Throughout the semester, I have been observing the concept of nature versus nurture. This may come across as a strange concept to focus in on, but so much has come to my attention lately primarily regarding the vitality of nurture in our walks through life. In my sociology class, we observed a documentary on a young girl named Genie (also known as the “wild child”) who had been isolated throughout her entire childhood. We may hear the term isolation and think of someone lacking friendship and peer groups etc., but Genie’s experience with isolation was far different than anything we could fathom. Starting as an infant, Genie’s father recognized that she potentially possessed a mental illness, and he felt that ignoring the issue was the best way to go about dealing with her situation. He took this so far as to strap Genie to a toilet seat in her room where she had no social contact with any human beings from 20 months old to 13 years old. When she slept, she was strapped into a sleeping bag with her hands and feet tied down. Her father even covered the windows of the room, which completely isolated her from society. She was rarely fed and had no concept of language in any way. The only sounds that Genie had heard were sounds from the bathroom next to her room. Her father would beat her for making any sound at all. Due to the fact that she had no contact with anyone, she missed her key developmental stages and could only communicate by making noise, which was fully discouraged by her father. She would; however, make noises when she was hungry or wanted attention. Overall, she lacked socialization. In order to scare her or shun her actions, her father would bark and growl at her in animalistic ways. Her body had become deformed, she could not speak, and she was essentially isolated from society around her. At age 13, she was discovered, and she immediately became a project to many psychologist and neurological doctors. They spent about five years attempting to teach her to speak and show her what society was. Imagine being Genie and just now seeing the outdoors for the first time or experiencing friendship and love. Essentially, Genie had now been given sight, sound, and companionship. When in public, she would grab onto people, point at things she liked, and knew no boundaries. Even 60 years later, Genie is still under care and relies on the help of others to adapt to society. Her biological age and her psychological age were on completely different spectrums. This seems like a morbid topic, but I think it speaks volumes on the effects of nurture on children. As a college student, this is the first time I have been away from my parents for such lengthy amounts of time. While my situation is nothing like Genie’s, I am experiencing the world for the first time without the guidance of my mom and the ability to see her anytime I need a hug or movie night. Genie, however, is experiencing this in reverse. Essentially, she is being introduced to nurture for the first time. As the semester goes on, I am seeing more and more into how differently I view the world when I am taking it on with more independence. With that, I began to think deeper into the idea of swapping the nurture factor later in life versus as a child. Genie had begun to develop relationships with her doctors, and finally had a sense of guidance in her life. Seeing how deeply she longed to learn words and understand the world around her, Genie exemplified to me the sense of nature within us. Her environment as a child was not in any way conducive to development physically, emotionally, or socially. I have tied this topic into the idea of college in the sense that even the slightest bit of nurture goes a long way. For example, a teacher seeking to ask about a students life, the ladies at the BLUU remembering our names from scanning our I.Ds, and having a roommate supply a hug when needed most. These types of experiences are what make a day in the life of a college student truly special. While the amount of people around us in college is far larger than high school, one would assume that we would feel nurtured at all times; however, without our family present, it is quite the opposite. Last week, for example, my mom cooked and cooked and cooked and brought me a fridge full of homemade treats and meals. Every time I opened the fridge, I felt the nurture of my mom even though she was not physically with me. This is an example of indirect nurture. Genie, required direct nurture from her physicians and therapist in order to make up for all of the nurturing she lacked in her younger years. Normally, at Genie’s age, adolescents are beginning to learn how to live without the need for direct nurturing at every moment. This, for example, is the phase that most college kids are going through currently. Genie, however, was experiencing this as a baby instead. What I have taken from all of this is the fact that nurture is so crucial to our development socially at a young age; however, continuing this nurture throughout our adulthood is what provides for a happy life. Learning to supply random acts of kindness to those around us will not only provide the needed nurture that those around us hunger for, but it will also allow us to build the relationships that we need in order to thrive. Attached is a video of Genie and her experiences with a childhood of isolation and her fight to gain socialization.
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