Wednesday, February 14, 2007

It's all relative

Everyone loves Disney World, right? Picture this: a five year child, mesmerized by this magical place. Colorful surroundings, giant cartoon characters, hundreds of rides, and lots of candy. This child, so entranced by all of the bright attractions, loses sight of her parents. Finally, she spots the back of her dad's head, and runs to catch up. And then, a searing pain. That child was me, and that searing pain was a burn from my dad's cigarette (before he quit that dirty habit...no judgment). To this day, I will take a wide route around any walker who is smoking. We all know one of those aggressive walkers who swings his/her arms very violently while walking. I'm scared the backswing of the arm will cause ME to be burned with a cigarette.
This little anecdote is an example of how one life experience can effect the way a child acts for the rest of his/her life. This is what I'm studying this semester. 4 out of my 5 classes deal with children, their development, and their families. Much of my studies revolve around networks, whether they be social or technological. One experience can set of a series of reactions that will change the course of a child's life, either mildly or to the extreme.

2 comments:

Becky said...

I have had one of those experiences as well. When I was in first grade it was easter and I was sitting at the dining room tabel with my family eating desert. I grabed a fork and hot coffee spilled on me and I had second degree burns on my leg. To this day I make sure that any coffee pot is on the other side of the table and I always have to drink coffee when it is luke warm.

Anonymous said...

I know what you mean. I was burned on the nose at a club in Miami when I was walking along the bar to leave the club. It was rather upsetting.