My Life 1963
Melanie C. Ward
PSY 202
Domingo Mamaril September 9, 2013

I. Where I was born and raised A. Detroit Michigan B. Raised on the west side II. What was your family like? A. Nurtured by both Parent’s B. Youngest of six children natural sibling C. Parents adopted three children and fostered many III. What things do you remember about your childhood? A. Mother cooking B. Good times and fun times w/ family and friends C. Daddy time at the drive-in. IV. What are some of your favorite memories? A. Traveling across the United States for thirty days w/Mother V. Who were the important people in your life? A. Father and Mother B. Best friend VI. What are your greatest achievements so far? A. Completing my business associate degree VII. What jobs have you had in your life? A. Master cosmetologist B. Senior sales representative VIII. What would make you happy in the future? A. Successfully completing my bachelor degree
B. Having the ability to start and run my own business

My Life 1963
My life from today on is just the beginning but right now I will reflect on my past to present. My story is based on memories and experiences that have aided and developed who I am today. As I open up to my past I will also provide significant inscription of the theories in adult development in which was studied throughout my class text book “Adult development and life assessment. Also I will continue on forward in my journey ahead to my present accomplishment and future goals.
Born Melanie Colette Ward of Detroit, Michigan from the parents of Michael E. Ward and Frances E. Ward, My name Melanie was taken from one of the movie characters in the famous movie “Gone with the Wind.” I grew up on the west side in which we refer to it as the best side as growing up in my community. Reversing back to memories as a kid growing with my family was fun times and daddy and mama was there one hundred percent caring and nurturing us children. My mama was a stay at home mother and daddy left every morning by six o’clock to provide for his family.
He worked for the main postal office in downtown Detroit where he took on the position as the manager of maintenance for over thirty years. After retiring from the post office my dad worked another fifteen years for the board of education driving kids daily to and from school. Both parents where from Pittsburgh, PA. My mother grew up in Homestead Pennsylvania, and my Father in Little Washington. They met each other in Detroit while living on the same block daddy was living with family members and mother with a girlfriend after leaving Pittsburgh with her three children to start a new life there.
They had never communicated with each other and were later introduced by one of my dad’s mutual friends. Later on they began dating “courting as they say,” and due to a past situation in mother’s life she chose to removed herself and children from, and I thank god she did. Their relationship grew into love and everlasting they then married. Daddy then adopted my elder brother and sisters sometime later my brother, sister, and I the “baby’ was born into existence, and then we became six.
Growing up with the most amazing, loving, and caring parents their doors were always open welcoming many neighbors and friends. My parents started bring in many deprived children that were in desperate need of safety, care, and love. Just as they nurtured and loved us, they showered the children with that same unconditional love. It’s like they were chosen to be saints because they missioned themselves and begin caring for children through the state of Michigan as foster parents.
Some of these children that had entered our home had been neglected and abused by their parents and some by family members. I was a young girl at the time still in elementary school when the children began entering our home. We had many children revolving in and out of our home over the years, one hundred and ninety kids to be exact lived in and out our home from my adolescent years until moving out on my own.
At times during those years I would sometimes feel lonely, separated, misplaced and replaced from my mother. Due to her having to give up so much of my time with her, and direct her attention to caring to the younger children. In my study of chapter one (Witt & Mossler, 2010) Stages of human development I’m thinking maybe I was at that middle age childhood stage for recognizing my emotions and dealing with the situation.
They later adopted three children so I now have two younger brothers & sister, and then we became nine.
Now I’m no longer the baby but I’ll always cherish good memories of before the adoptions, and the fostering of children. Reminiscing back this was my mama and me fun times, and this day has finally enter my world. This particular time took place when the older sibling left for school. My brother and sisters were off to high school, junior high, and elementary. It was just me and my mama, and I enjoyed every moment.
My mother would continuously remind me that my good days where coming to an end. Each day grew closer and closer before my day of entering the kindergarten and I kept saying “No” I don’t want to go to school. Ok! “Yes” I did cry many days knowing that my joy was coming to a complete end. No more homemade cookies, Ice cream, sugar bread, and watching old movies on television.
All the fun bus rides downtown and going to the movies theaters and eating cheese & mixed caramel corn gone. Just being out enjoying our day at a museum are just painted beautiful memories that will be treasured forever. Mother was always up bright and early; she would be up by five every morning like an alarm clock. I would be lying in my bed half-awake and begin inhaling with hunger the aroma of hot cakes, butter biscuits, bacon, and eggs, all at the same time. It was like seeing that assortment of food in the movie “The little princes” when Shirley Temple woke up from sleeping and the variety of food was in her room. “Oh” and yes my mother would always serve a variety selection of breakfast meals every morning. She is such a great cook and is able to prepare every type of food you could imagine. Mama would make the best cakes ever they would melt in your mouth. She could make a variety of desserts but her main request were; German chocolate, red velvet, cream cheese three layers carrot cake. Also the best lemon meringue pie and cherry pie, and old fashion apple pie with vanilla ice cream all from scratch. It was like growing up in your favorite restaurant and bakery. “Oh” and we still can get germen chocolate and red velvet out of her every now and then.
Now she’s just into making lemon pound cakes for her friends. For my mom to have grown up without her own mothers guidance and the teaching of set values along with barely having a mother figure in her life. I commend her of a well done job in raising this family. She was only five years old when my grandmother passed away and for my mama not to have had her directions she was blessed with her mother’s gifts. She had to build her own sense of identity as stated in chapter two in our text book.
(Erikson, 1950)Erikson believes that people develops at their own pace. My mother naturally inherited her mother’s knowledge and strength at a very young age. For her to have had the ability to nurture, loves, and protects her children, she was truly gifted and blessed. It amazes me that she was a self-teacher she was a young strong well-rounded wife with three babies, and just a baby herself. Today she continues to be blessed at the age of seventy six and still full of life.
She will always be my loving and sweet best friend. Some of my fondest memories growing up with my siblings are remembered when we used to have this beautiful and very intelligent germen shepherd dog named Eric. He brought joy to our home, we use to love to play hide & seek with him. My elder sister Rhonda would hold him while all of us hide in different location in the house, and that dog would find each and every one of us within minutes. Mother had taken a small job doing a little day work, and this dog would leave the house every day around three o’clock because he knew my mother would be getting off the bus around that time.
This was five blocks away from our home. Some days Eric would be missing for days at a time. We would worry but later find out he was picked up by the dog pound. Our daddy would have to go pay and get him out and this would happen too often. Then one day my father was so fed up with Eric and his track record that he refused to go get him for the last time. We all cried many tears and begged daddy to go get him. “Wow” I wonder how Eric felt; he probably thought oh daddy Mike he’ll be here soon to pick me up. I just hope he went to a good family back then. Beside all the fun with the pet dog, we did the usual fun things that kids do growing up with your immediate family in Detroit. Like; some Saturdays we would all go downtown and ride the big four deck Boblo on the Detroit River. We enjoyed music, food, and fun in route to the Boblo Island amusement park.
Then sometimes our elder sister Ronda and the other five of us would go downtown to Detroit’s museums for the day and we would check out many art exhibition Those where really exciting and fun times, I also did many walkathons. The best time ever was when hanging out with our daddy on his days off we would go to the park, roller skating, bowling, and daddy would take us to the drive-in theater and most of the time I wouldn’t make it through the whole movie because of falling off to sleep.
My most memorable event in my life was when my mother and Sister Michele and I traveled the United States on a thirty day greyhound road trip. I was eight years old and had the time of my life. We traveled many cities and met friends along the way. The one place I’m visualizing at this moment is being in Philadelphia, PA and mother taking us to the Philadelphia Museum of Art. I can remember seeing all different kind of beautiful painting and statues. While in Philly we also saw the liberty bell it was so huge and we were able to touch it. This was just a beautiful experience of a life time and our visit there lasted only two days. We had eaten great food and we even had the famous Philly steak sandwich which was awesome. We then passed through Saint Louis Missouri and viewed in passing the famous gateway arch. It was amazing to see, and I still have all my post cards that I collected on this journey along the way. This was really an exciting time in my life and I couldn’t wait for the next surprising destination. This trip to me was like many birthday presents that just kept coming one at a time. Our cultivating journey took us too many places Washington, DC, Las Vegas Nevada, Los Angeles, California, and Pittsburgh Pennsylvania, New York and many other stops along the way. I’ll end at this time because I’m about to write a book. It’s just so much more to tell of this memorable journey that I experienced. Just know that I had the time of my life.
My parents are truly the most important people in my life. God bless my father’s soul, he has passed away January 31, 2010. His spirit will always exist near and around me. my daddy morals first taught me how to have respect for myself, and to respect others. He instilled in me integrity, value, and love. My father and mother have always been there for me one hundred percent. In good times and in bad I could always count on their support. I thank God for them every day. My mother she is my life line and also my best friend in life. Her heart is like gold and she is like words from the bible love, comforting, caring, and giving. Her heart if filled with unconditional love for all. I’m so blessed to have been truly blessed with the parents that was appointed too me. Beside God, they will always be the most influential existence in my life. She is my true best friend. I also had a neighborhood best friend named Janice Mealing she was a great inspiration in my life. She introduced Jesus back into my life when invited me to her church one day. “Warrendale Community Church” this church really impacted my life. We also traveled to many different churches to fellow ship with other Christians. Unfortunately we lost her in 1987 she was murder in a house robbery invasion. My friend was a very beautiful and loving spirit. Janice loved her son so much, and the sad thing about the situation my godson lost both his parents within a year apart. My friend is still truly missed and I thank God for blessing me with a true friend.
As of today my greatest achievement was; receiving my associate degree in business administration May of 2013. I’ve been through a battle but for sure have won the war. Last year five days before Christmas I lost all sight and went totally blind. Today by Gods glory, prayer, and a great surgeon I am healed. I’m truly thankful that I am able to wake up every morning with enough sight to continue my life journeys, and I’m currently on track.
At sixteen years of age I began my first experience of employment, and after that I’ve had many other jobs, but this particular job I must reflect back on. I completely fail to recall it in my outline. One of my very close male friends that I grew up with his grandmother owned her own cleaning service business and she had contracts to go out and clean small companies. She was also a head register nurse delivering babies. She told us to call her Dur, and her words of inspiration and values lives on in each and every one of us that had the opportunity to have been of her presents and teaching. She had given us our first job and would lecture us on the importance of having a job and providing for our self. Dur she instilled in us the importance of values, knowledge, and time management. His grandmother would also pay us by company checks teaching us what our work time was worth. She had given us a true lesson that we live in a work world and if you don’t work, you don’t eat. That was her favorite line. God blesses her soul she is truly missed.
This cleaning job gave me self-confidence and motivation that I can do all that strengthen me. With that self-assurance I was able to obtain many job opportunities like receiving my master cosmetology license, and had worked in many salons. I’ve also worked as lab-tech assistance for four years and was a senior sales representative for a large communication company for seven years. Reversing back to all my memories has boosted my self-esteem even more. I am able to see that in some ways we develop from our environment as explained in our text book.
Urie Bronfenbrenner (1917–2005), suggested under his ecological theory; that human development is best explained in terms of the interaction between individuals and the environments in which they live or have lived. As of today I’m able to say that my future looks very promising. At this moment with the love and support from my mother and friends is truly encouraging. This is what keeps me motivated to continue on moving forward towards my goals and dreams. I’ am so looking forward to the day when I’m able to firmly say “I did It” I’ve completed my bachelors of business administration degree.
This goal holds my future plans of becoming a business owner with knowledge, focus, and being well-rounded. I am ready to cultivate, develop, and explore what’s imbedded in my mind. In closing, I have entertained you with my past memories that has influenced, developed, and introduced who I am today. I’ve also exercises some of my theories from the class text book (Erikson, 1968) of my developmental stages of how my environment incorporated my manners and growth. Lastly, I revealed my dreams and future goals, and I look forward in receiving all the blessing that this life has to offer in this life time, as I continue to succeed and prosper.

References
Witt, G.A., & Mossler, R. A. (2010). Adult development and life assessment. San Diego, CA. Bridgepoint Education, Inc.
Brumble, Kathleen 1, Kampfe, Charlene (M) 2 The history of adoption in the United States. [Adoption] Jun2011, Vol. 24 Issue 2, p157-162. 6p. Academic Search Premier