Considering the Present
Karen James
PSY 202 Adult Development and Life Assessment
Dr. Dianne Bennett
October 18, 2014

Considering the Present Life is a journey that we all must travel. During each of our lives we have many experiences that have lifelong impacts on us. Two experiences I have had that has impacted my life is the births of my sons and the day one of my students had a seizure and stopped breathing. In this essay I will examine the influence of Bronfenbrenner’s microsystem and mesosystem (Mossler, 2013), analyze how learning from these experiences reinforced behaviors that are evident in my adulthood, and assess the impact of these experiences on my online learning. I first chose the birth of my sons because it was a major life change not only for me but for my family as well. The birth of my sons started a whole new experience in my life. Many lessons were learned through raising my sons. I had a much deeper understanding of what my parents went through raising me and my siblings as I went through it raising my own children. Having my sons taught me responsibility and what is really important in life. Next I chose the day one of my students had a seizure and stopped breathing because it was an experience that made me realize how short life can be. From that day on I learned to start appreciating the little things that went on each day. It also made me understand why some things are so important to learn. I often thought it was a waste of my time to take CPR classes because I thought I would never need it. This experience proved me wrong and I was so appreciative that I knew this skill and was able to help save a child’s life. Urie Bronfenbrenner proposed a theory of ecological systems that proposes we can best explain development in terms of the interaction between individuals and the environment in which they live (Bronfenbrenner, 2004). Microsystem refers to the daily environment (M0ssler, 2013). My daily environment was with family. I had 2 sisters and was raised with lots of family which to me explained why I would want to have a family of my own. Family had a large influence in my life. I believe this is why I got married and became a mother. If I had been raised where there were no close family ties then I would probably not have desired to have a family of my own. The mesosystem describes the interaction between