All development is contextual, meaning that development can occur in places like churches, communities, and businesses. Development can also occur within family members, a group of friends, or just with ordinary people. Development can be influenced by three major factors: normative influences related to age and normative history and non-normative life events. These influences can have a large or small impact on both the individual and their environment. Age-normative influences have biological and environmental factors that occur in a specific age group. Examples of biological factors are potty training and the onset of vocalization. Examples of environmental factors are entering kindergarten, learning to drive, and graduating from high school. An age-related normative influence that has occurred in my life is getting my license. When I was sixteen, I took a driving course and learned the art of driving. For Pennsylvania students, the course was not required, but if students took the course our insurance cost would go down. So I took the three-hour course for five days and learned all sorts of things about driving. I learned that driving a car is a weapon and can kill anyone and anything without hesitation, stay calm in any situation, including accidents, and always put your hands on the wheel between ten and two hours. Driving gave me greater freedom, but with that freedom came a lot of responsibility. For example, I would go to the grocery store when my parents needed something and I would take my brother to the bus, school, or sports practice. Basically, my life had become a journey on God's green earth. A good outcome for me was not having to pay insurance and not having...... middle of paper...... development is contextual and can change through large or small impacts small, just as people can be changed by good or evil. influences. As human beings, we are constantly changing due to our changing environment. As a result of these changes, three major factors can impact us: normative influences related to age and history and non-normative life events. These three factors can have a biological or environmental influence on an individual's development. An age-normative influence and normative history that occurred in my life was getting my driver's license at the age of sixteen and experiencing the legalization of same-sex marriage. A non-normative life event I experienced was being adopted from Russia at the age of eight. All these influences have impacted my development and my character in one way or another and have made me the person I am today..