During this age, my brother was alternatively taken care of by my mother and my aunt depending on work shifts. Throughout the time, he was always being looked after in food, diapers, and love which lead him to live a trustful infancy. According to our textbook, "The critical element in developing trust is sensitive, responsive, consistent caregiving." (Martorell, 2022, pg. 150). With my brother's constant care by a maternal and or attentive caregiver, he grew up with hopefulness he will be looked out for in his future.

According to my mother, my brother during this age was extremely independent which often led to chaos. He would often choose his toys, clothing, and actions while also being spoiled in not putting him in his place. He lived his toddlerhood with autonomy. According to our textbook, "Toddlers need adults to set appropriate limits, and shame and doubt help them recognize the need for those limits."(Martorell, 2022, pg. 156). My brother's lack of adult authority gave my a great amount of confidence in the world.

My brother was a very rebellious child growing up which lead him to always feeling self- conscious about the consequences of his actions when he wanted to explore the things around him. According to our course textbook, "If you feel ashamed after getting caught doing something others think is bad, that might keep you from doing it again."(Martorell, 2022, pg. 210). My brother's constant observation through family built his acknowledgment of what is considered "wrong" or "right" with the things around him.

During my brother's childhood, he recalls always overachieving his class projects in order to keep up with his classmates. His teachers and our parents would always look up to him as an example for a school-motivated child. According to our textbook, "This can go too far: If children become too industrious, they may neglect social relationships and turn into workaholics." (Martorell, 2022, pg. 275). My brother explains that as he grew older in elementary school, he began to even develop anxiety with trying to overachieve his school projects. He was given counseling and his workaholic tendencies lessened to enjoy more of his childhood.

During this stage of my brother's life, he use to have a large friend group he was able to depend on however he always struggled with career confusion as he made his way closer to the end of high school. He took it upon himself to take a variety of different classes ranging from art to coding, but he was not able to understanding his purpose until he got to college. According to the course textbook, "Adolescents who resolve the identity crisis satisfactorily develop the virtue of fidelity: sustained loyalty, faith, or a sense of belonging to a loved one or to friends and companions." (Martorell, 2022, pg. 336). My brother's ability to find his identity in his early college life, gave him a platform to begin to meet more people including romantic interests as well as lifetime friends.

My brother is currently 25 years old so he has yet to experience everything that is provided in this stage, however at the moment, he does not prioritize the thought about being in romantic relationship with anyone due to his studies. He started living in his apartment alone as a young adult to which he enjoyed having that responsibility and independence. According to Walden University's article, " Because each stage of development builds upon the others, the ability to form strong relationships is closely tied to whether or not we developed a strong sense of self in our teen years." (Master of Science..., n.d.) Though he does explain that at moments, he thinks about his independence being a help towards him since he does have a large friend group from his childhood that are always watching over him.

Due to my brother not yet reach this stage of Erikson's Development theory, he can only wish to see himself living a life full of generativity. According to a Walden University article, "If we succeed in building a good and productive life, we’re likely to feel like we’re contributing to the world." (Master of Science..., n.d.). He plans to have successfully finished his career and later in the future be able to build a program where he too can help teach younger generations the process in gaming and technology development. With funding he hopefully sees himself giving back to students with scholarships such as those who helped him with the opportunity to gain an education.

On the wishes of my brother, he sees himself living a content life after his 60's in hopes of still giving back to the world and not regretting his life decisions. According to an article written by Walden University, "If we can develop a sense of pride in our accomplishments, we’re likely to feel satisfied." (Master of Science, n.d.). Such as he struggled in finding his career passion, my brother hopes to feel accomplished with himself in successfully building up the technology development assistance program he plans to have in his early 30's to 50's. He hopes to be able to accomplish all his goals that he has in store for his future stages in order to not feel regret in this stage of development.

Master of Science in Education Insight: Erikson’s 8 Stages of Psychosocial Development. (n.d.). Retrieved April 27, 2024, from https://www.waldenu.edu/online-masters-programs/ms-in-education/resource/ms-in-education-insight-eriksons-8-stages-of-development