Relative Interview Questions, Answers and Oral History

1. Where, when were you born and in what kind of environment?

El Salvador, August 15, 1964. He was born into a middle class family, and the timing to raise a child was good.

2. What kind of temperament, or "mood" did you develop as an infant: were you easy going, slow to warm up to or just difficult to deal with?

Yeah, I was in a good mood, very easy going. My parents didn't have much trouble with my behavior as an infant.

3. Were you able to develop a secure or insecure attachment between you and your parents/caregivers?

I had developed a secure attachment with both my parents, but until I was about thirteen they got divorced and it hindered the strong attachment between me and my father. My mother and I still got along great.

4. When developing and learning to walk, do you remember if you grew just in or out of the developmental norms?

My mother said that when I was fourteen months old I started walking, and in my country that is counted as normal for a boy. Over here, it would be just a bit out of these norms.

5. Did your parents encourage you to explore, walk and talk as you pleased during infancy (1-3 yrs.)?

They encouraged the talking part, but when I wanted to explore some places they prevented me from doing so.

6. Of being influenced by parents, did you develop a sense of independence or feelings of shame and doubt?

I kind of feel more doubtful on doing things on my own. I feared that if I failed on my own, I would have nobody to blame but myself and let everyone down.

7. In your early years (2-7), how did you view the world?

I really didn't pay attention to the view of the world, for I cared much more for family, television and food at that age.

8. During your first five years of life according to Freud's theory, you have potential problems and if not resolved, you can be stuck or fixated at that stage. Did you develop any fixation that occurs today?

I remember that I would consume a lot of milk when I was little, and I would try to organize my toys, preventing other children from making it messy. Today, I religiously put everything in my designated spots every day, neat and organized. If things weren't perfect, I tend to get mad at myself.

9. What area in growing up as a child do you think was the most difficult? Did it deal with biological, social, or interacting with your parents/caregivers?

I don't think I had a difficult childhood really. I always had friends, talked with my parents, and was healthy mentally and physically. Only few times had I misbehaved and I learned to not do those things.

10. Did your parents try to establish a trust with you when you were an infant or adolescent?

My father didn't hug me or show much effort to "establish trust," but that's only a myth in my country called "machismo." It's like where the father is expected not to hug the male children in the family.

11. About what time did you start to think about abstract concepts like God, civil rights, and liberty more effectively and logically? This shows that you started going through Piaget's fourth cognitive stage.

I'd say about fourteen. I was raised in a catholic school, but it wasn't until I was fourteen when I gained an interest in religion and stuff.

12. Most teenagers make mistakes in their lives due to the fact that their prefrontal cortex is still developing. Did you ever mess up big time in your early years?

One time I was just playing, not being careful and accidentally locked all the keys of the whole house in one room. When my dad got home, he beat us with the cincho. When I was fifteen, there was this girl that I liked and she was going to a carnival. I ended up climbing a ten foot gate and broke my leg.

13. Making decisions can get tough when both choices have bad consequences. How did you make decisions to situations like these? Please describe one time if possible.

I feel like sometimes you have to make a decision for the mere fact that if you don't, you won't find out if it was a good path to take or not. Sometimes you have to pursue your goals and dreams, and if you don't, you will never know. You will have to live your life thinking "what if."

14. What type of Baumrind's parenting style do you think you use towards each child?

I think I'm a bit more of a permissive parent.

15. What parenting style would you use when one doesn't seem to work out?

Authoritative. I don't think that absolute power is necessary because kids are rebellious naturally, so I think that confronting the child to solve the problem would work other than taking strict power.

16. What did you want to be when you grew up?

I always wanted to be a civil engineer. I wanted to build bigger buildings than my father, and own a 1967 mustang.

17. People tend to pursue their dream to find themselves, like getting a degree in medicine. About what time did you want to "find" yourself?

I found myself at an early age. I wanted to be a civil engineer since I was in middle school. I was always good with numbers, still am.

18. How would you describe yourself looking back into your childhood?

Organized, all of my things would have a clean space to put. I was more reasonable person than a violent person, and was easy to get along with. Disciplined and always responsible.

19. Did you have a high or low sense of self-esteem in your life and when answering, did it change over time?

I did have high self-esteem, but it changed gradually over time to very low. Yet it did shoot up again later in my life.

20. Adolescents need to leave behind a carefree lifestyle and start gaining responsible, planned and purposeful behaviors. Did you have any problems trying to establish these behaviors? Did it affect your self-esteem and cause you to feel socially withdrawn?

Not really. I didn't have any problems growing up to be responsible and adult-like. I was a well behaved kid.

21. How do you currently feel about aging?

I feel that I've accomplished most in my life and I'm ready to age on. I just hope I will get to see my two sons graduate and get married.

22. What are specific areas that slow down in your body because of aging?

I can't make three-pointers no more! I can't run as fast as I used to, yet I can still walk pretty fast. I can't drive as long as I did before. Pains in my legs cause aches when I stand for too long, only because of my work.

23. More neural connections are being developed, which increases flexibility and ability to adapt. This is also due to more life experience. What things in your life do you think you could have changed now that you can analyze decisions more effectively?

I would like to change the control of my finances during the end of my first marriage. I got left with nothing, so yeah, my finances caught up to me.

24. Do you tend to look on the good side of ugly situations?

I do now. It's more like "try to focus on the big picture rather than on the small things."

25. In your marriage, facing big problems might hurt your relationship. How do you deal with these obstacles together?

Keeping a good intimate relationship. Having communication is the key to break down the problem and confront them.

26. How are you helping the younger generation to improve their future?

Getting involved with their school, activities and community helps for their future. Trying to set the example for their development.

27. When you have an overview of your lifespan, do you think you've done enough and feel content with your past accomplishments?

I feel content with my past accomplishments, yet I still think I can do more. There's a part of me that thinks that I can still go back to school and do more.

28. Did you always feel this way and have this personality? Are there any events in your life that might have altered your overall personality?

Almost always. The only time I felt devastated was when I separated from my children. I cried almost every night and I felt that there was a chance where my kids would stop loving me. But I overcame that and thanks to the support and love of my kids.

29. What do you hope to pass on to your children when they have their children?

Love God, family, and respect each other. Encourage them to improve and better themselves by acquiring education. I wish to preach by example.

30. Have you ever wondered about your time when you're nearing death? How would you feel with that, looking at it now?

I live my life like if it were the last day, and if I would die today I should be happy that I did what I had to do. What I mean by that is I feel like I should be prepared everyday if the Lord calls me, so I don't actually fear death or deny it.

                  Oscar Alfredo Palomares was born in El Salvador on August 15, 1964. He was born into a middle class family and had loving biological parents. Around three his parents encouraged him to speak his mind, but to tread carefully, causing him to have a decreased sense of independence. At grade school, he had many friends, got good grades, and received unconditional positive regard from his parents. When he turned thirteen, his parents got divorced and he moved in with his mother. His resiliency aided him to cope with the situation and realize why they couldn't stay together, putting him in the formal operational stage. After growing into his twenties, he attended "La Universidad Politecnica de El Salvador," and obtained a degree in civil engineering in 1988. The same year he married a woman named Orpha Ruth Aparicio for twenty plus years.
                  In 1979, there was a civil war within El Salvador that forced the couple to migrate to North America where they procreated three wonderful and gorgeous kids. Oscar divorced her later and remarried to Ana Maria Ruiz. With financial problems, the couple learned to overcome and flourish in a community that has a history of crimes. They were able to create a website to help detect potential threats to homes and the two love to cook. Their younger children visit them almost every week and have a wonderful time, everytime. Like Oscar always says "Sometimes it's better quality than quantity."

Clay Brain 3-D Model

 

Labels (coloring aids with locating label).

Pink-The forebrain is the largest part of the brain and has the right and left hemispheres which are responsible for memory, language, emotions, experiencing sensations, planning and decision making. It’s also the most evolved. At the core is the limbic system where half a dozen connected structures regulate motivational behaviors, emotions, and storing memories. The hypothalamus (controls endocrine system), amygdala, thalamus and hippocampus are located here.

White-The midbrain has a pleasure center which is activated by food, sex, money, music or some drugs. It has areas for reflexes and contains reticular information, which lets forebrain know to be ready about incoming stimuli.

White-The hindbrain is a combination of three main structures: the pons, medulla and cerebellum.

White- The pons act like a bridge to carry messages from the spinal cord to the brain, and they make chemicals that stimulate sleep.

White-The medulla includes cells that regulate vital reflexes like breathing, heart rate and blood pressure.

White-The cerebellum is there for coordinating motor skills, but only involuntary movements.

Pink-The wrinkled cortex is a layer of cells that cover the whole surface of the forebrain. Most of our neurons are in here, which folds over on itself so that it can store more information. This is divided into four areas called lobes: The frontal, parietal, occipital and the temporal lobe.

Blue-The frontal lobe is involved with personality maintenance, emotions and behaving in social situations, motor behaviors, choosing and planning. Without it, we could experience uncontrollable outbursts, poor decision making and impaired motor skills. The nerves in the left and right hemisphere control movement in opposite sides of the body (right-left and left-right). It also has Broca’s area that deals with putting words into meaningful sentences and speaking a language.

Purple-The motor cortex is located in the frontal lobe and is involved with the activation of all voluntary movements. It’s organized in two ways: First, a larger body part is a relatively bigger piece of the motor cortex and thus more ability to do complex body moves. Second, each part gets its own piece, so if damage to the brain has occurred only selected body parts will be paralyzed.

Brown-The parietal lobe deals with sensory information from body parts, like the five senses, and involves with cognitive functions like attending to and perceiving objects.

Light Blue-Somatosensory cortex is in the parietal lobe and processes sensory information about touch, location of limbs, pain, and temperature. It’s somewhat organized like the motor cortex. A bigger body part means a bigger area of the brain and thus more sensitivity to external stimuli. Damage to one area will lose sense in selected body parts yet sparing others.

Dark Green-The temporal lobe is used for hearing and speaking. It uses two structures to be able to process language.

Red-The primary auditory cortex turns electrical signals from ears into meaningless consonants and vowels.

Light Green-The auditory association area transforms vowels and consonants into recognizable information, like words and sentences.

Light Pink-Wernicke’s area is needed for analyzing and understanding spoken sentences and speaking correctly. Wernicke’s aphasia makes it difficult for the brain to understand the sentence, but still can speak fluently.

Yellow-Broca’s area is necessary for putting words into sentences and speaking fluently. Broca’s aphasia makes it hard for the person to speak in coherent sentences, but can still understand spoken and written ones.

Dark Yellow-The occipital lobe is responsible for visual information, which includes seeing colors, perceiving objects, and recognizing people.

Black-The primary visual cortex receives electrical signals from receptors in the eyes and transforms these signals into meaningless basic visual sensations like light, shadows, colors, lines and curves.

Orange-The visual association area turns meaningless sensations into complete visual perceptions. Damage to this area results in visual agnosia where an individual can’t recognize the complete object in sight. He/she only recognizes parts (lines, shadows, curves).



Arkham Mercy Hospital- Creative Story

Creative “Short” Story- Arkham

            Once upon a time, there was a boy born on May 9, 1785 named Thomas Wheatley. He was born in a sleepy town called Needletown that was distant from other civilization for milesand into a seemingly normal family, for some of his siblings, like his elder brother Adrian and his sister Megan, had an illness within them. You see the two of them had schizophrenia, and during that time philosophers (psychologists of ye olden times) didn’t know that there was such a thing. Instead they assumed that this was due to being born on a full moon and diagnosed Thomas Wheatley’s poor siblings as “lunatics.” The doctors, peasants and townsfolk of Needletown banished them into the asylum just outside of the town, where they were treated inhumanely.

Thomas snuck out of his parent’s house to see his siblings and feed them whatever his mother made that night. Things only got worse as the “father of psychiatry” developed the “tranquilizing chair” that created psychological restraints on Adrian and Megan. One day, Thomas snuck out again one night and traversed the town limit to the asylum. He was about to visit his siblings until a doctor came in the room. The staff referred to him as “Dr. Rush” as he started cutting up Adrian. Piercing screams echoed the room and made Thomas shiver and fill up with anger. When the doctors left, he broke Adrian and Megan out, where they vowed to make better treatment for not just the patients in the asylum, but for pretty much everyone who had a mental illness.

            After years of research and organization, the trio began by trying to publicize the asylum’s barbaric treatment in the 1803, yet when they reached and preached in Needletown, rocks flew at their heads. Although their attempt in their hometown wasn’t successful, Adrian had told his friends who were also friends with Dorothea Dix who knew about these incidents and formed moral therapy for thepatients. All seemed to be satisfactory at that time for the Wheatleys, and that is when Thomas met a beautiful woman named Janet Ross, who also had an interest for humane treatment of mental patients. They got married on April 17^th, 1804 and had one boy whom they named Alfred. However, there seemed to be a change in the world of psychology around them had reverted back to their old ways. On top of that, the life span of humans in that era was about thirty years. So in order to rise up to the challenge, the Wheatleys raised their son to have a positive attitude towards moral therapy. Alfred grew up strong and healthy to be just like his father and in the 1850s when his parents passed, he took the wheel to find better treatment for mental patients. On 1856 when the horrible methods were enacted upon patients in Needletown, Alfred took some of the patients away and put them in a facility he designed and reconstructed. He called it “Arkham Mercy Hospital,” for naming it an asylum would make it nothing more than a prison. Friends of Alfred’s parents volunteered to pose as staff in the moral therapy facility.

            Although Alfred’s acts weren’t noticed and were successful, the asylum was still getting a staggering amount of patients. The treatments were emotionally scarring and even killing patients. Moreover, Alfred started to get severe pains in his chest for no noticeable reason. On May 2, 1858 he tried to inspire some of his patients to carry on his movement by inviting them to a big meet in the plaza of his hospital. Few patients were able to comprehend what he was preaching to them. Sadly, he suffered a heart attack three weeks later in the center of the plaza, with his “disciples” staring at his body. Fortunately, one child had felt the impact of his words. A girl named Sara Ali who had schizophrenia was imbued by Alfred’s words of emotion to help asylum patients cope with and have normal lives with their illnesses.

            Starting in 1875 Sara thought of ways to possibly treat mental patients with minor cases. To start somewhere, she heard of the famous Wilhelm Wundt who used specific methods and approaches over in Germany. On 1880 Sara decided to try it on her friends Marco, who had a fear of wolves, and wanted to see if she could create a breakthrough. Unfortunately, the methods that she used, structuralism, functionalism, and introspection didn’t work as well as she thought. She didn’t give up though, and with the help of the staff they still tried to care for the sick. One day, one of the staff members discovered something that could be able to help deal with schizophrenics. He found out that doses of lithium might depress some of the hallucinations by accidentally pouring some in one of the patient’s drinks! Thinking it was water, the doctor gave it to the patient who then later reported fewer hallucinations. Sara was relieved to hear this news as she started to consult and hire some psychologists. Although

            Now in the 1900s there was a huge change in psychology and dealing with mental thought processes. With the discovery of psychotherapy, especially the form psychoanalysis developed by Sigmund Freud was able to base the symptoms of patients with panic disorders, phobias, and even some schizophrenics that developed the illness through a traumatic event. This guided Sara through multiple psychological breakthroughs in therapy sessions. Having great trust and respect for the staff and leaders in Arkham Mercy Hospital, Sara Ali didn’t want to put this great progress to a sudden stop just because she passed on (because you know, she’s old according to this time). So in order to keep the dream going and the staff tending to the patients, Sara entrusted few elite leaders to take the lead when she passed. These men and women would study and learn their “modern” psychology and go into therapy sessions with patients. The first one to take the wheel after Sara’s death was Orpha Palomares in 1958, who was an excellent nurse and female psychologist.

            Orpha organized a team of researchers to get word from the outside about new ways to help these patients. The new drug phenothiazine would help the schizophrenics more effectively than the lithium, and new methods of psychotherapy were being applied with treatment. Sessions like client centered-therapy by Carl Rogers and cognitive therapy by Aaron Beck were used on the other patients with cases like depression, problems in self-actualization and phobias as well. Orpha just kept Arkham at top condition as if the facility were her child, and the better kept the place was, the more patients were being deinstitutionalized (in a good way).

            Eventually Arkham Mercy Hospital became a huge success and was going to be publicized to the whole country. Unfortunately, reporters came to Needletown and were driven out by the rocks the citizens threw. The rock thing didn’t change in that sleepy town, so Arkham remains only a legend to the world. Like a needle hidden in a haystack, these wonderful staff and members kept it secret, even to the town residents. Patients who were sent to the community were asked how they were healed. Oddly, Needletown didn’t believe some patients. They showed them where the building was, or once was. The whole hospital was torn to the ground and no traces of medical equipment were extracted. Needletown just thought it was some kind of symptom from their illnesses. The patients were baffled to see the magnificent edifice brought to a horrible end, yet they had a few ideas why. Some thought that the town wouldn’t treat the medical center as the leaders did. Others thought that ignorant vandals felt that mental patients should just stay in the asylums, and others just thought that Orpha got tired and left or something.

            The outside world eventually developed facilities like Arkham, open to the public everywhere and had many psychologists, psychiatrists and other staff. Arkham, like the greatest story never told, was said to be the best of mental hospitals in the 1900s. Some of the patients still returned to the abandoned land that once raised them and placed gifts and flowers on the charred doorsteps. Once in a while, they get together in groups and have little reunions, talking about their new lives and past adventures. It might have been better this way you know? One thing that is a definite is Orpha didn’t pass, for some of them claim to see her atop the rubble, just gazing at the land next to her.

            This story has been passed on from generation to generation, and the audience chooses whether to believe it or not. Well, I can tell you one thing. Eventually one man or woman would stand up in history to make a change to something morally or physically wrong like this. They have the courage, strength and determination to speak their own word, healthy or ill, refusing to fall under peer pressure and do what’s right. Maybe this would influence you to think about what’s really right and wrong. Needletown thought a lunatic would never be able to function in society. Sara gained many friends while working in Arkham Mercy Hospital, and it was those friends who helped carry the dream. Oh yeah, and they lived happily ever after or at least until the wars ended.

Holocaust Mueseum Paper

Oscar Palomares

            The Holocaust was the time when Hitler rose up the political ladder and decided to make a Master Empire. He was obsessed about crafting the perfect race that he referred to “the Aryan race.” Adolf Hitler, born in Austria, was very charismatic when he was gaining support from Germany. But soon after trying to persuade people to join a Nazi socialist group that hated imperfections in humans and taking land while attacking other territories, he was arrested for treason and put in jail. From there, Hitler composed a book called “My Struggle” that spilled his ideas about how the First World War and the Treaty of Versailles stabbed Germany in the back. This started what we know as the Holocaust.

            The fact that when Hitler rose to power and gained support from everyone even the Jews (this was before the Nuremburg Laws came), this made some sort of secure attachment between Germany and Hitler. The country depended on him to rebuild itself from the massive damage it had from the war, but Hitler thought of something “better.” He blamed everyone who was imperfect to him for the damage done to Germany. So in order to construct the country into an empire, he had to get rid of the imperfect people. He started with subtle moves like propaganda, persuading people not to buy from Jewish or foreign stores. He also had radios to spread his words of wisdom all throughout Germany. The citizens went for it, thinking it was for the best and for their country, and it kind of was.  More ways were used to influence the need for change within the masses. Book burning, persuading posters and segregation was enforced among Germany.

            Now why did many groups of people believe Hitler? Why didn’t anyone try to rebel against him? Well first off, he did hire a secret security, the SS, to do away with any opposition. Second, Germany’s people needed him to rebuild the country, and it deceived people that it was effective in the process. The citizens relied on him to make decisions for the country and segregated Jews from society, calling them a race rather than a culture. The Jews along with gypsies, Slavs and homosexuals were forced into concentration camps where they either worked to death or died immediately by gunfire. Even after the war, when the Jews came back to their homes it was already occupied by people. One of the survivors came to her home and was kicked out by her neighbors, for they were brainwashed by propaganda and conformity to believe that Jews were lowlifes who deserved nothing. Peer pressure and conformity happens today to. Things like when a group speaks an obvious incorrect answer on a test, one is likely to answer the same way due to peer pressure and conformity. Another example could be today’s fashion trends.

            So to go against Hitler, you would basically be facing Germany and his secret police crew. I know some people smuggled Jews during the Final Solution (actual murdering of Jews). These people thought through their morals to help and consequences of getting caught. A perfect empire to them wouldn’t be so perfect if genocide had to happen in order to make it. Some people had friends who were Jewish and made rebel groups to fight for equal rights or die trying, which was similar to the American Revolution. Anyways, the Nazis were trained to kill anyone who would oppose Hitler. How this happened was simply through experience. In other words, they had to kill multiple amounts of people to adapt to the feeling. Once a Nazi killed a person, and then another, then more, it becomes like an adaptation. The sense organs decrease their responses, even the amygdala responsible for emotions, and will soon turn the Nazi into a cold hearted, impassive person. So it would be a great challenge to rise up against a whole political party, but the fact is that the Jews weren’t alone. America along with allies eventually won the Second World War and came in to liberate hundreds of workers. I met with one of them and he told me to never hate someone, regardless of their race. Then he said some other things like grow up to be strong or something like that, but overall the exhibition was interesting.

My Eulogy

Oscar Palomares was a Houstonian. He was born in the town in 1997 and he never truly left. At times he left to go to bigger places in the world, sometimes even lived there, but he always came back to the “H-town” he known and loved. Oscar said the city was in his genes, engraved in his soul, and there was never any doubt about where he would retire. Oscar grew up in Cypress and expressed his love of music by joining the church and school choir and competing against other schools, coming back victorious. Oscar was a song writer and musician back in his twenties. He performed at concerts and stages around the country. From time to time, he came back and the family would go out on the town for movies and the Galveston beach. 

Oscar went to school at Baylor University and studied medicine. The visions that he had, hoping to change the world, wanting to find cures for such common and fatal diseases. He worked at the Memorial Hospital in Houston. He had an interest in studying the mind: all of its weaknesses, strengths, phenomenal abilities, and how it connected with the rest of the body. In 2020 he discovered a surgical cure for deafness in adolescents and adults, and helped many in the fire of March 8. We will never forget that horrible event in history, it’s horrific visage lessened by Oscar’s deeds.

Oscar loved his work, and when he had time he spent every second of it with his family. He married a beautiful and elegant woman who was also an artist and pilot, Chai Koham, in 2021. The couple was, as they said, “a perfect harmony” in their song of life, walking through every measure and note together. They had two beautiful children, Xavier and Emily. Oscar and Chai were always there for their children’s tennis games, choir concerts and parent volunteering inside their school. Oscar was elated to know that Xavier would grow up to be an award-winning artist, and Emily a world recognized neurologist.

Oscar had many traits that we will never forget about him. Like his sense of humor was present in every situation. If he were alive here with us, he’d probably still have it present. We’ll never forget his strong determination to get things done, and his clumsiness. The times he would strive to be successful both in his studies and in his academics were unique about him. We’ll certainly never forget the weird facial expressions he’d make when trying to smile for a picture or laughing! Oscar liked to play the piano when he had time to himself inside his studio room. We’ll miss his way to help get our hopes up. Even if sometimes the effort put in wasn’t successful, it’s the thought that counts.

Oscar had an interest in a lot of things. Other than music, they would range from movies from his childhood days and searching for the pair of headphones that wouldn’t break on him for the first week to traveling around the world, meeting the people he thought he’d never even get the chance to when he was younger. He met his famous idols like Drake, Adele, Mumford & Sons, Lil Wayne and Prince Royce, proving that this man was checking items off his bucket list. Although it’s not all of the desires he wanted, still it wasn’t disappointing to him. Oscar was very easy going in life, had almost no such thing as a bad day, but we are all human.

You could definitely tell he was happy, joyful, enjoying life, regardless of the faces, but now he’s gone and left this physical plain. All of us are going to miss Oscar, the days we spent knowing and being with him. But he is still among us. Maybe not physically, but mentally; beside us right now in spirit. His actions will be remembered for generations and will be told to his generations. August 20th, 2080. We are going to miss you, Oscar Palomares.

Critique for Good Will Hunting

The movie that I am critiquing is Good Will Hunting. Now there wasn’t an actual specific mental disorder or illness that I noticed throughout the film. What I did notice, however, was a specific event that happened in Will’s life, the main character, which would cause some damage or impairment to his mental state. He had an experience with abuse with his step father where he would beat him with a wrench. The severe trauma rendered him from taking the risk with decision making towards opportunities in his life, such as getting a job with higher pay and making progress in his relationship with his girlfriend Skyler. Will would push them back and abandon them before they could be able to.

There were only minor errors that I found in the movie that regarded the concepts went over in the course so far. One of them involved the therapist saying “Just because I teach the stuff doesn’t mean I know it” causes some confusion and makes me ask the question if he was really capable of holding therapy sessions with Will and be able to find out his problems. Another one of the errors was that people who had traumatic memories would try to use repression and push them far into the unconscious and would be revealed in therapy with the use of hypnosis, which didn’t work with the first therapists. The “bad memories” were revealed in therapy, but earlier in the movie Will still remembered and had it in his conscious state when fighting with Skyler. The other one I observed is that in Chapter eight in our textbooks, children who miss that part of development as an infant, the love and affection of a caregiver, often have serious cognitive and behavioral problems. The orphan in the movie, which I didn’t know he was until the middle of it, didn’t show the nature-nurture factors clearly enough to find what degree Will’s cognitive problems were really at. I think the movie would have been better if that was applied a little more. The way they showed Will’s behavioral problems like performing acts of violence in the park or his background of crimes that he committed really were clearly presented. But overall, the movie was not science fictional or anything of the sort.

Now the actors who played the parts in the movie were actually believable. The main character Will acted out the behavioral problems which is what a person with serious cognitive problems would do. Will also showed in the beginning of the film that he was inevitably a math prodigy, but still presented something emotional was holding him back. An example shown in the textbook was taking out anger or feelings on another person or him/herself. An exact replica of that would be the scene at the park where he ambushed the group’s leader who used to bully him back in elementary school. Another reason he was believable was when Skyler was fighting with him, he easily said he didn’t love her. This could be relatable to the Romanian orphan Alex who said “No, I don’t love anybody.”

Sean, the therapist who revealed Will’s problem, did play a believable therapist. Although he has different methods which he carries out during his sessions, the therapist was successful with Will’s problems not only because of his knowledge, but because of his personal experience with his alcoholic father. He would come home and beat Sean so he wouldn’t go for his brother or mom. Also in his profession, Sean gets Will to trust him to be able to reach further into his unconscious finding the problems with his actions.

I am going to discuss further into the “illness” that was described in the film. When Will is older after the abuse, he takes the form of affection and loyalty from his friends. The fact that they would back him up in any situation, even when facing the judge (even though he was the only one there) would fill in the hole that was supposed to be filled with the years of care he got from his parents. Now he has the fear that when faced with a risky decision, he would just quit right before the decision could backfire, so he wouldn’t get any hurt feelings. His problem leads to the conflict of the film where he goes to resolve the mistake he made with his relationship with Skyler, for the mistake he made was saying that he didn’t love her so that he wouldn’t get rejected by her.

Will’s problems with abuse weren’t really treated, but in the end where he goes to California to fix up things with Skyler could be counted as working on it. I guess the way to actually work on problems with abuse would probably be building trust with new people so that these problems would not worsen. For example, a person that would help him with trust would be Skyler or his therapist Sean. Those people would help enhance his resiliency. Also the therapy sessions that carried out during the entire film would also help his “illness.”

The overall plot of the movie left me feeling both surprised and feeling relieved. When Will the janitor knew his ability of mathematics but didn’t pursue it as a career was an impressive twist to me. I thought it would have been predictable to let the movie end with him winning the award like some movies today. Also the themes of self love, friendship and trust help him overcome the difficulties within his past and enjoy the outcome of his future. This movie impacted me by making me think about my friendship and trust with all my friends. I don’t make friends to fill the hole in my heart because of abuse and neglect, but I should let them trust me just as I trust them. The themes apply to our lives and can help us think about the obstacles we face in our everyday lives.

I like the setting of the movie and how they let someone who had a low paying job, barely small home and father issues have a gift to “just do” math easily like Beethoven with music. The way they start Will with his friends living their everyday lives really helps the setup of the story. Overall, the movie was pretty spot on our concepts of psychology, had actors who played a major role in carrying out the plot as believable, and really helped describe the effects and symptoms of abuse, neglect and abandonment. Good Will Hunting is the kind of movie that teaches us to love ourselves, trust others in friendship, and be strong when facing obstacles in our lives.

Reflection Paper for Carnival

My part in volunteering at the carnival was to help with set up and to start a shift at the “Treasure Dig Booth” along the strip of games at the edge of the carnival. I noticed when I look back at it is that the children who participated were in this sort of spectrum of curiosity. Some cases, one child would dig through the dirt and be satisfied with the first object they found. Others would keep digging to find more interesting prizes, showing their enhanced sense of exploration during the second stage of Erikson's psychosocial theory. This all depended on how the parents' wishes were set, and their parenting style. One kid came up to the booth five times (I was shocked to even see business at this booth!) and ask questions about what to expect when searching through the brown artificial dirt. He asked questions such as "Are there any special prizes at the bottom?" I said I didn't know, but then he pulled up this enormous shell and I was again shocked. Multiple amounts of children with their moral reasoning level were noted and also influenced their behavior at the carnival. Some children grew impatient and started digging without paying the ticket amount or having thought about the other children in line. One child kept looking for items in the dirt, exceeding the prize limit per person.

A lot of the parents were a little permissive with their parenting style, often standing a distance from their child to be focused on other issues. Although some parents weren't involved in encouraging the child's sense for adventure or negatively reinforcing the rules of behavior, some of the children were independent enough to analyze the situation visualized with their abilities equivalent to an adults. One child who introduced herself as Emily waited in line patiently (unlike the others) and first inquired about the rules of the game with a pleasant grin. The parent was greatly involved in the child's participation by encouraging her to find the prize and telling her to bury the prizes she found, but didn't want. The way young Emily acted during the game was shaped by her mother's parenting style, and the nature-nurture factors that played in her surroundings from the time she was born to the atmosphere around her that day.

Not one child was under the age of 9 months, due to the fact of not seeing the toys through the dirt, therein making it out of their minds and reducing their interest in playing the game. By the time the children have learned the concept of object permanence they would have an increased interest in the game. Assimilation and Accommodation play a role when the kids play this search game. For example, one child’s past experience with dirt and sand may learn either that there’s something buried inside the sand, or the sand might be covered in germs and would cause them to feel uncomfortable. One small kid didn’t want to touch the dirt because it made his clothes get covered with the stuff, for the mother refused to let her child to break her wish of keeping her child clean. I gave the kid a prize from the bag instead of letting him continue to play in the make believe sand. The option between digging in the sand and getting a prize from the bag also aided the child’s development in moral reasoning. By giving him options, that might make him think about doing the right thing according to the parent’s rules or their interest in exploring the tub of sand.

I saw other attractions with children eagerly waiting to ride such as the inflatable. The present colors and their past experiences with inflatable objects will help them decide whether to get on the ride or not. When I saw the line for the slide, I confirmed that most children were attracted to the ride. This also was influenced by nature-nurture factors and by the child’s parents’ parenting style. The style could have been Authoritative or Permissive.

The parents’ stage in Erikson’s theory was somewhere in between the sixth or seventh stage. There was a secure attachment between the kids and their parents throughout the duration of my shift at the carnival. It’s easy to see that generativity was applied to the event of the carnival from the parents, volunteers, and the community with its staff members all aiding the younger generation develop worthwhile, meaningful, mentally and physically healthy lives. My part helped them experience new things or giving them a challenge for a reward. In conclusion, volunteering at this event did aid in the healthy lives of all the children who attended.

Journal Entry 3/5/13 (15)-H-town dreams

I've had this dream a lot of times in my life. At 10:00 pm I fell asleep and dreamed I was in the Toyota Center performing live in front of hundreds of thousands. The colors and lights were so vivid, but when I sang nobody said anything. I saw them all cheering, but nothing audible came out of their voices. Oh well, they liked it from telling the look on their faces. After the concert I always get lost backstage and end up running into my mom where she slaps me upside the head and I wake up at a random time. Sometimes at 5:00 am to times like 3:00 pm (I like to sleep). All the theories could be possible for this one. I mean the concert represents what I've always secretly wanted to do, and my mom dissapproving is the obstacle in front of that. The bizzare hallucinations were the inaudible amounts of cheering and clapping from the spectators. Thus, concludes these jounal entries.

Journal Entry 3/4/13 (14)- Movie night!

I fell asleep a little early because of school tomorrow (spring break is near!). At 9:00 pm I fell asleep and dreamed about the movies. Tinseltown over on 290 was the only one I liked. The prices were low and I could be able to make it there in like 30 minutes. So I'm inside the theater and decide to movie hop, and usually the staff doesn't mind when I do it in real life. All the seats were either empty or had all my classmates sitting in. I guess they got the idea of movie hopping too. Anyways, I sit next to my best friends, Whitney, Dylan, Emily, Saayid and Maurica. The movie that came on was Silver Linings. Instantly I wanted out of the movie, but my friends didn't want me to. I tried to make myself wake up by thinking it was a dream (guess what, it really is!). This always works like an escape pod from my dreams. At 3:30 am I rose from my bed to go drink some water and some pain pills when I see my mom watching netflix. We watched until 6:00 am. I think that this applies the theory of extensions of waking life because I went with the friends listed earlier just this weekend. I guess it would be cool if more of them showed up, so it could be like a party at the movies.

Journal Entry 3/3/13 (13)-Running

I slept around 10:00 pm as I usually did before this project and dreamed that my dog ran away. I saw through her eyes the entire neighborhood. At the park, she jumped on the see-saw and ran through the jungle gym. The sewer system was to the left of it, and she soon started running towards it. I thought she would run into the pipe system, but then she started flying. It was bizarre to see myself as my dog flying over the forest and soaring all the way back to the backyard. When she landed, I saw her run into the house, harass the cat, and went to sleep back in her bed. Right when she laid down I saw myself come in and greet her. This is definitely a bizzare dream. Is that where she runs off to every day? Or is that where she wants to go? Oh well, this ties to the theory of activation-synthesis though.

Journal Entry 3/2/13 (12)- Patriotic sea voyage

My mom told me that I'm going to start working at her new tax business as Uncle Sam standing outside with an advertisement poster...yay. I fell asleep at 9:00 pm after taking some pain pills at 7:00 pm and dreamed about the statue of liberty. She was in the middle of the ocean surrounded by fish and boats. I was in a boat with my mom and sister. We were all working to keep the boat sailing and bring in fish with the net I made. At 5:00 am I woke up to plug up some holes in the backyard fence before my brother puts the dog outside. I returned to my quarters at 5:30 am to continue sleeping. This time the statue of liberty was directing fish into the boats. We made a great haul too. About two thousand dollars for our first day. I woke up at 6:30 am to eat breakfast for the first time in years. The theories that connected with this one was extensions of waking life and Freud's theory of dreams due to the symbols, lady liberty and the boats with fishes, represent customers and businesses with the patriotic figure as me (no I am not dressing up as the statue of liberty) and the extensions theory connects because of what my job will be tomorrow.

Journal Entry 3/1/13 (11)- Gluttony

I slept at 10:00 pm and dreamed I was in Walmart looking for my brother. As I was searching for him, I saw some of the produce aisles was replaced with chips, soda and other fattening foods. The only vegetation in the store was the plants that they had for sale. Many of the customers there were entering the "produce" section and eating the merchandise to their hearts' content. When they were finished, each one had a horrifying heart attack and turned into a giant pig. My brother was eating in the section as well as everyone else! I threw him out of the store when he got sick and threw up all the food. The alarm woke me up in the morning and got me thinking. My brother's cardiologist came up with the results and said he needed to lose some weight before the night I dreamt the dream. That ties to extensions of waking life theory.

Journal Entry 2/28/13 (10)- Tripping

This was a rather short dream. At 10:00 pm I was sound asleep and dreamed I was running. Nothing special, just that I was running on a narrow line that seemed to have no end. I feared reaching the end of the line because then I had no control over my body and would result in falling off. That progressed for 5 hours then I woke up and watched television from then onto 6:30 am. Activation-synthesis and Freud's theory are involved in this one. The simulation was both bizzare and symbolizing to me what happens when I would get old and perish from this world.

Journal Entry 2/27/13 (9)-Lost...not really.

After finding out that spring break is around the corner of midterms, I fell asleep around 11 pm and dreamed I was running in a lush, green forest, looking for a house. When I reached the house, the roof was porous and the walls were painted red and brown along the sides of the house. Upon entering, I noticed the vines made holes for them to hang along an entire wall of the living room. The living room was the only room there, for the way upstairs was guarded by a hedge that sprouted rose thorns from its tendrils. The way to the basement was present across the empty room. Past the basement door was an enormous network of tunnels that extended for what seemed like miles. Every turn showed pictures of keys and doors, which lit up if their colors corresponded with each other. I was awakened by my alarm at 7:00 am before completing the puzzle. This was a dream that occured multiple times in my life and would end before the completion of the puzzle. I'm starting to think that maybe the network's purpose was not to be completed, but for something else. I think thatall three theories apply to this: Freud's theory of dreams for the symbols and objects that meant something, Activation-synthesis for projecting bizzare thought patterns, and extensions of waking life for picturing my old house at shady harbor.

Journal Entry 2/26/13 (8)-Pleasure Pier

I read myself to sleep around 8:00 pm this time. The setting was at the family condo at Galveston. When I left the building, my family met me there and we decided to go bike riding. A bicycle that could seat four people appeared across on the edge of the sea wall. We rode all the way to Pleasure Pier, and over there the sun was more bright. Usually the games over there are high priced and rigged, (that's what I think at least) but there seemed to be nobody there but us. I tried some of the games and won every single time, even if I knew I lost. The roller coaster was the only ride interesting to me, so off I went. At the top, I watched the entire ocean turn from blue to purple, signalling night time as the moon came to replace the sun. Lights were embedded in the tracks so I could see where I was going. The tracks bended and twisted to my thoughts as I dropped down at fast speed. After the thrilling ride I realized that I was dreaming and the surroundings around me started to fade again just like the last dream. I awoke with no disruptions at 7:00 am. This dream was actually more than just bearable, it was actually pretty enjoyable. This is the first time I can say the theory of Freud ties with this, along with activation-synthesis.

Journal Entry 2/25/13 (7)-Procrastination

I had another school work related dream. At 10:00 pm I went to bed and dreamed I was at school. Everyone was working like any other regular day. I looked at everyone's star chart and noticed that everyone was on track. When I finally arrived at my cubicle, the star chart belonged to me was only about 3/4 full. Mr. Pausky, our homeroom teacher, rised up from his chair and began ranting on like usual. At 8:30 am (dream time zone) he announced that it was the final day to turn in unit ten books. I was still only in units 6 and 7! I felt like having a heart attack. I recall working until my head spun and passed out. The time hit 2:30 pm: class is over. Suddenly an alarm rung with Mr. Pausky shouting "time's up!!!" The walls started caving in and I closed my eyes so hard, I could see nothing but darkness. I jumped up looking at the clock and saw 4:50 am. I stayed awake the whole time through until 7:00 am. In the real world, I've been studying and working nonstop and will continue to be able to make it through midterms. Extensions of waking life theory is majorly invovled in this due to the fact that it put me through a simulation of how I would feel if the end of the school year deadline reached me before I reached it.

Journal Entry 2/24/13 (6)- I'll do it later...

I listened to some music to help me sleep because it was like 1:00 am. I was in a house that was mixed up with some of my friends' houses. My middle school friends were inside doing this HUGE project that was due tomorrow. They had only three hours to do it, and it seemed impossible. As they were working, their bodies began to wither away because of the labor they were doing. I felt like helping them, but I had no control over my body to move and help them. I thought one of them would collapse of exhaustion for sure, but by the time the assignment was complete the shriveling shells that were my friends suddenly inflated back with youth and turned back to normal again (6:00 am I woke up to go to the bathroom). I fell asleep for a short time then woke back up at the times 7:00 am, 7:14 am and 7:40 am. You know what? My friends back then didn't ever procrastinate that severely before. I think they resembled me and my problem with procrastination. I ALWAYS do this with big major projects that seem to take more than a day to accomplish. That ends here. After midterms, I'm going to plan to plan for projects.

Journal Entry 2/23/13 (5)-Future

I came home around 7:00 pm from the Willowbrook Mall. I fell asleep at 9:58 pm after finishing my Eulogy. This dream oddly doesn't directly relate to the major issues in my life right now. I was in this sort of super mall, where few people were seen in any of the departments. I showed up at the entrance and went inside. The food court was packed! I couldn't describe how many people were in there. It was as if an ocean flooded five or six feet of the mall floors! I made my way out of the food court and into the stores. At a clothing store I found a little child that was depressed because he couldn't purchase anything until the next holiday. I felt confused because spring break was growing near us. I looked at the nearby calendar over the counter of the oval-shaped help desk in the middle of the store and found that it was completely blank. I flipped the pages and found nothing but the feeling of illness and anxiety. I dropped the calendar and ran out. I ran into a store that appeared to be a candy shop and found it also packed with people. I literally had to walk on top of people's heads to move around. The candy dispensers and containers were empty, yet there's people around? I found an elevator at the end of the room, and fell into it. There was 3 floors to choose from, and each one made me feel curious to find out what lies in each store of each floor. I pushed the ground floor button and the elevator dropped at an alarming rate. I felt afraid that I was going to die in there, when a huge thud came from the floor. The doors opened, and a tall, pale man wearing a black suit and tie came in. I tried to look behind him. There was complete nothingness outside the doors. I introduced myself, but he didn't respond. His face was faded, as if he were wearing a mask with its paint smeared partially off. He pushed a button that I haven't seen before: a red button. Then the room suddenly went black and I saw him. The face was completely gone and his arms extended to abnormal proportions. A whisper came to my ears that said "This is where I died, and it will be yours too." A painful ringing sounded in my head that I couldn't silence. I tried to get out, but I was trapped in an elevator. The man somehow knew I had a fear of elevators. I yelled out "I'm dreaming" and repeated it until I woke up at 7:40 am in shock. The fear of elevators is definitely in there, and I think that the theory of extensions of waking life are involved in this dream as well. I got the fear of elevators from when I was 8 and a group of kids started jumping on the Galleria Mall elevator while I was in it, causing it to somehow stop. We were trapped in there until the doors opened back up. There was a red button that set off an alarm while you held it. The feeling of fear generated while I was in there. I guess that's how I got my fear of elevators. The mall always to me was kind of like my "safe place."  Tomorrow I have to work on this fear, I hope there's no red button.

Journal Entry 2/22/13 (4)- Throw back dream

I stayed up studying for my upcoming "midterms" for high school until midnight. Then my mom yelled at me to go to sleep. The dream was so vivid, and I swear I could actually smell a few things while I was in there. My old house back in Cypress when I look back at it was the best house I ever had. The location was close to all my friends, the pool was working great and the garden was enormous. I dreamed I was swimming laps in the pool feeling the water splash on my body as I gasp for air and push my body for sixty more laps. I could smell the chlorine it used to have, yet I could smell it even from below the surface! After swimming I woke up at 2:00 am to go get some more blankets (I was really cold) and read myself to sleep at 2:30 am. The book was "To Kill A Mockingbird" by Harper Lee. Back in my old neighborhood dream (I knew that I was dreaming) I thought about Cy-Woods High and in an instant I seemed to have teleported inside the entrance of the school. All my friends were there to welcome me back and the teachers who I knew surrounded the outer part of the crowd. We had a pep rally and I smelled popcorn, for they always gave popcorn during these types of events. Then I felt like I had control over my dream since that popcorn became present in a bag in my hands. Everything was nice until I realized I was dreaming. When I focused on that thought, the dream faded. My alarm woke me up at 6:30 am to walk the dog. That was a very pleasant dream. The first one in a while. I guess the move last summer really made me feel homesick. I secretly want to move back to the old house because now we live in a smaller house where we have to share rooms and bathrooms. This really involves the theory of extensions of waking life.

Journal Entry 2/21/13 (3)-Skyfall

Another sky dream. When I fell asleep at 9:50 pm, I was flying through the sky populated only by clouds. Although it seemed nice at first, the clouds somehow began to deepen and grow darker as I drew closer to them. I tried to stay away from them, because in those types of dark clouds a storm is bound to happen. But there were too many surrounding me. Soon I began to sink down, falling again to my doom, yet I still felt it was different. After making my way through the storm clouds I could see my house in the distance, flooded and constantly struck by lightning. I instantly thought about my family, then my heart sank. The ground that grew near turned into an ocean, and I plunged into the depths of it. When I surfaced, the scenery was vivid: not a cloud in the sky, the waves weren't even choppy, and the sun was bright. My house survived, for I see my family rise up from the damaged roof feeling blessed for being spared. The theory for this one would probably be "extensions of waking life" due to the way the storm and flood reminded me of hurricane Katrina. I woke up at 6:00 am to walk the dog and get ready for school.

Journal Entry 2/20/13 (2)- Collapse

I fell asleep at 10:30 pm. I dreamed I was back in my house, but something felt different. I stepped out of my room to find my mom and dad back together and the kitchen designed like my father's house. It was like a mish mash of two houses. Pets and siblings were running happily around because they were planning on going on a vacation. At 3:00 am I awoke to drink some water, and then returned to bed. The dream up to this point was satisfactory until I took a look outside the window. The sky was falling, no, we were falling. Then everyone disappeared behind my back. Nobody was in the house except for my step parents standing in the middle of the room waiting for the house to collapse when it hits the ground. A huge rumble engulfed the room and the walls caved in. My mom and dad's divorce back years ago was depressing, but the odd thing is: I didn't recognize the step parents. I somehow knew they were, but they didn't seem like anyone I know. Activation-synthesis follows this dream because too many random things and occurrances were happening at the same time. A feeling of falling woke me up at 6:29 am followed by my alarm at 6:30 am. Time for school.

Journal Entry 2/19/13 (1)- Fine China

I fell asleep at 10:30 pm and dreamed I was somewhere in Asia. I could tell because the Great Wall was vivible through the windshield. I was driving an old fashioned vehicle away from a wave of gangsters in a car. There were bags of money in the back of the car, so I figured that's why I'm driving away from them. I quickly looked for a gun to shoot at them and located one in the glove compartment. I started thinking about my sister and then in an instant she pops up in the passenger seat. Already knowing the situation (I guess), she takes the tech 9 and starts shooting. We numbered them down to one car chasing us on the Great Wall. Now I realized we were low on gas and with only one bullet left. My sister aimed at the wheels of the car and blew the tire out. Next thing I know, the car flies off the wall and I wake up at 7:30 am right after because I wasn't looking and shortly after we fell off too. I knew I was dreaming at the start because I would never be driving a car on the Great Wall in Asia, so the theory would have to be a little bit of activation-synthesis and extenstions of waking life. It's activation because of the random location and bizzare events and extensions due to the fact that my sister and I are close and we drive home from school every day. Now I'll take caution driving anything.