3/24/2014
UNDERSTANDING SELF
Born and raised on the small Caribbean Island of Jamaica. I was born to a wonderful, loving caring mother who sacrificed so much for me. She made me who I am to say the least. She provided more than just a home to live in and food on the table. She instilled a work ethic and a goal oriented mentality that has stuck with me this far. In order to understand me, I wanted to just give a brief review of my upbringing, and then tie it into the person I am today. A young man growing up in urban areas is faced with life’s challenges at rather young ages. Poverty, violence, education, was the three options that seemed to be all I had. My mom along with the help of my family (grandmother, aunts, and uncles) made sure the first two played no part in my upbringing. Growing up in a single parent home as I did, I had to make more of an effort to stay focus than most kids in my neighborhood. It was every evident from an early age that the chances to make it out were limited. One option was education and the other was crime. My choice of path was laid out in front of me by mother. She spent her nights trying to keep my nose in a book as she had hers. The demands she placed on me and the rewards on which I enjoyed even though they were not lavish. Hearing my friends call my name to come outside to play only rivaled my mother’s voice in the back of my head from saying I need you to do better son which is a “ decisive demonstration that is associated between a stimulus and a response that’s governs learning” ( Watson & Raynor 1920). I was invited to forgo my 6th grade year and enter straight into the 7th as my grades and work ethic made me visible for all to see. I had neither hesitations, nor a choice in the matter, of not accepting this new challenge. I started to realize that I was capable of handling the new work load on offer. The culmination of our combine effort helped me coped, excelled and pass the...