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Stage one of Erikson’s psychosocial development theory is trust vs. mistrust. Infancy is the first stage. Many may believe this stage doesn’t affect a person, but it does. During this stage a child can’t tend to their own needs, they need someone to take care of them. The infant trusts their caregiver to take care of them and supply all their needs for example when they are hungry, when they are tired, and when they are uncomfortable. If the infant doesn't receive the care they need, this will cause the infant to not trust people. As stated in the book "The mistrustful baby cannot count on the kindness and compassion of others, so she protects herself by withdrawing from people and things around her."(Berk, 2018) But if their caregiver tends to all the infants need then they will have the virtue of hope. They will have hope and trust people.
After reviewing this I can happily say I was successful during this stage. My parents were always there for me and supplies all my needs as an infant. As an adult I get along with everybody, and I trust everyone and expect the best from them.

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Autonomy means independence, which for many parents may be a bad thing because they are used to doing everything for their child. This is the stage where the child starts getting potty trained, and they want to be independent. It’s very important for the caregiver to allow the child to discover who they are because this will lead them to be self-confident. As stated in the book "A self-confident, secure 2-year-old has parents who do not criticize or attack him when he fails at new skills—using the toilet, eating with a spoon, or putting away toys." ( Berk 2018) If the child is not allowed to experience and explore new things, then this can lead them to feel feel shame and they will doubt their own abilities to accomplish things in life. If the child is successful, then this will lead to the virtue of will. The will and ability to try new things without being worried of failing.
As a toddler my parents allowed me to explore and discover new things. I was a very outgoing toddler and not scared of trying new things. As an adult there may be certain things I am worried of trying but I know I can trust my parents and go for it.

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During this stage children love playing and love taking the initiative to do things that they need. As stated in the book "They are eager to tackle new tasks, join in activities with peers, and discover what they can do with the help of adults." (Berk 2018)  If a child is not allowed to explore and learn freely, they will feel guilt. This can lead the child to not trust in themselves and they won’t want to try new things when they get older.  But when they are given the opportunity to explore, they will have the virtue of purpose. The child will trust in themselves. Something to keep in mind is that their needs to be a balance and not just let the child go and explore everything.
This stage was kind of hard, I dont remember much but I can state that I can try new things that I haven't tried before. Some things may take a little longer but once I get the confidence and courage I will try it.

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During this stage children are in elementary school and they learn to read, write and do more things on their own. Parents, teachers and adults should encourage children when they take the initiative to accomplish something new or when they accomplish something on their own. This will lead the child to begin to feel industrious and he/she will believe in themselves. When the children feel industrious, they will want to try new activities, sports and clubs. But when a child doesn’t receive positive praise when they accomplish new things the child will begin to feel inferior; he/she will doubt their own potential to accomplish things on their own. As stated in the book "The danger at this stage is inferiority, reflected in the pessimism of children who lack confidence in their ability to do things well" (Berk 2018). The virtue will be competency.
This stage was difficult for me. I wasn't praised when I was growing up, I was just expected to do them and be successful. As an adult I kind of walk around egg shells, I am terrified I am going to be a disappointment if Im not successful in activities I am doing.

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During this age group Erikson states that adolescence re-examine their choices and the identity they choose for themselves, they start to question who they really are. During this age group the biggest question is, who am I and what do I want to do in my future. This stage is when they start middle school and go to high school. During their senior year of high school, they have to make many big decisions, do they want to go to college or not, what college they want to go to and what career path they want to take. During the first years of this stage teenagers start growing and their body’s start developing. They feel uncomfortable but they will grow and adapt to this change. If they are successful during this stage group this will lead to the virtue of fidelity, which means that they will be able to commit to accepting others the way they are, they will accept and understand everyone is different in society and most important is that they will accept who they are. They will be able to be successful during the next stage. But if they fail to accept themselves this can cause role confusion, which will make things different when they go to college or when they start a new job. This can cause many problems because they won’t feel part of society and they won’t feel accomplished. As stated in the book "Constructing an identity involves defining who you are, what you value, and the directions you choose to pursue in life." (Berk, 2018)
During my teen years I went through a lot of changes, I moved 3 times. The biggest move was moving from a big city to Indiana. But I can state that I was successful, even though it took a while but I was able to find what I wanted to do and open doors for my future.

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This stage is very important, during this stage is when we make most of our actual life decisions. We move out of our parents’ house, we go to college, we become independent, we begin a family and more. Erikson states that during this stage we are looking for a long-term relationship, someone to fuse our identity with, someone who we feel comfortable with without being scared of losing them or losing our identity. As stated in the book "Young adults establish intimate relationships. Because of earlier disappointments, some individuals cannot form close bonds and remain isolated. " (Berk, 2018) If they are successful at the end of this stage, this will lead to the virtue of love, but if a person isn't successful this can lead to isolation and loneliness.
The first couple years of this stage were hard. While I was in college some of my friends got married, started having kids or still stuck with the same job they had during high school. It was very confusing and I didn't have time to date, but when I least expected I feel in love and we got married and had kids. I am happy with the outcome.

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In this stage things around a person's life start slowing down and this is when they actually start evaluating their life choices, how they contributed to this society and their community. If they don’t feel happy with their outcome people want to recover time they lost and that's why they start doing what they wanted to do in the past, for example finish school, jump off a plane, and other things which is known as midlife crises. If a person contributed to society and were good parents they will feel accomplished which will lead to the virtue generatively. But if they don’t feel accomplished it can lead them to feel that they were uninvolved and not did anything they wanted can lead them to become bitter. As stated in the book " The person who fails in these ways feels an absence of meaningful accomplishment." (Berk, 2018)
I can state that I am very happy with how my life was. There were rough moments, but I was able to complete most of the things in my bucket list. I am a grandma and we love them so much. I dedicated most of my life being a teacher, retirement is a couple years away and I am excited to have more time with my husband and enjoy our last years together.

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Stage 8 is the last stage of Erikson's psychosocial development. During this stage many life events happen, retirement starts, friends and family members start passing away. With retirement they have a chance to reflect back on their life. They will look back at every life decision they made, if they did good, they will feel successful, and happy because they lived a good life. If they are successful during this stage, it will lead to the virtue of wisdom. With this virtue they will be able to look back and they will feel completeness and they will have closure. With closure, they will be able to accept death without fear, they will feel ready. But if they feel that they didn't have a successful life, this can lead to them feeling depressed and hopeless. As stated in the book "Older people who are dissatisfied with their lives fear death" (Berk 2018) They will feel dissatisfied with their life, they will feel despair. During this stage it's normal to feel both ego integrity and despair they lived a long life.
I am happy for the life I've lived. Most of my friends have passed away years ago, and my husband passed away last year as well. My grandchildren come to visit me every couple days. I love telling them stories of my adventures when I was younger, I hope they get to do the same when they are older. I know it might be hard for my children but I feel like I'm ready to go, they are always checking up on me but it's not the same, I miss my husband and my friends.