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Aaria – Hello, my name is Aaira and I’m a criminology major here at UTD. I was born in a small town near Boston, Massachusetts and have three siblings. In my free time I enjoy learning new languages and skills. Two items that are on my bucket list would be to go paragliding and river rafting. The reason I choose my specific major was because I found it intriguing when I took my first criminology course. My viewpoints on the world are ever changing due to the evolving society we all live in today. Hence, I see fit that it is necessary for me to learn about my surroundings and the impact the criminal justice system in the United States has on its people. More so, having watched several psychological thrillers and mystery tv shows I’ve, kind of, become addicted to exploring this field of study.
As stated in the text, people around my age would be categorized into the emerging adulthood age period; personally I concur with the definition that many individuals within this developmental timespan are looking to find their true identities by exploring new and different avenues. Thus, some pressing questions asked by such people would mainly be about advice on how to live life to the fullest by achieving great success. During this period, young adults take up bigger responsibilities such as looking for a stable job, a good relationship, and even start the journey of parenthood. When a person is at this point in their lives they tend to find instability due to major changing environments and social events. However, these individuals seek out opportunities for themselves because they devote majority of their time on focusing on how to grow as a person without any limitations.
From what I can recall, two early childhood experiences that I believe shaped my identity today would be the time I visited my grandparents back in India, as well as when my family and I moved to Texas. A few months after my younger sister was born my parents had decided to travel to their hometown; during this vacation I got accustomed to living like a native which was quite difficult for someone who was raised in a completly different way. No air conditioning, no proper toilets, and no Internet were just amongst a few things on the list that made staying in India a struggle for me and my family. Throughout the years preceding my family trip to India in 2007, I’ve learned that my citizenship, the language I speak, and the various opportunities I have are what set me apart from those living in an underdeveloped environment that’s filled with poverty and sickness. Around the age of 6 my family and I moved down south across the Untied States from Minnesota to Texas; ever since 2004 up until 2008 I lived in a suburban city, near Minneapolis, called Fridley. I grew up with many of my friends in a loving neighborhood and it was shocking to hear the news from my parents that we were moving to a new state. I was so terrified at the thought of leaving this area behind, I started to cry my eyes out when we left our neighborhood and started our journey to Texas. Little did I know that leaving Minnesota actually allowed me to explore what this country had to offer. The environment in Texas was very different from what I was used to, but I learned to adapt to my surroundings. This move helped me break out of my comfort zone at a young age, enabling me to comfortably speak and interact with people from various walks of life.
Hasnain –
1. My name is Hasnain Kazmi, and my major is Biology. I choose biology as my major because I’m a pre-med student and also because I’ve enjoyed taking biology classes and labs since high school. My hobbies include reading books and playing video games. Some of my favorite authors are Charles Dickens, Daniel Defoe, Arthur Conan Doyle, R. L. Stine, and Jeff Kinney. Some of my favorite books by these authors are A Tale of Two Cities, Oliver Twist, Great Expectations, Robinson Crusoe, Sherlock Holmes, The Fear Street series, and The Diary of a Wimpy Kid. My favorite video games include Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, Rocket League, Grand Theft Auto V, PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, FORZA 4, Valheim, Raft, and Phasmophobia. I like playing story-based games, but my favorite video games are mostly online multiplayer based ones because these games are a way for me and my friends to spend a few hours together even if we live thousands of miles away. I choose this course because in a previous semester I really enjoyed taking Sociology 4371 and wanted to take another sociology course and out of all the others, The Life Cycle looked like the most interesting one.
2. From Table 1.2 on page 14 of our text, presently I’m in the Emerging Adulthood Age Period. I do agree with the textbook assessment of my age period because I think it’s correct that this age period is a stage where you start thinking of yourself as an adult and start gaining independence from parents. I also agree with this age group being most at risk for involvement in violent crimes and substance abuse because at this age you get freedom to do anything and are stupid enough to do it too, and this leads to some bad decisions which ruin your life forever. Some pressing questions emerging adults might be asking would be: How do you get a job? How do you do your taxes? How do you balance work and study? How do you pay for college? How to you buy a car? How do you pay for insurance? And they might be asking these questions because up till now their parents were the ones doing everything for them but now, they must do it themselves.
3. Since early childhood I’ve always seen my parents be non-confrontational and kind towards others and I’ve always seen them telling the truth and I think this shaped my personality and behaviors because to me confronting someone seems like a foreign thing and same goes for lying or being unkind. I see people confronting each other over little things that don’t even matter, and it blows my mind, I don’t see the purpose behind it, why act hostile towards someone over something trivial when you can talk it out peacefully. I believe it’s better to tell someone the truth instead of carrying a burden your whole life, but I do get why someone would lie to get out of trouble. What I don’t get is people who lie about stupid things for a moment of someone’s attention or to feel special. Are these few moments of attention worth a lifetime of embarrassment? Because to me it seems like a really stupid thing to do. I don’t recall any particular events that shaped my personality and behavior but my parents’ overall behavior did stick with me.
Alan –
1) Hey my name is Alan I’m majoring in Chemistry I’m aiming to get my bachlors and masters degree while living my best life. I choose my specific majors because all of my science teachers growing up were the best and inspirational. My current hobbies is running/walking, skate boarding, and learning any new skills since I have more free time. I decided to take this coarse because I feel like I can learn some life skills and extend my knowledge other than Chemistry. My science teachers growing up were insperational and passionate about the lessons they taught which led to me gaining the same passion that they had.
2) My Age peirod I’m currently in is the Emerging Adulthood. The Emerging Adulthood is when child hood ends, and with the begging of finding our identity and full independice from our parents. It also says how in this stage that we’re more at risk to devoloping drug and alcohol addictions. After reading the definition of the Emerging Adult hood I do believe that does represent me and how I’m living at the momment. I do agree with the textbook assessment of my age period because I am looking for full independice while exploring my identitiy and the things I like. The pressing questions people in my age group are asknig is if we live with our parents still, or what job do you have right now? I feel like people are asking the first question because people want to know if that person is at a certain level in their life, I feel like people are asking the second question because they want to see how far that person is in their life.
3) One of my early childhood memories was when we were telling secrets to each other during play time and how this one boy told my friends secret afer she said not to. From this experience I learned that everyone is meant to be friends and that you need to know where you stand with people you call your friends. This is one of my main experiences that I think about occasionally because I do see how everyone doesn’t need to be friends.
My second early childhood memory that shaped my personality is how this one girl was talking a lot of negative things behind this other girls back and they eneded up fighting one day after school because of it. This early childhood memory taught me being negative will get us no where and it will just lead to pain. Both of these early childhood memories deeply shaped my personality and behavior because it showed me that I need to tread lightly and not give out all my energy random people assuming they will be my best friends when they have the potential to turn their backs or try to beat me. These life lessons are formative just becasuse their life lessons that can be learned when we’re adults like not to talk behind peoples backs or ensuring you’re friends are their with good intentions only.
PRISICLA –
I was born in El Paso Texas on December 6, 2000. According to my parents, the day of my birth was full of both stress and excitement. The morning of December 6th, my father was dropping off my older brother at preschool. While he was doing so, he received an unexpected call from my mother who said she believed her water had broke. My dad then hecticly scurried home where he immediately rushed my mother to the hospital. She was quickly taken by the nurses in the emergency room and put in a hospital room. It was about four hours later that I was born. From my knowledge, I was born a very healthy baby weighing roughly around 7.5 pounds. I am very grateful to have not had any birth-complications during this process. However, there are family-related health conditions in my family history that have factored into my genes. These conditions include having diabetes and high cholestoral. These conditions come from both my mother’s side and my father’s side of my family. For this reason, I monitor what I eat and try my best to have a healthy diet. I typically stay away from processed foods such as chips, pastries, and candies. Rather, I fill my diet with whole foods including fruits, vegetables, and nuts / seeds.
After reading box 2.3 in our textbook, I came to the verdict that I believe women who use drugs during pregnancy should be arrested and jailed. I think it is unexcusable for a mother to perform such actions. I believe that if a woman is carrying a child in their whomb it is their responsibility to both protect and care for this child. This not only applies for a women who are about to give birth to their child, but also to the women who are in the early developing stages of their child. My opinion on the issue of women who utilize alcohol during pregnancy is very similar to those who use drugs during this time period. I believe women who are pregnant, no matter what stage of pregancy they are in should not consume alcohol. After reading the detrimental effects alcohol can have on a child, I think it is unacceptable for a woman to have any intake of alcohol. Furthermore, I believe a woman should only be prosecuted if the baby is born with any issues as a result of their mother consuming alcohol. I personally agree with the 2014 Tenesee law mentioned in the textbook that allowed women who illegally used narcotics to be prosected for assult. When a woman finds out she is pregnant, she is automatically applied to care for not just herself, but to also her child she is now caring. Now that her responsibilities have changed, they should be more focused on keeping her baby healthy and safe. I think this law should be considered to be applied to more than just one state. I believe having this law allows for mothers to see the importance of keeping their child away from drugs and alcohol.
EMILEE –
So this question is actually a question that I have myself and I probably will never find out. I was born in Vietnam and adopted at 4 months old, so I have absolutely no recollection of anything other than growing up in the United States. Since I don’t know much about my birth story, I can share about my adoption story instead. My parents adopted me on September 6th, 2000 and from what I was told, the orphanage that I was in was not in adequate conditions to be raising infants and young children. My adoptive parents quite literally saved my life, because I had a major staph infection that the orphanage simply couldn’t treat because they didn’t have the resources or funds. I find it so sad that they were trying their best, but it still wasn’t adequate enough conditions to help raise children. I know that the total trip was around 2 weeks and my parents actually had to have a special request and expedite my adoption because my father’s mother was actually very sick from cancer, so they needed to be back in the United States as soon as possible. I know it was also a huge culture shock because my mom actually was not allowed to travel with my dad and she had to be escorted by our translator, who was a man. Coming from American culture, I definitely understand that it is a huge culture shock to even hear about having to be escorted around by men in different countries, because in America we place such a huge priority and individualism, and especially women being independent from men. I actually have no idea of any family health-related conditions and I am a pretty healthy 21 year old who regularly gets check-ups.
I think that women who use drugs or alcohol during pregnancy are not inherently bad women. We have to remember that pregnancy takes a huge toll on someone’s body and mental health; it can make women not think properly at all since there is such a hormonal imbalance. I do think that women should be prosecuted for using drugs or alcohol during pregnancy, as long as they are fully aware they are pregnant, because the reality is that most people know there are huge risks of drinking and drug-use while pregnant. I agree with the Tennessee law, however I will say that the issue of mothers using illicit drugs in my opinion is more of a medical concern for both the mother and baby, rather than a legal issue. Even smoking cigarettes while pregnant is not recommended because it increases so many health issues for the fetus. Like I said previously, I do not think that women who use drugs or alcohol are terrible people, I just think that if they are continuing on with the pregnancy and eventually giving birth to the fetus, they should be mindful of what they are putting in their bodies and how it affects both the fetus and the mother. At the end of the day, it has been scientifically proven that drugs are harmful for your health anyways.
BRISAA-
I was born on June 25 in the year 1999 inside a hospital in Dallas, Texas. According to my mother, she gave natural birth to me, and that once I came into the world my father almost fainted from seeing all the blood that I was covered in. My father also pointed out that once he held me I threw upon him, which apparently was a tradition with all my sisters being held by him after birth. I had normal breathing, look fine, and even had a good set of hair for a newborn. Growing up, my family also makes sure we are eating healthy, drinking a lot of water, and getting our exercise for the week. There are not any serious health concerns that my family was aware of in our family history, the only health issue in our family that I am aware of was diabetes but from what I notice it only comes around with my male relatives when they are older. Sadly, recently my cousin was the first to get diagnosed with a form of cancer, but luckily she’s young and the doctors caught it at an early stage. The doctor also mention that having a great support team helps reduce the stress of going on treatments, so it’s a blessing that our whole family was able to visit her and encourage her every day.
I believe no mother should be overdosing on drugs or intoxicating on alcohol during their pregnancy because that will harm the child’s development but many mothers either do not have the knowledge, education, or the funds to live in a better suitable environment. I don’t believe arresting the mother will solve the issues either because separating the baby from their biological mother, will cause more trauma to the child. The relationship between a mother and her infant, especially in the beginning stages of birth, is the most crucial part of a child’s development. We should only separate the mother and the child if the mother is continually harming the baby, by the following: neglecting, abuse, and other forms of maltreatment. It would be better if we submitted the mother into a better help program so she can be informed how these substances are affecting her baby, provide guidance in better raising her child, and give her a chance to better support her lifestyle. For example, a documentary called “Babies Behind Bars” shows how a prison program allowed eligible mothers to raise their children behind bars in a separate unit away from other prison mates. These mothers are given support from their advisors, counselors, donated supplies, and learn how to be responsible mothers. Creating a program like “Babies Behind Bars” for mothers who are under the influence or doing drugs while pregnant, will hopefully inspire them to become more responsible mothers and rethink their life choices. I don’t believe every parent has to be perfect, but being able to parent your kid correctly, with help from others, will definitely improve any “bad parent”.