Reflection on my Infancy and Toddlerhood focusing on Physical and Cognitive Development

 I was born on January 15, 1956 and was raised by my parents in San Juan, Metro Manila.

 I interviewed my mom who is 75 years old. She does not remember much already. She remembers that  the family was very excited when I was born because I was a girl. The first was a boy.  I completed the gender of children. I walked at age 1 and spoke with fluency at age 3.  During my first two years of life, My mother and helpers gave me more than adequate care: warmth, cleanliness, food and sleep. They would feed me on time. They would not want me to cry.  They give me everything I want.  If I can’t have something I want, they said, I might have a temper tantrum.  And they would have a harder time to stop me. Like before sleeping, I expect to be given a juice, if I am not given at that dot, I would cry so loud until they would give.

 Looking back,  the effects of  people in the house feeding me whatever I want resulted into negative things as I was growing up.    I seemed to be looking for this action, meaning receiving rather than giving.   I have to receive their giving before starting to give in return.  My choices are based on feelings rather than on reasoning. Sheltered needs were addressed. The over protection I received at home gave me fears in showing love first. It’s like I want to be sure that what I would do would be something worthwhile. If  I commit a mistake, it is hard for me to accept.  

Well physically, I am in the normal weight and height of an Asian from childhood to adulthood. I was light weight before and until now.  My height is 5’0 and the usual height of a Filipina.  And according to the Body Mass Index, my weight and height are in its normal range.

My health has not been so good for a few years now.  I’ve been experiencing back discomfort, short period of sleep, and sometimes a little hypertension.  It’s not just I’m in the midlife crisis or after menopausal stage.  I have been having this back problem several years ago. And the aging is just aggravating it.  I visit my doctors regularly and according to them, the impingement in my low back is the one that irks me.  It actually goes on for weeks and then off for months. I go physical therapy if it recurs.  

My physical appearance was I looked like my grandmother – small eyed, fair skinned, curly haired, and not fat, not thin, just normal in built.  I may look Chinese but I am not.

Above is a comparison of my picture when I was 3 years old and when I was 52. There was not much physical change on the eyes, color of skin, shape of face, and type of hair – relatively the same.

 

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 On physical traits, I would say my weight is my strength. Because of my normal weight, I am able to move swiftly and reach things quickly. I can easily fit into small places like in a box. In an elevator if there is still one space for a person available, I usually fit in.  My body shape is also right for my weight, so I do not have hard time when buying clothes. There is always a  size that fits me nicely.

 At present, I maintain this strength through proper diet. I eat fiber foods and that are easy to digest like fish, vegetables and fruits.  I used to exercise like walking, but with my condition now, I stopped it for some time. 

My height is a disadvantage. In society, height is might. For example in a crowd, a tall person would stand out. A short person would not be noticed as easily as a tall person. In looking for certain jobs, like as a stewardess (I had a dream of being one), height would right away cancel me out. I also think that women who are taller are more attractive to other people.

I have to wear heeley shoes to look tall. There is disadvantage in wear this kind of shoes. You can’t move as fast as when you are wearing flat shoes.   

  Another weakness is my vision.  I have to wear eyeglasses with a grade of 220 in almost all my activities.

 In order to improve my weaknesses in physical traits, I accept it. I know my limitations. My height is there to stay. For my vision, I make sure that I always have glasses to wear. I have one in the car, in my bag, and at home. Also regular check with the eye doctor is a thing I do.

 I had my first schooling as a kindergarten pupil. My teacher described me as very quiet and obedient. I was different in school and at home. In school, I follow the rules. At home, I violate the rules. I want that they follow me.. But my experience at home did not affect me negatively in school. I got a 2nd honor medal in school. But I learned that obedience gives good results. Well, so I think the school has affected me positively but the negative side is I do not know how to apply obedience outside school.

 I would say my cognitive strength is  my goodness in remembering facts and places.  Facts like names of persons and places, birthdates. I usually remember the place I’ve been to and how I got there. I am good in giving specific directions of places in Metro Manila from your point of reference.  I am challenged on this that if there is a specific place that I have to find, I will use all sources like having a road map, calling the local police dept., or now the google map. But the google is not complete with road signs like one way, do not enter. So I am not contented with that that I would call MMDA, or the municipality to check before going to the destination. I make sure that I would hit the right spot without reversing or u turning.  

 And because of my goodness in getting  directions, I am proud to say that it resulted in being a better driver.   I have been driving for 35 years. I see that this is an asset, aside from other purposes, in case of emergencies at home, I am able to process the action when it requires quickness. I don’t get lost, I know alternate routes, I can manage traffic and parking.

Another strength is my sharp sense to sound. At night, if there is an unusual noise in my house, I usually am able to know it. And it also gets my attention. I am the guard dog in my house because I easily get awake with sounds. Last December, there was a burglar who attempted to break in to our house, but because I heard a different sound in our main door, which is a very unusual sound in a door,  I got up and woke up my husband who went to the door. The burglar ran out of my house. A  door chain has prevented him in going thru.   Of course we reported this incident to our barangay and placed  more security measures in the house.

 Another strength is music. I play piano. I could play 3 classical pieces and several standard pieces.  I had formal lessons when I was 8.  I stopped playing since high school and now I am revitalizing the old pieces and learning new ones- chord-piano playing.   It is a mental therapy.

And in using the computer, not everyone of my age likes to go cyberspacing because according to them, it is difficult to learn. They would rather ask somebody to do it for them. To me, the use of computer is like a toddler discovering new things, trying things one way and then another to see if results differ. He learns from his experimentation. So I am also into this adventure. There’s a great deal to learn in the computer so you can make better decisions and actions.

 I maintain my strengths by practicing and applying it to my daily life as expressed above.

I maximize my brain power by using the computer.  I have a new hobby – creating a movie (photos and videos) through Windows Movie Maker. It is very exciting and interesting. Every time I create a new movie, I learn different things.  So there seems to be no boredom in doing it.  

I tried the on-line IQ test, but in order to get the result, I have to pay. I stopped it. But maybe I need to explore again. 

I would say my cognitive weakness is not being able to absorb ideas, read or spoken, given at a short period of time. There has to be many examples, in order to grasp it. 

 Another weakness is numbers. The logic where numbers are involved is  somewhat complicated to me.  

Another weakness is verbal expression. I see it as a weakness because I would want to express a thing properly but if I know I can’t do it, I usually am not able to say everything and hit the right point.

 I am able to tackle all these weaknesses by contant learning thru people and things. Once you get familiar with circumstances, it does not become a weakness. You would know how to do it. The computer is always ready to answer my questions.

 As of today, I am undecided whether to pursue getting more education units. This is my first subject for Certificate of Professional Education and I find  researching and presenting reports difficult.  I find this subject very informative and educative. Reflections also allow me to know myself better as well as those people around me –in depth. It’s worth the effort.   However, if the direction is that the subjects later get more complicated as I would go on, I think I will quit.  This is not a high priority.

Children and adults who feel good about themselves are healthy, happy people.  I have to feel good about my life and about the people I work and associate with in order to maintain a positive self-image.

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