My Journey Into Life

          From the very beginning, a part of me came from my father’s germ cell and another came from my mother’s. 

          As their germ cells met and united, several processes happened. As my other half, from my father, met the other half, from my mother, cortical reaction occurred to prevent other gamete entities from my father enter the developing “me”. After 24 hours, me, as a zygote, began to divide into many blastomeres until I can then be called a blastocyst. I can now say that although my mother cannot recognize or even feel my presence yet, I thank her for already nourishing me and, even though unknowingly, supporting my development. Also, I am thanking my father, though not knowing my presence in my mother’s body yet, for already working hard and doing the best he can do to prepare and support his future family.

          Within three weeks, I am implanted to my mother’s uterus. I am now a gastrula and I now have three germ layers. In the first month, my mother’s placenta developed and my primitive face took form. Also, my blood circulation started. Two months have passed and my first organs started to form through the process of organogenesis. My germ layers now develop into rudimentary organs. Other processes like neurulation, induction, cell migration and apoptosis also aid in my development until the eighth week and until then, I am called a fetus. In these times, my parents would have already noticed me. She said they felt several emotions all at once. They felt fear for the responsibilities of being parents. Although nervous, they felt happy as well because they will now be another parents in this world. Likewise, they felt excited to see their child and to have a chance to nourish and give out care. I am thankful knowing that they felt these emotions because of me. During the last days of the first trimester, I am now fully formed and even though my organs were already present, they are still maturing to become functional.

          In the fourth month, I can now be seen through ultrasound and my heartbeat could also be heard. My organ systems are functioning well and I can now do a lot of different things. By the fifth month, my mother felt my first moves and thought I was having martial arts lessons or perhaps ballet dance classes inside. And as the second trimester ends, I am 66% complete.

          In the beginning of the last trimester, I am just completing my final developments. I am now responsive to stimuli like light and sound. My brain is developing rapidly during these times but my lungs are still immature. But after the last month, my immature lungs became completely developed and I am now ready to leave my mother’s womb that nourished me for nine months. I am now ready to go out and face my new world.

          I was born on the ninth day of September in the year 2001. Many things have changed from the time I was born and I am now 16 years old, a teen and still maturing into adolescence. So much had happened and so much I had experienced. I had enjoyed this life that was given to me. And I want to thank all the people, family and friends that contributed to making this colourful and happy. All that I had said was my adventurous journey into life, yet, I am still travelling. I am still having an odyssey, gaining experience and making this life a productive and worthy one. I hope there would still be much in my future and I hope I can cherish it, learn from it and develop as I travel my “journey THROUGH life”.