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This stage of life like all of them is very important. This is the stage where the infant decided whether they can depend on you or they have to depend on themselves. The infant will stop crying if they know you has the care taker will not come and sooth them when they cry. The book mentions that "a care giver that constantly meets these needs(a sense of trust, stimulation, comfort) instills a sense of trust or that the world is a trustworthy place." If you were never picked up or comforted as a baby you most likely have trust issues.

I personally did not have the mistrust. I think I ended up with trust, because I was in a loving home with my mother and stepdad. From what I saw with my younger siblings they seemed to care for the children, and based on what I was told has a child I could tell that they always came to my side when I cried.

Of course I don't personally remember this stage, but based on what I remember about my mother she really cared and had a kind heart.

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Autonomy vs shame is the stage most know for potty training. This is also when the child is walking grasping for thing, cooing and babbling. According to the book 'an interest in independence or autonomy replaces a concern for trust" They are also testing everything to the limit. I find it interesting at children this age mimic what the adult does, and sometimes what they say. I ended up with shame and doubt about my body and bodily fluids. At this time I was more with my father and he like to beat me when I wet or pooped on the bed( he was a very old fashioned man), but when I was with my mother she never shamed me, she and I would end up just cleaning the mess up and she would never punish me. Unfortunately my fathers shame carried more weight than my mothers autonomy. I wet the bed until I was 8 years old. This was also due to the fact that toilets were outside, and you never knew what or who was waiting for you outside at night. I was also punished from a very young age when ever I wet the bed. Overall I ended this stage with a sense of Doubt and shame.

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This stage of life children are exploring. They are learning to be human being. They also need a lot of praise so they know when they are doing a good thing. the book says that "to reinforce taking initiative, caregivers should offer praise for the child's efforts and avoid being critical of meses or misstates" In my case I was always criticized with everything that I did nothing seemed to be good enough for my Jaja(grandmother) and my father. They would let me sometimes play and make misstates though play, but when it came to actually things they would never let me make misstates. They would also criticize me for my grades and my choice in making friends. Overall this stage of my life ended in guilt. If I spend this part with my mother I feel that I would turn out different.

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This stage of is mainly known for independence. Children are becoming more interactive with the world around them. They want to do things themselves, and most of their brain starts to shed off more of the nerves that they are not using, but their is also a lot of pressure to learn totally new skills. In this stage of life I leaned more towards the industry. I had to learn a new language, but in the process I lost the language that I previously knew. The book says that "the bilingualism of many students is unbalanced in the sense that they are either still learning English, or else they have lost some earlier ability to use their original, heritage language." I unfortunately was one of the few children who suffered, because only one other person spoke my language and she was also trying to fit in. I also had to assimilate, so that I did not seem weird or be behind. This stage of life was difficult, but I was determined to not be made fun of, so I assimilated. School was a priority and I had to get good grades, because at a young age it was ingrained in us that if we did not get good grades, then we bring shame to the family.

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This stage of life is in my mind one of the wieldiest and hardest. You are not an adult, but you are not a child. People are asking you what you want to be, and on top of all that puberty is messing with your body and mind. You not only figuring that our, but you are also figuring out who you are. They mentions this saying "adolescent’s main task is developing a sense of self. Adolescents struggle with questions such as “Who am I?” and “What do I want to do with my life?”" This stage for me was odd at the beginning. I was not sure who I was. I was a black kid living with white parents. I am African, so I did not fit in with the African Americans, but I also did not fit in with the white kids, because I am black. This did not help at all, because I was confused with my identity. At the end I figure out who I was and I decided not to fit into other peoples molds of me. I'm skill not sure what I want to do with all my life, but I have figured out who I want to be and who I don't want to be.

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This stage of life is mainly known for the ability to be in a relationship of ignoring intimacy, because of the past. Since I am at the start of this stage in my life, I feel that I will be more intimate than be isolated. To me intimacy is not just a relationship that you have with your partner, but its also one that you have with your friends and even children. This stage is going to be difficult, because being intimate is allowing others to care for you and trusting people, and that is really hard for me to do. The book mentioned that "if other stages have not been successfully resolved, young adults may have trouble developing and maintaining successful relationships with others" I think that in the end my past will unwind and I will be able to trust again. It will take a lot of time but im willing to put in the effort and time to fix my past.

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We really do get to make a difference in this stage of life it is when most people are parents. It is when you either celebrate the new generation and support them, or just do nothing. In this stage of my life I will be doing everything I can to help the future generation. I want them to live on a planet that cares for them, and that is also safe. Since the future generation could include my own children I want it to be one of the people that helps out the future generation. So I believe that I will be more generative than stagnate. No matter how old I get I will always be doing things to help out our future generation. When I looked to to find the definition of generativity the book gave me the following "Generativity involves finding your life’s work and contributing to the development of others through activities such as volunteering, mentoring, and raising children. During this stage, middle-aged adults begin contributing to the next generation, often through caring for others; they also engage in meaningful and productive work which contributes positively to society." This is exactly what I hope to be doing when I get to this stage in my life. I want to mentor and raise the future generation.

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This is the last stage of Erickson and one that is the saddest. People are looking back to their life and wondering if they really had the best life they could. They either wish they had done more or they look back and are so gratefully of the decisions that they made. I think that I will be more towards integrity than despair. I am trying to live my life to the fullest even now. I will hope to be proud of the person that I have become. I also hope that when I am at this stage of my life will have family that is all around me. In the end I want to "feeling a sense of contentment and accepting others’ deficiencies" which is a great quote from the book. I also don't want to hold on to what I can't I want to hold on to the memories.