Consider...Isabella

Isabella is twelve-years-old. She lives with her mother (Bianca), father (Borys), and younger brother (Luca) in a row house in a downtown neighbourhood of Hamilton. Her parents bought the house twenty years ago, just after Borys and Bianca were married. The house is on a quiet residential street. Bianca’s father and brother (Isabella’s grandfather and uncle) live nearby. Bianca moved to Hamilton from Italy with her family when she was two-years-old. Isabella’s father Borys is of Ukrainian background, and he grew up on a farm 75 kilometers east of Calgary, Alberta, where his parents still live. Every summer Isabella and her brother spend at least a month on the farm.

Isabella is in seventh grade, likes playing soccer, and watching movies. Isabella and Luca often fight about what to watch on the television, since there is only one in the household. Isabella does not like to fight and argue. In fact, she tries very hard to avoid conflicts (except with her younger brother). Isabella has attended the same school since kindergarten and has two friends she has known since who live a few houses down from her home.

Isabella is tall for her age and has dark brown hair and eyes like her mother’s. She was born 7 weeks early, weighing 3.8 pounds after a stressful 7.5 month pregnancy for Bianca due to developing gestational diabetes. Isabella has not had a serious illness or injury besides falling down a few steps when she was 4-years-old. Lately she has noticed that her body is changing. Her breasts are starting to grow, and she wants to buy a bra.

At twelve, Isabella is already a skilled soccer player.  She is committed to developing her soccer skills and willingly practices each day. Isabella is on the school soccer team and has made a few friends with other players. Bianca and Borys try to attend as many games and practices as possible when they are not working weekends or overtime hours. Isabella’s commitment to soccer is intense. Her mother, Bianca, always wanted to play sports when she was younger but was discouraged by her parents and directed to focus on academics and housework. Since birth, Isabella has been exposed to her mother’s passion for sports, and her mother delights in Isabella’s soccer skills.