Professional Hopes and Goals

Being respectful and supportive are the hopes that I have when I think about working with children and families who come from diverse backgrounds. I want families to feel comfortable communicating with me regarding any topics. I aim to build great relationships with both children and their families. In addition, one goal that I would like to set for the early childhood education field is to prepare and train all professionals of the importance to be responsive to diverse backgrounds. It is essential to react swiftly to issues related to diversity, equity, and social justice.

To my colleagues and instructor, thank you for your effortless support. Each of you have influenced me in various ways and I am very thankful to have experienced this course with you. I wish the best for everyone and hope that you will achieve your goals.

Keep this in mind:

"Reach high, for stars lie hidden in you. Dream deep, for every dream precedes the goal." -Rabindranath Tagore

Shine Bright!

Welcoming a Family: Thailand

The population for children in different countries continues to grow rapidly in the U.S. For that reason, there is no surprise that I will be involved with diverse students during my journey as an early childhood professional.

I am going to imagine that I am a worker in the early childhood setting who has been notified that I will be working with a child who is from another country. The classroom is the early childhood setting I have chosen to work for and Thailand is the family's country. Here are the five ways I will prepare myself to be culturally responsive towards this family:

* Research the family's country. Learn the language they speak and how they communicate, activities they engage in, and the types of food they eat.
* Ask other professionals for their opinions and experiences about teaching diverse children. Find out their challenges and what strategies worked for them.
*Revisit personal biases. By doing so, this will allow me to provide the family with fair opportunities.
*Include pictures and activities in the classroom that are related to the family's country. This will bring comfort to the child and also awareness to the child's classmates.
*Set an appointment to speak with the family before hand. Understand what their goals are for their child.

I can only hope that this preparation can bring peace to myself and the family. I want them to feel comfortable, respected, and included. If the family feels comfortable, they may be motivated to communicate with me about anything and be involved in their child's education. I also hope that I can establish trust and a great relationship with the child and family. If the preparation shows to be successful, I will share them with professionals and other workers who work in an early childhood setting.

Prejudice

I have witnessed one of my friends as a target of prejudice. While enrolled in a graduate school in Missouri, I met a wonderful person by the name of Samantha. Samantha is Caucasian and is a very kind person. Whenever I needed help or guidance, she was always there to lend her support. One night, Samantha and I decided to go to a party. Once we were inside the party, I saw some of my classmates on the dance floor having a good time. As Samantha and I were walking towards them, I noticed they began to whisper and rolled their eyes. I pulled one of my classmates to the side and the conversation went as followed;

Me: What's wrong?
Kasey: Why did you bring her to this party? All of the white people in this town are racist and arrogant.
Me: No. She is very nice and so is her family.
Kasey: Well I don't like her and she looks stuck up anyway, but I guess you guys can hand around us.

After they continued to have a negative attitude towards her, we decided to leave and headed back to our dorm rooms. Fairness was indeed diminished in this incident.They formed an opinion about her without knowing who she really was. They did not try to get to know Samantha and judged her based off her appearance and skin color. They assumed that all white people were the same.

This incident brought a great deal of sadness to me. I could tell that Samantha was embarrassed and upset by the way my classmates treated her. We never really addressed the issue but at this point, I feel that we should have. In order for this incident to have changed into an opportunity for greater equity, my classmates would need a different mindset. They would have to change the way they think of others race and not judge others based on their skin color.

Question:

Do you think we did the right thing by leaving the party? Or should we have stayed and ignored the attitudes?

Racism

Racism, unfortunately, is an ongoing issue and continues to affect everyone around the world. No matter what your ethnic background or skin color consist of, anyone can be a victim of racism.

My experience

 About two weeks ago, my boyfriend and I went out to eat at a local restaurant where we often visit. The food is delicious and the restaurant owners and workers are always nice to everyone. We are usually the only blacks to come and sit in the restaurant. As we walked passed a Caucasian male and female's table to pay our dinner, I heard the man say quickly, "move your purse, you know they like to steal," she instantly moved it. I was shocked and offended by the comment. The comments were intentional and invalidated my identity based on my skin color. The hidden message to me was that the people of my race are criminals. I was a little angry but saddened when I realized I was a target. I noticed several other people walked by their table and she never once grabbed her purse at those times. 

After experiencing this, I felt marginalized and became aware of the fact that discrimination, prejudice, and stereotypes can affect anyone. I am also beginning to feel that I do not desire to return to the restaurant but I'm sure I will eventually. I have found that this can leave an individual or group feeling belittled and not worthy. I believe that it is unfair and unnecessary to stereotype and discriminate anyone. 

To my Colleagues;

Would you have confronted the customer about the comments or just walked away from it like I did? Does confronting someone or explaining to someone about the hurt they have caused resolves anything?

Perspectives on Culture and Diversity

How do others define culture and diversity?

Three of my friends shared their definitions of diversity and culture.

1. Mr. Lopez defines culture as a family's lifestyle and diversity is the different ethnic backgrounds in families.

2. Jason stated that culture is something that everyone is born into and is accustomed to. Diversity consist of people who have different ideas and cultures.

3. Leroy defines culture as a family's way of living. Cultures have their own belief system and what they believe should be valued in life. Diversity can be identified when you are surrounded by people or groups who are different from you.

 The aspects of culture being a lifestyle and diversity is identified by being around others who are different from you is what I have learned thus far in this course. For instance, family's culture can be identified by their clothing styles, housing arrangements, and the types of food they eat. One example that comes to mind about diversity is when a disabled child is among peers who do not have a disability.

One thing my friends omitted is that people's thoughts about what is "right" and what is "wrong" is influenced by their cultures. For instance, some people believe worshiping God is wrong while others may think that this is the right thing to do. One aspect of diversity that was forgotten by my friends is that diversity can be found in family's languages. Thinking about other people's definitions about culture and diversity has indeed influenced my own thinking about these topics. It's amazing to me how my friend's definitions were worded differently but are actually the same. Also, communicating with my friends made me realize that culture and diversity is not a topic that we often discuss with each other or our families. I wonder how often do people converse with others about diversity and culture?

Colleagues, what are your thoughts?

Culture

"No culture can live if it attempts to be exclusive" - Mahatma Gandhi

As an African American woman, culture is a big deal in my community. Thus, if a catastrophe occurred and my family and I were forced to leave the country, there are three small items that I would bring with me:

Hair is very important in the black community. We take pride in it because it is so difficult to manage and must be cared for daily. Going into another country, I may not have access to the type of comb that is needed for my particular hair. Wide tooth combs are the best choice for my coarse, thick hair.




Music is love in the black community. Rhythm and blues, hip hop, gospel, and contemporary are just a few of the categories that sparks our interest. During a cook out, you can guarantee that music and dancing will be the highlight of the day. Music is relaxing and eases stress.





Life is spiritual. In a black church, it is usually lively, as individuals will stand up and shout to praise God. Bringing this along with me will remind me of my culture and how it has influenced my life.

I would explain to others that each of these play a major role in my daily life. I listen to music and thank God each day for his many blessings. Also, I care for my hair daily because it is a part of my appearance and represents my ethnicity. In fact, I would be very depressed if I was told upon arrival that I could only bring one item. Having to relocate and losing majority of my items would be stressful enough. I would be devastated if I couldn't bring a few items that were important to me.

What I have learned from this exercise is that things we do in our daily lives represents our culture. For a long period of time, I wasn't aware that these things were considered cultural. Because I incorporate these items on a day to day basis, I assumed that everyone else did the same as well.

When I think of research....

When I think of research, I think of the word "investigation". Here are a few insights I have gained about research from taking course:

*credible sources are needed
*ethical concerns must be considered
*choose a topic that is of interest to you
*choose a research design that is beneficial for your study
*reading previous research on your topic is needed

My thoughts about doing research has indeed changed. I feel more comfortable with conducting research, as I have pondered on the benefits that it could bring to the field. I have learned that planning your research saves time. In addition, researchers should choose a design that will allow them to collect as much data as possible to have validity in their findings. When conducting research, researchers must follow proper procedures as ethical concerns must be considered and addressed.

At first, creating a literature review was difficult for me. I was not sure if I was writing it correctly and felt a little defeated. In order for me to understand the assignment better, I read the required resource for that week numerous of times. Another challenge I encountered was choosing a research design that worked for my study. After reading about the mixed method approach, I was relieved that I could use a mixture of designs to collect my data.

I have gained much more respect for professionals in the early childhood field. There is so much work and time that these professionals put towards their careers. They strive to make a difference in a child's life in so many ways and continue to change lives.

Taking this course was very beneficial. The insights I have gained will take me very far in this field. I also appreciate my colleagues for taking out their time to respond and give feedback on my blog and discussion post. I enjoyed each of you and wish you the best of luck on your future success.

Thanks,

Latasha

Early Childhood Development Virtual University......

The ECDVU is a training program that was established to address early childhood care and development. The website shares a variety of research reports that was done by students which include;

* Assessment of interaction and stimulation in single-mother low income families

* Curriculum development using community resources

* The status of coordination and supervision of early childhood education in Ghana

* Building community leadership for quality sustainability in Madrasa Preschools: The case of Madrasa Preschools post graduation support

* Pilot study of the adaptation of an established measure to assess the quality of child services in a selected orphanage in Zambia: The inclusive quality assessment (IQA) tool

What I find surprising is that there are numerous of programs in other countries that focus on the quality of life for children and their families. In fact, I have never heard of the different programs until I decided to further my education in the early childhood field. One fact that I was very interested in was ECDVU's aim to build capacity through identifying indigenous knowledge. The reason being is because I can recall choosing to define the word indigenous in my research chart :)

*Noteworthy information*

One piece of information that I wanted to share is that you have to be nominated by the early childhood development country committee in order to be accepted in the training program. Once accepted, students are required to complete six courses and must take on the duty to promote the program's capacity in their country and internationally. 

If I had to choose....

If I had the means and knowledge to conduct research on any topic in the early childhood field, it would be on the inclusion for children with disabilities. Including all children in the classroom setting continues to be an issue. Children who have disabilities are often restricted from interacting with peers who do not have a disability. For instance, a child in a wheelchair may not have the opportunity to have fun on the playground like the other children. I think it is important for programs and schools to invest in equipment, technology, and other materials that will allow disabled children to be included with assignments, activities, and play time. It is also critical to ensure that all children are safe in the school environment.

I imagine that my study would make a positive contribution for the well-being of children and their families. In my study, I would include the benefits for including children who have disabilities. Here are just a few of those benefits;

*Build friendships
*Can adapt to the rest of the world
*Enhance social skills
*Build self-esteem
*Feels wanted and normal
*Learn from peers who do not have a disability
*Develop a sense of pride

Including all children will enhance parent-teacher relationships. It will also allow children without disabilities to appreciate and accept children who have disabilities.

My Personal Research Journey

What is Research?

Research is an investigation or study of materials that will lead to new findings. My research topic for this course is assistance for children and families who suffer from poverty. The reason why I chose this topic to investigate is because as a child, I suffered from this issue. My mom was not aware of the various assistance and help that programs and organizations offered for families who were in need. By conducting this research, I want to deepen my understanding of the numerous of assistance and how families can overcome this matter. In fact, some aid that is provided for families are more popular than others, in which, the less popular ones get overlooked and are not taken advantage of. With this new-found knowledge, I will have the opportunity to save families while sharing resources with them.

So far, my personal experience with this simulation process has been smooth. I am excited about this research, however, I have not been approved yet by my instructor regarding this topic. Hopefully, everything will work out because this topic is very personal and dear to me. When I first read that my colleagues and I had to choose a topic to research, it was a no brainier for me to choose something regarding poverty. My goal is to help children and families, not only through teaching, but to make sure that they are safe and healthy.

What I have learned from constructing the research chart is that it is a challenge to define terms in your own words. I say this because after researching words and reading many definitions, you have to build an understanding of the word and avoid from using the exact wording that other sources have used. On the other hand, defining terms in your own words correctly proves that you understand them.

I am open to any advice or insights that my colleagues can share about my research topic and the research chart. One resource I think that will benefit someone on their research is;
Thompson Ross A, (2001). The future of children: Development in the first years of life, 11(1), 20-33. 

If you know of any resources that will help me on my research journey, feel free to share them with me at any time. 

Finale

Communicating with an international professional was very exciting. There were so many insights I gained from communicating with someone from UNICEF and also staying current with Children's Defense Fund website. Here are three outcomes I have while learning about the international early childhood field;

*The love and the will to fight for children is all around the world
*Funding for education continues to be scarce
*Many children are dying from diseases and poor health.

One goal that I have for the field related to international awareness is collaborating with other professionals and educators about the progress that is being made to make education affordable  for all families around the world. By collaborating and maintaining a relationship with professionals in other countries makes for great outcomes. We will share ideas, insights, and challenges so that we are able to help each other grow.


"Post at least three consequences of learning about the international early childhood field for your professional and personal development"

I was a bit confused by what was being asked of me when I first read this part of the assignment. I viewed this portion as two ways; what was the result of the learning about the international early childhood field or what was the challenges of learning about the international early childhood field. I decided to go with my first mind and shared the results of the learning I have gained from my international contacts.

Did anyone else feel the same? Best wishes to my professor and colleagues, I wish you all nothing but success!!

XoXo

UNICEF, International Contact: Part III

What are your hopes and dreams and what qualities are needed in order to be an excellent professional in the early childhood field?

These are just a few of the topics that Ms. Christine Muhigana and I discussed this week. We first began our conversation about quality education. She believes that all children deserves a quality education in their earliest years, one that makes for a rich future. Children who start school late either drop out or fall far behind and can ultimately continue the poverty cycle. She also believes that in order for a child to receive such education, highly educated and trained professionals are needed. She has heard of and witnessed individuals who were not highly qualified teachers teaching young children in their early years. The results for children were not good, in fact, it was almost as if the child never attended an education program and fell behind later in the school years. These professionals should be leaders and role models for our children, encouraging them to be the best individuals they can be. Ms. Muhigana also explained that from what she knows regarding opportunities for professional development, some colleges and universities offer students to experience a classroom setting to better prepare them as teachers and to get an insight on what to expect.

As we continued on with our conversation, Ms. Muhigana informed me that her professional goals include; making sure all children gain access to quality education, protecting children from abuse and neglect, and improving the health for children who are suffering from diseases and lack of nutrition. This was a touching topic for her and she feels that she is obligated to protect children, especially the ones who are suffering from poverty. In order for children to be the best, they must first have healthy, warm bodies. She hopes that one day, more people will become involved in helping children. She also hopes that education will be more affordable for families in the future. One of the challenges that she continues to face is trying to tend to all families who are in need, in a timely manner. She feel that a quick response is needed, but sometimes does not happen because of the millions of families who need their attention and support.

As I ended the conversation with Ms. Muhigana, since she had mentioned it as a goal, I decided to take a look back at UNICEF's website to see what additional information I could find regarding abuse. I found that in 2002, millions of children suffered from sexual abuse. These children were under 18 and was forced to have sexual intercourse. Indeed, this organization is working to respond to such trauma and I will share one of their statements regarding the matter.

"As part of UNICEF’s commitment to the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Rio de Janeiro Declaration and Call for Action to Prevent and Stop Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adolescents, UNICEF works to prevent and respond to sexual violence by engaging different government sectors - justice, social welfare, education and health - as well as legislators, civil society, community leaders, religious groups, the private sector, media, families and children themselves."

I continue to pray for the well being of our children.

More of CDF

"We can do better" - Children's Defense Fund

One of the links that I explored on the website involved news regarding a 14 year old boy name Noah, who was accidentally shot by his best friend. A devastated mother shares her story about losing her son and how she wished she could have taught him about the dangers of guns before his death. She admits that she feels horrible for letting her son play in a house where guns were visible and in the reach of children.

The area that I searched through thoroughly was the policy priorities section. The reason I focused on this section was to read about their concerns for children and their families. Here is what I found:

*CDF believes poverty should come to an end
*All children should be eligible to receive a high quality education in the early years
*By the fourth grade, children should be reading at their levels and should continue to receive high quality education until they graduate from high school
*All children and pregnant women should have access to good health coverage
*Children should be protected from child abuse and neglect and placed with caring guardians



Another link that I followed that relates to one of the issues that I have been studying regards high school students, who shared their families' immigrations stories. Some worry about their future because of their illegal status. Those that are legal are worried that their parents will soon be deported. Fortunately, they are learning their rights and striving to be a voice for children who are experiencing some of the same issues that they are facing.

This website has definitely added to my understanding of excellence and equity in early care and education. I say this because CDF is determined to voice the rights of children and the importance of them to have the best education possible. They want all children to be included with a wonderful education; no matter their financial status. Additionally, information that I have grasped from this website is that there is a major need for congress to withheld from cutting investments funds in early education. If not, more of our children will be in prison in their later years and the cost for that is much more than investing in education programs.
 

Will the members of congress do what's best for our children or continue to overlook the positive benefits they can gain if children are provided with a rich education?

I guess we will have to wait and see........

International Contacts: Part II

Are we aware that millions of children in other countries are not enrolled in school?

This is in fact what I have learned from my professional contact from UNICEF. There is a estimate of over 57 million primary school aged children who are not in school, and has been little progress of bringing them back. Sub Saharan Africa, unfortunately, accounts for more than one half of this population. Most of these children are suffering from poverty, natural disasters, displacements, diseases, gender, and being exposed to child labor just to name a few. Girls who experience inequality and poverty are affected the most due to having less access to education because of their locations or their families simply cannot cover the cost for their education.

Sad right?

On a brighter note, excellence and equity is the forefront of UNICEF's discussion. As part of their equity strategy, they are working on getting down to the bottom of why so many children are out of school. The financial crisis and lack of funds have denied out of school children their human right to a good education. Because of their commitment to children and their well being, UNICEF has created programs that will ensure all children with access to a stabled education, to produce a healthy future.  Some of those programs include:

*Education for All
*Millennium Development Goals
*World Education Forum's Dakar Framework for Action
*A World Fit for Children
*United Nations Girls' Education Initiative
*School Fee Abolition Initiative

"Universal access to quality education is not a privilege - it is a basic human right." -UNICEF

Exploring CDF (Children's Defense Fund)

Exploring this organization is very helpful and encourages me to strive to make a difference. The section of their website that is relevant to my current professional development is the "Take Action" section and here is why;
Being an advocate and the voice for our children is very important to me. The "Take Action" tab guides you to reach out to elected officials, demanding them to commit to helping and providing for children. 

As I was reading information on their website, I came across statements that made me think about an issue in a new way:
"Each week, 350 children and teens are killed or injured by guns; enough to fill 14 more classrooms of 25 students. What have we become as a people when even in the face of such sin and suffering, we continue to protect guns before children?"
This indeed makes much sense, as many of our children around the world are killed or injured every year from guns and violence. It is unfortunate that some of our children are not present in the classroom setting because their lives have been taking away so sudden, or in some cases, some are in prison due to having access or using a gun.


In one of my previous post, I shared that Hillary Clinton has contributed to this organization a great deal. As I continue to read about her dedication for children, this adds to my understanding of how politicians support the early childhood field. In fact, Children's Defense Fund (2012) stated that, "In 1990, President George H.W. Bush signed into law the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) to assist working families with the cost of providing child care."

A  new insight that I have gained from this website regarding issues and trends in the early childhood field, is that children who experience poverty and are African American or Latino, are at a higher risk of going to prison in their later years. CDF offers prevention and intervention programs for the youth, guiding them towards college and a more positive adulthood.

God, please protect our youth and future leaders.....

Children's Defense Fund http://www.childrensdefense.org/index-1.html

Great News!

Well, almost.

 After failing to receive feedback and collaborations from organizations that I have contacted through e-mails, I finally decided to call one of the organizations for better results. I called UNICEF directly and had to wait over 15 minutes for a representative to take my call. The reason being is because they were experiencing high call volumes. After the wait was over, I had the opportunity to communicate with Laura Priette. She stated that she was not the person I needed to talk to however, and left a note to the appropriate professional with my name and number, who I can collaborate with throughout the rest of the course. Laura stated that the person should be contacting me soon, but I have yet to hear from her. Laura mostly deals with taking donations for UNICEF but wanted to help me as much as possible with questions I had regarding the organization. While on the phone, she collaborated with me that UNICEF is very sensitive about children and families who are going through poverty and strives to contribute to their needs in every way. Access to clean water, a good education, and medical attention is just a few of the contributions they provide. She shared that throughout the world, children will fail tremendously in their education if their health and well being is not in the best shape. Laura has not met the families who are struggling through poverty personally, but the stories that are shared from her co-workers and volunteers are very touching and encourages her to continue to make a difference in the organization.

I have learned that poverty is a very serious issue and should not be taken lightly. So many children across the world are suffering from starvation and because of this, their education suffers. I always say, if the brain is not healthy, a child cannot perform to his/her fullest potential.

I thanked Laura and told her I really appreciate her for taking out her time to communicate with me about this issue. Hopefully I will hear from the other professional soon to receive more helpful insights.

Stay tuned.....

CDF Organization

http://www.childrensdefense.org/

The organization I have selected as a resource and to stay current with their events is the Children's Defense Fund. As mentioned in my previous post, I was employed with a Freedom School program in Jackson, Mississippi for a summer. Although I loved working with the children and staff, I was not aware of the background regarding the program and will now use this opportunity to study the program and to view what their main goals consist of.

CDF focuses on lifting children out of poverty, abuse, and makes sure that all children have access to quality education and health care. They also advocate for children to be their voices and to ensure that people around the nation will know that children are always a priority. In fact, CDF pays close attention to minority children and those with special needs. That is to say, this resource is related to this week's topic as Dr. Grace mentioned that the minority is now becoming the majority.

One current event that caught my attention is that Hillary Clinton was once a staff, board member and chairwoman with CDF. This fall, the organization will honor her for her commitment and dedication towards the organization as an advocate. This is new insight for me; I had no idea that Hillary has made a huge contribution to the organization.





When I was employed as a summer worker for the program, we received shirts with this quote on the back. Isn't this the sweetest quote ever? :)

Establishing Professional Contacts and Expanding Resources

Establishing professional contacts around the world is very beneficial in the education field. One will have the opportunity to share ideas and experiences with others while forming relationships. Thus far, I have been unsuccessful in contacting anyone from the two websites that were provided in the blog resources. Firstly, I did not try to reach out to the two professionals outside the world until Wednesday. I was very focused on my discussion assignment at this time and had no idea what was to come for the blog assignment. Once I started my assignment, I emailed each of them introducing myself and what questions or concerns I had regarding their organizations. After emailing UNICEF, the organization emailed me the next day with the following message:

"Dear Sir/Madam,
Thank you for your message.
Regrettably, due to the volume of such requests that we receive and the volume of work we have here at UNICEF's global headquarters, we cannot devote staff time to respond in depth to all messages. We greatly regret that this is the case.
However, we believe that our website is an excellent source of information on UNICEF-related issues. We would kindly encourage you to revisit our website (www.unicef.org) and, in the Search box, perform a search using key words related to your topic. That will yield many results and get you off to a very good start.
Again, we are sorry we cannot be of more direct assistance.
Sincerely,
UNICEF"

My next goal will include to contact them again and hope for better results. I have yet to hear from the other organzation and will continue to contact them. At this point, I will proceed with this approach and will not use alternative to part 1. Also, the website I will study is the Children's Defense Fund. While scanning through the other websites, it was a no brainier for me to choose this organization because I had the opportunity to work for them as a work-study student in college. This will be a perfect opportunity for me to research their goals and achievements and will remain current with their organization.

One helpful tip I will provide for my colleagues is to not hesitate to contact the professionals. Get a head start, as some organizations are very busy responding to others and may delay a reply to you.

This assignment will be very interesting; I'm ready for the new knowledge I will gain from my contacts around the world.

My Supports

What supports you daily and keeps you fluent and going?

For me, my daily support comes from writing on my grocery list and dancing at least 30 minutes a day. I know you're wondering, how is this supportative? As I mentioned in a previous post, dancing is therapy for me and releases stress. In the moment of dancing, I feel free of the world as my mind is clear at that point and allows me to refresh. As a benefit of dancing, I am able to tone my body muscles and burn unwanted body fat and calories. Without dancing, it would be very difficult to function without it as this is my means of support. I don't think I would be as calm as I am today if dancing did not exist in my life. In addition, writing on my grocery list is very important to me. It allows me to remember everything that I need to buy for that particular month. I started this because it was a habit for me to walk in the store and immediately forget most of the things that I am suppose to buy. To keep from doing this, I began to make a list and write down things that I need as I go on with my daily routines. From that point on, I haven't had any problems with forgetting items whenever I go shopping. Without this list, I would continue to walk into the store and forget what I need and will have to make an extra trip back to the store. Gas is too high for that right?

Support is definately needed when challenges occur. For instance, finishing a masters degree is a challenge but I would hope that my family and friends will continue to support and encourage my efforts. Even now, they remind me that all hard work pays off and if you want anything in life, you have to accept the challenges that comes along with it. Positive vibes and words of encouragement are benefits to have as it pushes you to accomplish your goals for success. Without this support, it would be very difficult to execute my full potential and will not have the motivation to flourish and prosper.

Having support is a vital tool in life. As you can see, support doesn't have to necessarily be a person, it can very well be your favorite skill or an object.

My Connections to Play

"Play is our brain's favorite way of learning." -Diane Ackerman

      Children learn much about their identity during "play time". It is a very essential tool for them to engage in and is very rewarding with positive benefits; able to solve problems, great social skills, build muscles, create ideas, etc. Being involved in fun activities played a very important role in my childhood. Believe it or not, during the holidays, I would write and direct short plays for my little brother and sister so that we could perform them for my mom. I had no idea that it would have an impact on me later in life; I studied theatre, directed and wrote a play, and performed a few shows while in college. I found joy and excitement in writing plays and pretending to be someone else when it was time to perform them. Play enhanced my writing and entertainment skills and prepared me for college.

My first barbie doll ever was this exact Brandy doll! This was one of my most memorable moments as a child and just looking at this picture brings back those warm feelings!

 This was so much fun! I loved pretending to cook and prepare food for my invisible guest!

My mother supported my play habits as a child. She allowed me the opportunity to be myself when I engaged in play and would usually let my little brother, sister, and myself engage in play after school until it was bed time. Unfortunately, play for children today has changed tremendously. Now, children feel that play time is texting, taking pictures on cellular devices, engaging in social networking sites, singing songs with explicit lyrics, etc. My hope for young children who find excitement in this type of play is that it doesn't influence them when they become adults and also hope that parents would make the decision to keep their children away from these things.

The role of play throughout my life has enhanced so many skills; writing, directing, acting, social, and communication. Without this tool, I would not have had the opportunity to explore and figure out what it is I would love to do as an adult.

"In our play, we reveal what kind of people we are." -Ovid

Check out a few more pics below of the many toys I used during play time;