs?
I feel like Ive had the same talk with my parents over and over about drugs, all kinds. I know they are
concerned because I am not under their roof anymore but I feel like I know how and am ready to avoid any kind
of temptation and will not succumb to peer pressure. Drug abuse is something that they really worry about.
There are so many drugs out there that even just experimenting can lead you down a road that can destroy you.
The same impulse that is admired in extreme sports leads to behaviors that are clearly destructive, not only for
individuals but for the community. The most studied of these is drug abuse, which can involve dozens of
substances both legal and illegal. (Maisto et al., 2011) Most of the people that I met at college were more
worried about passing their classes and remembering play calls rather than doing any sort of partying.

Section 2 Person Paper

My College years were a lot of fun and very challenging. I loved playing football but unfortunately I had
a career ending knee injury and was not able to continue playing football. I was able to play for a few years and
its something that I will always remember and will always cherish. I learned so much on and off the field. I
finished college with a 3.8 grade point average and got my degree in business management.
When I was finished with College I was able to find a job managing a local business that really worked
out for me. The hours were flexible and I was able to work from home and only had to be in the office for
weekly meeting and other various occasions. Unfortunately I started to gain weight as I wasnt playing sports
anymore but was still eating the same as I had been. I found myself over eating at almost every meal and
snacking in between meals. I gained 30 pounds within my first year after graduating college. Metabolism
decreases be one-third between ages 20 and 60, which means that adults need to eat less and move more each
year. Few adults do so; instead, obesity increases with each decade of adulthood until old age. (Berger, 2014,
page 438) This was terrible news for me. I really had to snap myself out of this and realize that just because I
wasnt playing college football didnt mean that I didnt need to watch what I ate and maintain a good
relationship with food. This is something I will struggle with the rest of my life but I will not give up.
I met my wife at a local coffee shop in the town where I moved when I graduated. It really was just like
something out of a movie or a love song. It was raining and she was drenched from head to toe and she walked
in the door and the bells jingled and I just glanced that way and I thought she was the most beautiful woman I
had ever seen. I offered to buy her coffee and told her that I was going to marry her. She laughed at me and
seemed a little concerned and rightfully so. Who says that to a consequential stranger? I eventually convinced
her to go out to dinner with me and from then it was history. We have been married for 10 years and counting.
We are committed partners and have been happy together the majority of those 10 years. Not surprisingly, a
meta-analysis of 93 studies found that personal well-being is affected by the quality of the marriage as well as
vice versa, especially for people marries eight years or longer. (Proulx et al., 2007)

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My wife and I had been trying 5 years to start a family. Things werent working out in our favor and we
felt like we had done all that we can to try and have a child naturally. After deliberating and talking to friends
and family we decided to adopt a child. This is something we were very excited for and ended up adding 3
children to our family, 2 twin infants, and a 4-year-old boy over the course of the next 2 years. Strong parentchild bonds often develop, especially when children are adopted as infants. Secure attachments can also develop
if adoption occurs when the children are older (ages 4 to 7), especially when the adopting mother was strongly
attached to her own mother. (Pace et al., 2011)
Ive had such a great life full of pure joy. In the end everything didnt go as planned but it all worked
out. I strive every day to prevent any impairment that I may encounter with my growing age. Since aging
increases the rate of dementia, slowing down senescence postpones the onset. Because brain plasticity continues
throughout life, exercise that improves blood circulation also may build brain capacity and repair damage, not
merely prevent loss. (Gitler, 2011; Kramer & Erickson, 2007).