Abby receives 16 candles, each that grants one of her 16 desires. This might finally be her chance to outdo her best friend turned rival, Krista Cook, the most popular and rich girl in school. Cook grew a disliking to Abby after Jensen stole her friend, Jay, and becoming Abby's very close friend, turned lover.

The only downside to these magical candles is when midnight arrives, all wishes will become permanent and the candles will lost its power.

Come midnight, after receiving all materialistic things asked for, becoming an adult and now out of high school, as well as losing all her friends; Abby realizes none of her wishes were fulfilled. Luckily, she's given the opportunity to change her 15 previous wishes with her last wish and has learned multiple lessons on her eventful 16th birthday.

Along this journey, Erikson met Anna Freud after receiving an invitation to take a teaching position. Freud convinced Erik to formally study psychoanalysis which he took heed to. After working at this school for several years with Freud, Erikson was promoted to teach at prestigious universities, such as Harvard and the University of California, all without a formal degree in neither medicine nor psychology.

 His journey resulted in the formation of his timeless theory of psychosocial development and the concept of identity crisis.

Enjoy what you have while being a kid. There is a such thing as growing up too fast and you would miss being younger with less responsibility. Adulting is not easy and there is no rewind button. (luckily for her though it was)

1. Trust v. Mistrust - this stage occurs between birth to about 1.5 years old and is focused on fostering a sense of trust in caregivers and the environment.

2. Autonomy v. Shame and Doubt - Takes place between the ages of 18 months to 3 years old. The earliest stages of independence and self-determination are gained. We learn will and determination with these factors.

3. Initiative v. Guilt - Between the ages 3 and 6 years old. Children start to investigate their surroundings and take greater control over their decisions. Successfully navigating this stage allows them to cultivate a sense of purpose.

4. Industry v Inferiority - Takes place between the ages of 6 years old and 12 years old. It is centered on building a sense of self-esteem and achievement. Achieving success at this stage fosters a feeling of accomplishment.

5. Identity v Confusion - These are the teen years; the years where the goal is to develop a healthy identity with oneself. Failure to do so can result in feeling displaced in life.

6. Intimacy v. Isolation - This stage in early adulthood is dedicated to developing healthy relationships with others that leads to future successes.

7. Generativity v. Stagnation - In this stage of “middle adulthood” most are concerned with making an impact on the world. The two most common ways people resonate in order to do this are starting a career and/or a family with a partner.

8. Integrity v. Despair - The final stage of psychosocial development. The range is around 65 years old until death. This is the stage of reflection. How well people have done in life. If they feel satisfactory, most will be left with a feeling of soundness and insight; whereas those who feel the opposite may feel bitter.

Lifespan development

Identity formation

Psychosocial conflict

(just to name a few)

Stage 6: Intimacy v Isolation - On Abby’s ninth wish she wished for people to stop treating her like a kid; instead, this wish turned her into a full fledged adult in an instant. With this wish she was kicked out of her childhood home and forced into her own, she lost her best friend Jay, as he had no recollection of her, and she ultimately became very lonely. She was thrown into adulthood after inattentively asking for something that seemed so simple, yet was transformative and detrimental to her life.

Stage 8: Integrity v Despair - Disregarding Erikson’s corresponding ages to the 8 stages, Abby is still in early adulthood but towards the end of her birthday. By the end of the day she’s had more than enough time to reflect from the previous 24 hours. At this point in solitude, she’s learned to appreciate her childhood, her family, her friends, a non materialistic life and has even learned her faults in the rivalry between her and Krista Cook. She is ready to reverse all wishes and go back to her old life with a new mindset.

In order to properly evaluate Abby, Erikson would go according to the appropriate stages in his theory that he saw fit for her age and situation and asked the necessary questions to grasp her problems and how to solve them.

Wish # 9. “People will stop treating me like a kid.”

This is the wish that made her new life take a turn for the worst. With this wish came solitude, sadness and her being lost. She was confused on her next steps with no direction. This is when Abby started to realize she didn’t care about the wishes anymore, she just wanted the relationship she had with her friends and family as her 16-year-old self.

Wish # 12. “I'll beat Krista Cook at something, anything, everything!”

After this wish was granted, Abby did win in very minor events over Krista Cook but overall it didn’t matter. Abby did not have the upper hand in anything and it resulted in a waste of a wish. This showed how egotistical and arrogant Abby became with these candles.

Wish # 16. Her redo wish.

After being given the chance to redo all wishes, Abby returns to her old life and becomes a completely new version of herself. She’s a nicer daughter, sister and friend. To everyone's surprise, her and Krista shared a birthday celebration. She even became a girlfriend too. She’s learned to appreciate those around her and to, not rush, but enjoy her childhood.