sunshanny

[sunshanny]

BIOGRAPHY OF SHANNEN KYLE BLU CABITEN

Shannen Kyle Blu Cabiten was born on August 27, 2000 in Davao City, Philippines as a premature blue baby. She was incubated for weeks and went on continuous treatment until she grew a year older. Her mother, Annie Marie Cabiten, was not there to nurture during the first year in life of Shannen since she worked in Manila. Her father, Benjie Valdez, was also absent during those important times. Only her grandmother, Encarnacion Cabiten and her grandfather, Samson Cabiten, were there to take good care of the young Shannen. 

Shannen grew up in her grandmother and grandfather’s home along with her younger sibling, Angel Benedict Cabiten and was closer to them compared to her parents. Her childhood was mostly “violent and tragic”. (Cabiten, 2018) She had a very rough childhood due to her mother’s traumas and anger for her father that left them and displaced it all to Shannen with the influence of alcohol. “Whenever the word childhood is mentioned, some would remember fun and precious moments spent with their friends and families but mine will always be the opposite.” (Cabiten, 2015) 

She started schooling in a very young age of 3 and was accelerated to Grade 1 at the age of 5. No school from that time would accept a child that is 5 years old but thankfully, she was accepted at Rizal Memorial Colleges, with the help of her grandmother’s connections within the institution. Shannen was an achiever, always the first honor, and was an active President of their class for the first three years in Elementary. It all changed when she transferred schools at 4th grade. She studied at Tecarro College Foundation Inc. because it was just near their house but had difficulty in adjusting to the new environment. After she gained good friends and adjusted better, she continued to have good grades. She was one of the members of the Student Council of her school at her first year of high school. She went on leadership training and seminars for improvements. On her second year of high school, she transferred to Philippine Women’s College of Davao and became a complete different person. During her difficult adjustment, her grandfather, whom she really respects, died of a heart attack in front of her. “My grandfather was my father figure and he has a really huge part of my life. I love and miss him every single day.” (Cabiten, 2016) After that incident, Shannen became a complete different person. She mostly spend her time alone and would choose not to interact with others as much as possible. “I felt like anyone whom I became close with or anyone whom I love will eventually leave so it’s better to be alone.” (Cabiten, 2016) Despite being afraid, she met her bestfriend, Chloe Belle Mharrie Salazar and helped her cope with any problem that comes along the way. Unfortunately, Shannen transferred to another school, Davao Doctors College and took Humanities and Social Sciences as her strand. She initially wanted to finish the course International Studies Major in Japanese and go to Japan to work. When she graduated senior high school, she had no idea what to take up for college since her mother would not allow her. She then wanted to take up Optometry but because of financial problems, she can’t take her dream course. She got depressed because of the pressure her mother was giving. Her mother wanted her to take up Computer Science at University of Southeastern Philippines or Political Science at University of Philippines but neither of them were Shannen’s choice. Before the day of the enrollment, she finally decided and told her mother that she would try to take BS Psychology. It was not in her choices but “maybe it’s my destiny” (Cabiten, 2017) to take up Psychology. She took up her masters and doctoral at Ateneo de Davao University. She graduated happily and with full of gratitude to the people who helped her overcome her lifelong traumas and problems. 

Shannen was depressed even when she was a child and became worse because of academic pressure, parent’s separation, lack of love and nurture and the death of her grandfather. There was even a time that she locked herself up in her room for days and would not come out. She did not eat even a single meal and was forced to go out by wrecking her room’s door. She was told that they will send her to a mental hospital because they think she had gone crazy. Suicide was on her mind for a very long time and attempted a lot of times but there was still a “teeny tiny hope” (Cabiten, 2020) inside her that made her continue her life. She experienced a lot of heartbreaks due to failed relationships but there was one specific failed relationship that made her learn a lot of lessons and realize things in life. It was because of her one great love and heartbreak, Huey Aaron Rivera, that made her a better person for herself and not for anybody else. 

 Along her healing and transformation to a self-actualized person, she finally met her significant other. She married him at the age of 29 and had two children with a five year gap. He helped her along the way and eventually became her healthy ideal-self. As they were both doctors, they built their own clinic which started off as family friends or close friends as their patients. As their clinic became successful, improvements were made, such as new facilities and workers. Doctors of the clinic were Shannen’s college close friends, Christian Julius Mascariñas, James Hupért Nuenay, Adrian Francis Emmanuel Gementiza and Lyle Florence Bangot. As Shannen was handling the clinic and treating patients for a long time, she learned that “Life is indeed mysterious. One day, you were just struggling with your destiny with all your might as if you were lost and then here comes another day, wherein you have already reached your fate or destiny in life in which you are happy and now contented. We really never know unless we continue.” (Cabiten, 2020) At old age, Shannen and her husband retired and left their clinic to their children since both of them also pursued the field of medicine. They retired in peace and traveled to many countries. In Canada, they spent their remaining days together, contented of everything life offered to them. Shannen eventually died of a heart failure at the age of 87. 

[sunshanny]

THANK YOU!

Just like what I mentioned, everything comes to an end. I really enjoyed having classes in this subject and our beloved Ma’am Sheena even made it more fun. It’s as if we were not having a class but we were slowly opening up to each other which is very helpful for me because I learned a lot not only about this subject but also about my fellow classmates. This class will always become memorable to me and will also be my favorite class. I’ve never felt so relieved while having  class and it’s the best feeling ever. Thank you Ma’am Sheena for being an inspiration to each one of us. The best teacher ever! ♥

[sunshanny]

DEATH

Everything comes to end and we will all come to this final stage, death. There are three kinds of death. The clinical death in which vital signs are absent but resuscitation is still possible, brain death in which vital signs and brain activity are absent and resuscitation is no longer possible and lastly, the social death in which family members and medical personnel treat the deceased person as a corpse. We will all experience the stages of dying proposed by Kubler-Ross in which denial comes first then anger comes next, then bargaining, depression and lastly, the acceptance. People who loved the dead person will grieve for a long time and even until their final breath due to inability to accept death of the loved one.

The very sad/happy inevitable final stage is death. Just like what I have mentioned in late adulthood, I do not want to have any regrets in this life and I just want to be happy when I finally face death. It is sad to think that each one of us will face it anytime and anywhere. It is not predictable unless there is an illness and the doctor will say how much time I have left, right? I want to be ready and relieved when this time comes. I wish for no more pain, no regrets and just plain happiness in mind as I finally bid farewell in this world.

[sunshanny]

LATE ADULTHOOD

Older adults are mostly in poor health. In the former stage, middle adulthood, it was mentioned there that illnesses will come out and as they grow older, the illnesses may become worse than before.  Hearing, smelling and seeing are slowly becoming hard to do since the organs are not functioning well unlike in the former stages. Memory will also become worse and diseases like dementia, Alzheimer's disease are common in this stage. Most likely, men are earlier to pass away than women. Couples spend most of their time with each other’s presence because elders know that they do not have much time left to enjoy each other’s company when the time comes.

I am aiming for pure happiness without regrets in this final stage. Just imagining a financially stable life, happy and complete family makes me want to jump into this stage immediately. I want my child or children to achieve the happiness that I am aiming. Not in this stage but a little earlier. I want to live my remaining times with my partner in life and just enjoy each and every second with him. Isn’t it everyone wish to have when we get old? In this life, I really do not want to think and just reminisce the times wherein I was in that very perfect moment to try something and I did not. I do not want to regret something I did not do. It is okay to regret something I did but not something I did not do.

[sunshanny]

MIDDLE ADULTHOOD

Middle-aged adults experience climacteric which refers to the years of middle or late adulthood in both men and women during which reproductive capacity declines or is lost. Menopause will also be experience by women and there are three phases which are the premenopausal, perimenopausal and postmenopausal phases. Illnesses will come out in this stage and osteoporosis is one of them. According to researchers, the total number of friendships is lower in these years than in young adulthood. Satisfaction in work should also be acquired in this stage.  Working or having a stable job is important in this stage since it is almost time for retirement and people in this stage is expected to be financially stable.

I just hope that everything will be all right when this stage comes. I know that things will not go smoothly according to my plans but at least I am hoping that it will all be okay. I plan to have a great family in this stage wherein my current circle of friends is still in touch with me. Financially stable is my greatest goal not just in this stage but also in the young adulthood stage. It is because I wanted my family not to become stressed and problematic in terms of finance. I really do not believe that money cannot buy happiness because in order for us to acquire our needs and wants, money is always required.

[sunshanny]

EARLY ADULTHOOD

Young adults perform better than do the middle aged or old on virtually every physical measure. Compared to older adults, young adults are greater in terms of physical features, eyesight, hearing, immune system and others. Sexually Transmitted Diseases are also in this stage since some of the people are engaging unhealthy or unprotected sexual intercourse. Since people in this stage mostly have an intimate partner, there may also be problems depending on the individual, such as partner abuse and it may be physically or emotionally and sexual violence. Having a puppy love at first and turns into an intimate relationship and finally the marriage. Most of young adults are married or bearing a child most probably because of the pressure of the social clock.

I am currently in the early adulthood stage and 19 years of age. I am quite excited and worried in this phase since this is where people mostly graduate, have jobs, have kids, marry and etc. Yes, I know it is the social clock pressuring me which we were taught not to be but still here I am. My batch was supposed to be graduating or 4th yr. college already but A MAJOR THANKS TO kto12 which was a failure and just a waste of time and money in my opinion, we are still in 2nd yr. college! I am supposed to graduate when I am 19 years old but unfortunately, I will graduate later than I expected to be which is when I am 21 years old. I have lots of great plans for me in this stage and I am hoping that I will achieve those to have greater middle adulthood life.

[sunshanny]

ADOLESCENCE

This stage is where bodies are forming into “adult-like.” Puberty and sexual behavior also happen in this stage. In girls, menarche happens in which it is the first menstruation. While for boys, spermarche happens or it is the first ejaculation. Since sexual behavior happens, adolescent pregnancy is prone to females in this stage. Heightened level of sensation seeking also happens that leads to recklessness. Risky behaviors of adolescents are common than other periods since they believe that it helps them gain peer acceptance and establish autonomy with respect to parents and other authority figures. Eating disorders are also common in this stage since adolescents tend to have lower self-esteem.

Finally, the time of being a teenager. This was the stage wherein my body changed a lot and I grew quite taller than before. I became more self-conscious and my first menstruation came unexpectedly. I was just inside my bedroom in my 8th grade and I was reading a fictional book. I was a bookworm because I recently transferred to another school which I don’t have any friends and I became lonely and alone most of the time. I spend my whole-time borrowing books from the library and read them. I can also read 4-5 books a week and that’s how lonely I was. Books became my friend and served as an escape from reality. It helped me overcome lots of challenges in my “moody” adolescent stage.

[sunshanny]

MIDDLE CHILDHOOD

In this stage, children become more skillful in activities requiring coordination of vision with body movements since their gross and motor skills improve. As they are very active in this stage, accidents happen quite often than the former stage. Children may also eat a lot or eat less resulting to an unhealthy weight. They have mastered the basic grammar and pronunciation of their first language and they also learn how to maintain the topic of the conversation. Self-esteem may grow or reduce due to their environment and strong friendships are also formed in this stage.

It is finally the time for the “almost-teenager” phase wherein i was very active in extracurricular activities. Every summer, i never failed to try different summer lessons such as guitar, swimming, karate, dancing and just name it. In this stage, I was focused on myself because it was almost time for puberty and i became self-conscious. Little by little, there were already changes in my body. Also, in this stage, i gained lots of friends but mostly boys maybe because all of the people in the house are girls and no boys. I became one of the boys and it was a lot of fun.

PS. I may look like I am 4 years old in my photos, I am 7 years old at that time.

[sunshanny]

EARLY CHILDHOOD

Early Childhood starts from 2 to 6 years of age. Height and weight of this period grow slower unlike in infancy. Brain growth, synapse formation and myelination continue in early childhood but at a slower pace than in infancy. They eat less and they still also require frequent medical checkups and immunization just like in infancy. Piaget mentioned that the theme of cognitive development in this stage is language acquisition but children in this stage produce only limited number of words and sentences. Attachment style of the children will be based on the parenting style of the parents. Most children at this stage play toys by themselves or with other children.

This stage is critical and a child is supposed to receive lots and lots of care and affection from both parents but this stage was the beginning of my problems. Every moment was traumatizing that until now, I cannot forget. A lot of things happened in my early childhood which obviously molded me into who I am now. I am quite thankful that it happened because I realized a lot of things. Not just simple things but things that are far deeper than you think. I don’t want my child to experience what I have experienced in such an early age and I will soon protect him/her from any similar situations.

[sunshanny]

INFANCY

Infancy is where synaptogenesis and pruning starts. Brain and nervous system of the baby develop rapidly during the first 2 years. Most of the mothers breastfeed their babies because it is healthier and full of nutrition. Infants get a lot of immunization and medical checkups because they are prone to different disease and are vulnerable. Cooing and babbling are their way of communication and it is part of the preparation for their spoken language. Different personalities are also formed according to their temperaments. Different attachment behaviors of infants to the parents are also based on the style of how their parents raised them.

When I was still a year old, my mother went to Manila to work and my father RARELY comes to mommy and daddy’s house to take good care of me because it was quite chaotic when my father comes since mommy and daddy doesn’t like him for mama. Fast forward, my mom went home and I did not recognize her. It took weeks for me to recognize that she’s my mother. Maybe mama got her heart broken because of that and decided to just stay here in Davao to work.  As months and years pass by, I became an infant that has separation anxiety because of it.

[sunshanny]

As an introduction to what we will be tackling about, here’s a picture of our lives. As we can observe from the picture, we have two genders: male from the right and female from the left. They started as babies and eventually, destiny made them find one another and grew old together. To conclude, we will be tackling about how our life started until death. This would be one crazy emotional ride so hold on and fasten your seatbelts! 

PS. maybe you’ll need some tissues

[sunshanny]

Introduction

Hello there! I’m Shannen and this blog of mine is made as a FINAL requirement for our Developmental Psychology class. Yes, final. I am both happy and sad that this class had finally come to an end. Happy because I came to realize a lot of things in this class with the help of Ma’am Sheena, one of the best teachers I ever had. Sad because we had to say farewell to our 10am to 12pm classes every Thursdays and Fridays. The lessons we tackled for quite some time is a very big help for me to understand myself better and to make myself “okay” again. Excuse me for being emotional and let’s get started!