As individuals develop, they interact with the surroundings that ultimately shape their behavioral aspects. According to Bronfenbrenner (2018), the ecological systems concept states that an individual’s development is shaped by the environment. From Urie’s concept, the family surrounding, amongst them, friends and close individuals, make up an individual’s surroundings and predict the behavior and activities. From the concept, various subdivisions such as the microsystem, the mesosystem, the exosystem, macrosystem, and the chronosystem all have an impact on the ultimate development. In this case, the emphasis is on the ecosystem and its contribution to development. I will be using my cases to justify in what way the ecosystem impacts people’s behavior and growth.
Self-Analysis of an individual as a System
I can attest that my zeal to survive in my new surroundings has been my family and my previous life experiences. The experiences during the recent earthquakes have reshaped my life, instilled hope, become hardworking and being self-reliable. The experiences during the earthquake contributed to a better realization of what affects me as an individual and perhaps the suitable way of overcoming and dwelling in a better surrounding. The earthquake was an overwhelming and life-changing occurrence that had a critical effect on my way of life. During the extreme events, many individuals lost their lives; most families became displaced and remained destitute. The numerous encounters remain frightening to me as I am affected continuously any moment disaster happens around the world.
Because of the horror encounters, I had no option but to relocate to another safe region to a different ecosystem as compared to one that I was familiar with. In the United States, the ecosystem was completely different as it involved having new friends and adapting to a different culture. At the age of 50, it is rather difficult to adapt to a new life as I only relocated with seven children and left the rest of my family behind. My children remain to be the source of motivation and the source of strength to live.
Self-analysis of the micro and mesosystems
Back in Haiti, I was surrounded by all family members as well as having a comfortable lifestyle. In this case, I may be considered to be wrong to attest that my life would have been better if I never separated from my family. During the earthquake, a majority of my family members included my seven children and were forced to relocate since the family I had was not the same. From Urie’s concept, members of a family are part of the micro-environment and play a crucial role in the development of a person. In Haiti, my family was the sole support system as the family’s success was attributed to the family’s unity. A family of fifteen was reduced to a family of eight as a result of the devastating effects of the earthquake, which left a big scar in my life. My children are, therefore, the source of motivation to achieve a better life. The vast distance between other members of my family and me is devastating, as it has resulted in a weak family bond.
Self-analysis of the macrosystem
In Haiti, things were good economically. My husband was a good accountant as he had achieved more in his line of profession. On the other hand, I was also working and managing the family’s business entity. In regards to my kids, house helps were readily available during that moment, making it easier to cater for my children in my absence. I never imagined myself stressed in life as I had, indeed, not perceived struggles except while watching the news on television.
Nevertheless, this drastically changed after the quake. According to Bronfenbrenner (2018), macrosystem shapes our principles and how we conduct ourselves in our surroundings. In this case, a good case is that an individual raised in an underprivileged household may get inspiration from such a macrosystem to work harder to accomplish their goals. Moreover, I believe that the struggle to persist economically in the aftermath and my relocation to the United States changed me from on one occasion, a “King” to a “help.” It changed me as it made me more dynamic and had bigger dreams of achieving the best for my family while in America. In most cases, I am considered to be less optimistic. On the other hand, my negative nature of life vanished when I came to terms with what is meant by living the American dream. Since then, I am still struggling to achieve the best in a different environment.
Self-Analysis of Chronosystem
According to Hertler et al. (2018), the chronosystem is comprised of the evolutions and changes in an individual’s life. This can also include the socio-historical perspectives that may have an impact on an individual—for instance, a person who has separated. Occasionally, an individual who has separated either gets an improved life or worse life. Nonetheless, the changeover either from a better lifespan to an inferior life span or from a bad to a good life is a result of separation as the destiny. Such types of changeovers are what is defined by the term chronosystem. My life was enhanced as compared to how it was in Haiti. During this duration, I had the ability to afford school fees with less struggle. Moreover, I was part of a decent household that supported each other, and it was all achievable through friends. After the quake, things distorted and became worse. The family became economically unstable as a result of death and disruption within the family entity. My switch to the United States made it wayward. In this nation, I have to continuously tussle to meet the basic needs and live a comfortable life. Although I have the opportunity to reintegrate my life, and it is no longer difficult compared to the point of relocation to the United States, things have normalized as it was In Haiti before the subsequent quake.
Conclusion
Ultimately, I can affirm that I have struggled with life as I lay the blame on the tremor for reshaping my way of life. I had a good family with numerous friends and close members of the family. Nonetheless, my life took a different twist as a result of the earthquake that hit my Native nation, forcing me to relocate to another nation and start afresh with a new environment, friends, and culture. Although I have continued with some of the basic activities, things are no longer similar as compared to my country of origin.
