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Overview: Infants are learning the concept of trust with their caregivers. When infants' basic needs are met, they develop an understanding of trust with their caregivers. When an infant is not receiving the comfort they require, they can feel rejected.

Resolution: Trust

Reasoning: My ma quickly learned who I trusted and who I did not trust. She would only leave me with a select few and would never leave me with someone I did not do good with.

Supporting Example: My ma knew I trusted someone because my attitude changed. I would smile and giggle with people I trusted, and if I did not trust them, I would scream and cry.

Quote from Textbook: "Infants are dependent and must rely on others to meet their basic physical needs as well as their needs for stimulation and comfort."

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Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt (1-3 years old)

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Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt (1-3 years old)

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Overview: Toddlers are given their first taste of independence in this stage. They start exploring and trying new things safely. If the caregiver is fearful the child could hurt themselves, they may cause the child to feel shameful for wanting to try new things.

Resolution: Autonomy

Reasoning: When I learned had to walk, there was no stopping me. I would explore every inch of the house with no hesitation. Once I learned how to climb, it was game over for my parents.

Supporting Example: When I was a toddler and learned how to climb, I would continuously climb onto a chair to get to our kitchen island. My ma said that I slipped off the chair a couple of times and once I was done crying, I was back to climbing.

Quote from Textbook: "The toddler tests the limits of what can be touched, said, and explored."

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Overview: Children start taking the initiative to try new things, but if they are controlled too much in their decisions, it can lead to a feeling of guilt.

Resolution: Initiative

Reasoning: After only playing soccer and T-ball for the first part of my younger childhood, my ma signed me up for swimming. At first, I was very nervous but ended up loving it and continued to swim competitively for the next thirteen years of my life.

Supporting Example: If my ma never signed me up to try something new, I never would've found my love for swimming. My ma was my biggest supporter throughout my swim career. She made sure I was eating right twenty-four-seven and always had everything I needed to be successful.

Quote from Text: "To reinforce taking initiative, caregivers should offer praise for the child’s efforts"

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Industry vs. Inferiority (6-12 years old)

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Industry vs. Inferiority (6-12 years old)

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Overview: In the middle childhood area, children want to be successful and understand what that means, but if we nitpick what they are doing, they may feel a sense of non-importance.

Resolution: Inferiority

Reasoning: When my parents got divorced and my ma moved us away into a new school district, my sister and I had to start fresh. It was a tough transition because we went from a rural public school system to a very large public school system. I did not have the greatest guidance through this transition and also experienced bullying for the first time, which led to more problems down the road.

Supporting Example: At my new school I had to make friends, but no one was from the country so I felt that I had to change who I was to fit in. I ended up getting bullied and did not want to return to the same school, but my ma forced me to continue to go which led me to develop some mental health problems.

Quote from Textbook: "Erikson believed that if these industrious children can be successful in their endeavors, they will get a sense of confidence for future challenges. If not, a sense of inferiority can be particularly haunting during middle childhood."

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Identity vs. Role Confusion (12-18 years old)

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Identity vs. Role Confusion (12-18 years old)

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Overview: This stage requires middle-aged children to understand who they are as a person, while also accepting everyone else for who they are as well.

Resolution: Role Confusion

Reasoning: During this stage of life I moved from multiple different schools and it caused a lot of stress on my mental health. I went through some hardships and was in therapy trying to learn how to understand my emotions and understand myself more.

Supporting Example: When moving schools often, especially a different high school every year, it can be tough to form friendships. It also caused me to be confused about what I wanted to do in life and who I actually was as a person. With so much change and little stability, it was hard to understand myself.

Quote from Textbook: "When adolescents are apathetic, do not make a conscious search for identity, or are pressured to conform to their parents’ ideas for the future, they may develop a weak sense of self and experience role confusion."

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Intimacy vs. Isolation (Young Adulthood)

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Intimacy vs. Isolation (Young Adulthood)

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Overview: This stage is where young adults learn to create long-lasting relationships. Whether that is romantically, with friends, or family. If young adults struggle to form these relationships, it can cause the need for isolation.

Resolution: Isolation

Reasoning: I have always struggled with forming meaningful relationships, but I can say that I am blessed with a few very good friends. After graduating high school at seventeen, I immediately entered the workforce, and that hindered some of my friendships. I took my responsibilities very seriously and some of my friends at the time did not understand and that caused us to fall out of touch. At the age of twenty, I lost my father tragically and that caused me to shut down mentally.

Supporting Example: When my friends realized that I was working full-time and could not do as much, they stopped inviting me out and kind of just shut me out. I felt like I was not wanted around anymore and that caused me just to stop hanging out with everybody overall. When my father passed away, I went into complete isolation. I did not want to be around anyone or hang out with anyone because I had felt alone since the best relationship I had ever had was just suddenly gone.

Quote from Textbook: "In our 20s and 30s we are making some of our first long-term commitments in intimate relationships."

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Generativity vs. Stagnation  (Middle Adulthood)

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Generativity vs. Stagnation  (Middle Adulthood)

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Overview: This stage is for middle-aged adults to older adults who are asking themselves how they can help the younger generations. If they start to have negative feelings and question their contribution to society, it can lead them to feel static.

Resolution: Generativity

Reasoning: I think by this stage in life I will have years of teaching under my belt and that is all because I decided to go back to school at twenty-one. I have goals and dreams I want to reach in the field of Education and I want to make an impact on as many lives as possible.

Supporting Example: Deciding to go back to school after four years of being out of high school was a tough decision, but it made me realize I am capable of doing more than I ever thought I could. I am pursuing my passion so that I can help the younger generations pursue theirs. At some point in my teaching career, I want to move along to teach college students because it is a primal time in their lives. I want to be the professor they can count on to understand and teach them that we can not be 100% every day and that is okay.

Quote from Textbook: "The 40s through the early 60s we focus on being productive at work and home and are motivated by wanting to feel that we’ve made a contribution to society."

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Overview: In this final stage of life, we find ourselves looking back and either regretting our choices or reliving the best memories.

Resolution: Integrity

Reasoning: At the age of twenty-two I am already working on not regretting the things I have done in life, but turning them into lessons. I think by the time I am at the end of my wonderful life, I will have found joy in the smallest things, traveled the world, and loved my family, friends, and strangers no matter what. Living life with no regrets is a powerful statement, but a very true one.

Supporting Example: Being young and already having an understanding that life is what you make it is a huge accomplishment. It took me a lot of time and a lot of struggles to get where I am, but I know it is for a purpose. At the end of my lifetime, I want to look back and not think of the things I regret, but the memories I made. I think understanding that now is setting me up positively for the future.

Quote from Textbook: "We look back on our lives and hope to like what we see-that we have lived well and have a sense of integrity because we lived according to our beliefs."