I realized that I was in a home that cared for me and maintained attention towards me so I developed trust with my parents and grandparents.

"In these early months, babies need to develop a balance between trust, which lets them form intimate relationships, and mistrust, which enables them to protect themselves."

During this stage my mother pushed me to be my own person, with the belief that children are just "little humans" that have their own goals. In this my mother started teaching me to be independent although I had separation anxiety, which she slowly transitioned me from being with her all the time to having a security blanket to eventually being fine on my own.

"Guided play programs, by contrast, take advantage of children’s natural motivation to play—supporting their autonomy and cultivating their love of learning while also scaffolding specific learning outcomes"

In the development of this stage, I was encouraged to be creative and explore all while maintaining safety from my mother. My father did not want me to explore and I was instead made to feel guilty by him for "messing up" or for "making a mess." So I learned that I was only able to explore and play around my mother.

"Children who fail to live up to behavioral standards may feel guilty, that is, regret their behavior, but they do not necessarily feel a lack of self-worth as when they feel ashamed"

In this stage, my mother encouraged me every chance she could and made me feel seen and empowered to continue trying to work towards my own goals. My father on the other hand discouraged me and made me feel inferior which led to me having some negative emotions about reaching for my own goals.

"If self-esteem is contingent on success, children may view failure or criticism as an indictment of their worth and may feel helpless to do better."

When I was trying to figure out who I was, my mother encouraged me to try out new things and would help me to do so. While my father continued to discourage me so I was not able to truly define a sense of self until I was older and not speaking to him.

"Adolescents grapple with changes in identity and feelings of self-consciousness, and they become more sensitive to acceptance and rejection from their peers"

I am currently in this stage, and have found many meaningful relationships in which I have grown immensely with that continue to push me to be better in my own life.

"While ego identity at age 15 strongly predicted intimacy in romantic relationships at age 25, this was true for both men and women"

As I have not begun this stage, I believe I will experience generativity as I seek a career in teaching in which I will be able to form a foundation for wanting to learn with students in the future.

"Both our discretionary time as well as our preferred companions shift and change over the course of the lifespan. However, across all these time periods, cultural variations in time use reflect important cultural needs, practices, and values."

Since I have not experienced this yet, I believe I will feel accomplished with myself as the goals I have are very accomplishable and will create a sense of integrity within myself.

"Asian, Latino, and European American teens all tend to show higher levels of happiness when they participate in activities that help the family (Telzer & Fulingi, 2009), suggesting their individuation processes function effectively within their cultural framework."