Comments | jchl: Pleased to meet you . . .

jchl

Pleased to meet you . . .

Feb 22, 2005 18:53

I was raised by tie-dyed wolves in the wilds of Northern CA, my hippy mother moved me and my brother to a bluff by the ocean to live in a teepee and be 'as one' with nature, it was very cold and damp among the elements- it wasn't long before we moved into a real house. My brother and I were barely cared for; we were given concepts and culture in ( Read more... )

Comments 17

Greetings! motleymuse February 27 2005, 02:21:09 UTC

I just had to reply to the other Joanna. :) What an incredible life story! I grew up in southwestern VA where my big hippie rebellion was wearing a tie-dyed t-shirt to high school. Congrats on setting on the road to fulfilling your childhood dream of college. Your last two paragraphs really speak to me--I feel very much the same way and it's why I'm considering a career change into psychology. I look forward to getting to know you better this semester.
-Joanna S-P

Re: Greetings! jchl February 27 2005, 03:33:30 UTC

:-)

jchl

a_glaude February 27 2005, 03:30:00 UTC

I must say that by reading your entry, am extremely intrigued, not only by your evident survival instincts, but by your interest. You seem to have come along very well. I also had a crazy upbrining, just in a different manner. As lenient as your parents sounded, my dad was like the gustapo. I highly commend you though and wish you the best of luck, not only in the class but in life as general.

jchl February 27 2005, 04:06:41 UTC

Thank you. It's very odd to introduce myself in this manner, usually I get to know people before I blurt out my life story. It's amazing how much of my life, although seemingly negative on paper, has taught me so many positive things. Gratitude is the first word that springs to mind, I take very little for granted as a direct result of my experiences.
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a_glaude ([info]a_glaude) wrote,

I also had a crazy upbrining, just in a different manner. As lenient as your parents sounded, my dad was like the gustapo.

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I know you meant upbringing, the other way would make you a pickle ;-).

Very few of us grow up in a *perfect* environment. My husband grew up like you did (very strict)and interestingly, ended up with many of the same psychological quirks that I did.

jchl

: ) hi there ( : bumblebee15 February 27 2005, 04:50:52 UTC

Your introduction is amazing you lead a crazy life you remind me of my friend she's in the same situation you were in involving drugs and wandering the streets I just hope she is able to turn it around like you did. Anyway I thinks it's so good you turned your life around and good luck in pursing your dreams i wish you good luck.

Re: : ) hi there ( : jchl February 27 2005, 07:53:23 UTC

Thanks for your comments... I wish I could tell you that there was some magic for your friend, but probably the best thing is to let it get bad, so your friend is really ready for deep changes. A lot of times friends think they are helping by 'rescuing' friends in that situation. Rescue attempts have to require work and the willingness to change on the part of the ill person, otherwise they don't tend to work. I had a friend that didn't make it off the streets after I cleaned up. We stayed friends, because I wouldn't let him borrow $$ or stay with me. I was happy to help him check into rehab or go to the hospital for treatment. I knew he was sick and I didn't look down on him anymore than I would look down on a diabetic. A lot of times people look at drug addiction/alcoholism as willful misbehavior. Like a person decides that they are going to be strung out when they grow up, or that a kid decides that the streets are better than their happy stable home with their loving family. Of course we know that isn't true, but we still tend to ( ... )

rainsmom February 28 2005, 01:50:04 UTC

Re: Happy Sunday!
rainsmom
2005-02-27 20:46 (from 4.33.194.69) (link) Select
I hear that! Since I'm what you call a black puerto rican, people usually get surprised that I am latina. People usually try to guess nationality with the color of one's skin. You'd be surprised how many people seem to be oblivious that latinos come in all shades. My daughter Rain is black,puerto rican, and mexican (she's all mixed up).But she's beautiful...My mom was black and my dad is puerto rican, straight out from San Juan. Where I hope to live one day. I want to visit this summer. I hope I can save enough to go.Any way Rain's dad is mexican, and people are shocked that he is mexican because he looks white and doesn't speak a word of spanish. It's funny how things look on the outside. People think my daughter is filipino. Crazy! Well,sorry if I bored you. I hope that you have a great day as well as a great beginning of the week.

jchl February 28 2005, 08:56:17 UTC

I figured it was Puerto Rico's flag, but I wasn't sure...Puerto Rico is a territory of the US, right? My sister-in-law is Puerto Rican, she lives in Rhode Island. The East Coast has a huge Puerto Rican population, Whenever any of my Mexican friends goes to the East Coast, everyone assumes they are Puerto Rican...Of course, people are generally pretty lazy about learning about other people's culture's and countries ( ... )

brace yourself, i am advancing... silentculture February 28 2005, 05:00:54 UTC

I figure, we either learn humor or humanity or we go sick in the end, and it seems you've learned a bit of both. In my later years I've become a fan of the theatrical cliff hanging moment, and as I read your narrative, I became envious that I hadn't written one of myself. Although our sensibilities might be similar, I think you're way funnier and smarter. Good way to kick this off!

-Joseph

Re: brace yourself, i am advancing... jchl February 28 2005, 09:17:24 UTC

Thanks Joseph...

I'm really interested in figuring out what makes survival possible for kids that come from my background. The development of humor and compassion seem to be key to promoting long-term well-being in all people, but are absolutely essential to people from backgrounds like mine. I guess because the early experiences have 'hard-wired' depressive tendencies into the brains of abused children and the only way to survive is to seek absurdity in everything around you, especially in the tragedies.

Re: brace yourself, i am advancing... jchl February 28 2005, 09:50:23 UTC

BTW, I tried to comment on your blog and I think you put your intro into the 'Bio' instead of 'journal entry'. It took some clicking around to find your bio, it's not on the main page.

jchl