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In this stage, a child will need their parent more than ever because the child is very dependent on their parents, as they cannot do anything for themselves. In this stage, a parent will really gain their child's trust or they will give their child a pinch of fear depending on how they handle these beginning months of their child's lives.

My parents were always there for me when I was in this stage. Whenever I needed my diaper changed or needed to be fed, they would come to me and cater to my needs. I would cry and if I needed something, they would come to my side and give me what I needed. They really gained my trust from the moment I was born and they have my trust in this stage. They never left me to cry of hunger or any other thing I needed. Because they constantly provided me with the care I needed, they built a great bond and relationship between us and really made sure that I was taken care of. They strongly build trust between myself as a baby and themselves as my parents.

The textbook, "Child" by Gabriella Martorell states "If trust predominates, as it should, children develop hope: the belief they can fulfill their needs and obtain their desires...". This proves that since my parents gained my trust I developed hope and a great connection with them as they always fulfilled my needs.

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During this stage, a child begins to figure out who they are and how they are in control of themselves. Parents allow their child to grow as person and see who they are. A child will become more determined to do things and they will become frustrated when they are stopped or directed a different way when they are trying to figure things out.

My parents are people who will help you and guide you but want you to figure it out on your own. I feel like they passed this trait to me even during this stage of my life. Therefore, during this stage of my life, they always helped me and pushed, but they also let me figure it out. For example, with potty training, I was always told that I was a natural and only needed guidance a couple times. My parents always said that they let me be and corrected me when I did wrong, so I think I really hit on the autonomy part of this stage. I believe that since my parents helped me and guided me, but also let me do it on my own, really made a difference in thriving at this stage.

The textbook, "Child" by Gabriella Martorell states "Caregivers who view children’s expressions of self-will as a normal, healthy striving for independence and not as stubbornness can help them learn self-control, contribute to their sense of competence, and avoid excessive conflict." This shows that if you help a child but let them figure things out on their own, they are likely to be more successful and that is how it was for me during this stage of my life.

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This stage focuses on the idea that a child will figure out and explore the idea of how they have power over themselves and they have a place in this world. During this stage, a child will be gravitated to do more throughout their days and they will have the initiative to pick what they think is right and wrong.

Growing up, from as early on as I can remember, my parents preached to my siblings and I that being honest, telling the truth, and always doing the right things was one of the most important traits and characteristics a person can hold. Because of this, during this stage, I vividly remember playing inside at preschool and a girl in my class was trying to cut the teacher's hair as we were playing salon. Of course, we did not have real scissors as we were playing, but the girl next to me was trying to get me to grab a real pair of scissors to cut the teacher's hair. I followed my initial thought and gut feeling and knew that was the wrong choice. Therefore, I told the teacher was the girl was trying to convince me to do and I got praised for doing the right thing.

Gabriella Martorell says in the textbook "Child", "At the same time, they are learning that some of the things they want to do meet social approval, whereas others do not..." This shows that sometimes a child is going to have to make choices based on their own intuition. Because of what my parents taught me, I knew the right thing to do was tell the truth so I was not full of guilt later on.

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In this stage, a child will be more apt to obtain new skills and understand more tasks. A child will either get the idea and hang of the idea of school and what comes along with it, or they will not have people standing behind them and it will be a very difficult time for them.

During this stage of my life, my parents were always in my corner and always wanted me to do my best. They encouraged me to always try and give it my all, but that if I did not understand something it was okay and we would try to figure it out together. My parents made sure I knew that as long as I tried, they were so proud of me. If the end result of trying to learn something was failing, they always told me they would work with me or help me get the help I needed to figure out that skill.

The textbook "Child" by Gabriella Martorell states "If a child is generally praised for working hard and she fails at a task, the logical implication is that she did not try hard enough." Although this would be true for some kids and would be the aspect of inferiority, this was not me during this stage. My parents always did their best to show me praise and encourage me even if I did not succeed at something the first time around.

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At this stage in life, a person is trying to figure out who they are as they are still changing and developing into who they are going to become. During this stage, a person will evaluate all their relationships that they really value and see if those people correlate with their beliefs and see who they really want to keep in their life after their high school career.

For me, during this stage, I had a small circle of really close friends. My friends were very similar to me as we all shared most of the same beliefs about different topics in the world. I never really was confused about who I was as I always confident in the person I was becoming and I always knew what I wanted my identity to stand for. For me, Christianity was a big role in my life and that is just one thing that I wanted my identity to represent. I also wanted to make sure my close friends that I would continue building my relationship with were devoted to Jesus, as well, and they were. For me, high school was very easy and I never had question any parts of myself or who I am.

According to the textbook "Child" by Gabriella Martorell it states "The effort to make sense of the self is part of a healthy process that builds on the achievements of earlier stages...". This shows that a person during this stage will need to figure out who they are as it will allow them to grow and maintain a healthy life as they figure out their own true characteristics of their identity. For me, I already knew who I was and I was just reassessing myself from the earlier stages I had already been through. I knew that I had to make an effort to find out who I was to be successful.

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Throughout this stage, a person builds an intimate relationship with one person whom they believe they will spend the rest of their life with. If this results in happiness and love, a person's intimacy with their partner will be successful and lead to marriage and a family. However, if a person continuously fails at the idea of intimacy relationships, they will be sad and lonely which will lead to isolation.

Currently at 20 years old, I have boyfriend that I have been dating for almost three and a half years now. I know that because I have this intimate relationship, I am happy and I am very confident in the connection we have built. We are very confident that we will get married within the next couple years and start our own family after that. Because I have my partner, I am happy and do not feel isolated or sad at all. As a couple we are happy and thriving and I am thrilled to see what God has in store for us.

According to "Child" by Gabriella Martorell it states "...romantic relationships that, unlike other-sex friendships, are described as involving passion and a sense of commitment...". This shows that my romantic relationship is right on track, as my boyfriend and I are very committed to each other and we have a great connection and passion between the two of us.

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During this stage, a person is usually raising their child to become adults as they are getting ready to be empty nesters. Also, a person usually become dedicated to helping others and seeing how they can give back to the world and those around them. They also focus on their work at this time in their life. If a person fails at this stage, they will feel hopeless and begin to feel the aspects of stagnation instead of happiness and hope that results in the in idea of generatively.

A person might be unsuccessful at their job or not making enough money to give the amounts back that they would like to. They would be unhopeful that they are going to bounce back. However, if a person in this stage is very successful and has all the means to give back the amounts or in the ways they would like, they are going to thrive. The textbook "Child" by Gabriella Martorell states "The family atmosphere can be described as the ways in which members interact with each other and the outside world." This shows that people in this stage focuses a lot on what people think of them and how they are going to view them as they are going to transition out of this stage.

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In this final stage, an elder looks back at their time in the world and being reflecting on everything that they accomplished or not accomplished. This stage allows elders to think about everything their life became. Some elders fill with integrity as they are thrilled with what they have done in their lifetime and what they have accomplished on Earth. However, some elders are not pleased and wish they could go back and make choices differently which leads to despair.

A person going through this stage is looking back and realizes that they have made every decision in the best way that they could. They are pleased with the life they have lived and they are happy with what their time on Earth held. Therefore, they are full of integrity as they have no regrets and are satisfied with what they have become. The end of their story is coming to a close and they are pleased to know they truly lived their best life. Gabriella Martorell's book titled "Child" states "We each continue to write and experience the story of human development for ourselves and our society for as long as we live." This shows that you continue living your best life all the up until the end and that is exactly what this elder did.