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The first stage of Erikson's theory of psychosocial development is the most important period of a child's life. This stage begins at birth and lasts until about 18 months. It shapes their view of the world as well as their overall personality. As a baby, my parents worked a lot so my grandparents watched me quite a bit. Whenever I was upset or didn't feel good and cried, my grandpa sang to me. He would sing "You Are My Sunshine". Hearing his calm and soothing voice relaxed me and I would stop crying almost instantly. This helped me trust my grandpa and the environment around me. An example of mistrust would be when my uncle, which wasn't so good with kids, would yell at me as I cried or hand me off instantly to someone else so he wouldn't have to deal with me, this made me not trust him or feel safe in his arms.

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This second stage occurs between the ages of 18 months to around the age of 2 or 3 years old. In this stage, children are focused on developing a greater sense of self-control. They express a greater need for independence and control over themselves and the world around them. My parents always told me I liked to take control of my everyday activities, such as what I wanted to eat, what I wanted to wear, and what toys I wanted in my possession. If my mom wouldn't let me pick out my own breakfast and prepare it myself, I would feel like I wasn't capable enough and I would feel small.

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Between the ages of 3 and 5 years old is where the third stage of Erikson's theory took place. During this stage, children begin to assert their power and control over the world through directing play and other social interaction. It is important for children to try things on their own and explorer their own abilities. This way, they can develop ambition and direction. My mom and dad were quite the opposite when it came to directing me into this stage. My dad wanted me to play with certain kids rather than others and wanted me to play a certain sports. My mom on the other hand, encouraged me to make all sorts of different friends and keep my options open for any sports or social activities. My dad made me feel less independent as a child and made me feel as if I couldn't make my own choices without his approval, or else I would feel guilty with the decision I made on my own.

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Stage four typically occurs between the ages of 6 to 11 years old. The major question asked in this stage is "How can I be good?" Friends and classmates play a major role in this stage. This is when you are beginning school and discovering their abilities are better than those of their friends or that their talents are highly prized by others. Children become capable of performing increasingly complex tasks which leads them to strive to master new skills. As a child, I was always compared to my brothers. They were very smart and very focused on school, so they always brought home straight A's and impressed my parents. I, on the other hand, didn't bring home straight A's. I never failed any classes but every report card, there would be at least one C, one A, and mostly B's. I was fairly impressed with myself, but if you compared it to my brothers', no one else was. I do remember one time I brought my report card home and I had all A's and one B because I was trying to impress my parents. I rushed through the door with a huge smile on my face and showed my dad.. but his response, with a straight face was, "It's not all A's but it's something." It made me feel inferior.

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According to Erikson, this stage is important to the process of forming a strong identity and developing a sense of direction in life. In the fifth stage of Erikson's theory of psychosocial development, it focuses on adolescents exploring their independence and develop a sense of self. This stage occurs during the years of 12 and 18. As they transition from childhood to adulthood, teens typically feel insecure or confused about themselves and how they fit into society. This is usually when teens start to experiment with different roles, activities, and behaviors. My mom always allowed me to experiment on finding who I was and who I fit in with at school. I started to dress different, like the girls I thought were cool or popular thinking it would make me the same. I began to learn that no matter how I dress, who I am as a person is what truly matters. By the time I was 16, I dressed how I felt comfortable and I chose to stick around people who I knew would be there when I needed them the most.

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Stage six takes place during young adulthood between the ages of 19 and 40. Erikson believed that it was vital to develop close, committed relationships with other people. These emotions play a critical role in a person's emotional well-being. Although I am just barely entering this stage, I do have some experience with feeling lonely, or in isolation. I was in a committed relationship for 4 years, ages 15 to 19. Most said it was just a silly high school relationship and nothing would come out of it, but I would like to disagree. Although I was very young, I still felt very attached to this person and grew to love them. When the relationship came to and end, I felt so alone. Would I ever be loved by anyone? Will I be alone forever? I am now nearly 21 years old and have focused on myself as respect to myself. At times I still ask myself those questions but I am still at a very young age and I have so much to accomplish before having to worry about relationships.

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Stage Seven: Generativity vs. Stagnation

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Stage Seven: Generativity vs. Stagnation

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The seventh stage takes place in middle adulthood, between the ages of 40 and 65. In this stage, middle-aged adults strive to create or nurture things that will outlast them. They typically achieve this by parenting children or fostering positive changes that benefit others. Major events that contribute to this stage are marriage, work, and child-rearing. This isn't as age-specific as the other stages in Erikson's theory, these events could happen at any point during the broad span of middle adulthood. Generativity refers to "making your mark" on the world by caring for others and creating and accomplishing things that make the world a better place. Stagnation refers to the failure to find a way to contribute. Feeling disconnected or uninvolved with their community or with society as a whole.

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The eighth and final stage of Erikson's theory of psychosocial development begins at age 65 and ends at death. The major question in this stage is, "Did I live a meaningful life?" Integrity refers to a person's ability to look back on their life with a sense of accomplishment and fulfillment. Despair refers to looking back on life with feeling of regret, shame, or disappointment. The onset of this stage is often triggered by life events such as retirement, the loss of a spouse, the loss of friends and acquaintances, facing a terminal illness. Again, I am nearly only 21 years old, so I have not faced any of these obstacles yet, but I have witnessed my grandma go through retirement, the loss of her husband and friends, and cancer. Sometimes we have deep, meaningful conversations about her life and if she felt she lived a meaningful one and would there be anything she would have made different if possible. The answer was always the same. She married the love of her life and spent 30 amazing years with him. They had 5 beautiful children who later gave them 17 grandchildren and 1 great-grandchild. She loved her career in teaching and loved giving to others without anything in return. Although there were extreme lows, losing her husband, almost losing her son, getting breast cancer, and moving 18 hours away from all of her family, she wouldn't have changed a thing. She has taught me that nothing in the world truly makes sense, but what you no with the nonsense, does.