Background The stages of development Erikson compiled together can be asked to any individual to determine how events that occurred in their life formed their physical, social, and cognitive self throughout each age. With that in mind, having to interview someone and ask questions about their family, schooling, relationships etc. was insightful especially in my relationship with one of my closest friends. While there was most of information I already assumed I knew, but it brought my friend's entire being into balance and made sense of the woman I now know. Birth to one year The first stage of Erikson's is from the age of birth to one year old. During this stage, is where the basics begin and learning from warm and responsive care. …show more content…
My friend admitted gaining her motor skills on time with walking, running, and being able to talk during these ages. She started Headstart and became integrating herself with other peers, learning numbers and letters. Her mother's side was still very involved and still made her big choices for her. Learning from right and wrong was developing this stage, in which she had an incident where her uncle put her on her grandmother's glass coffee table that spun around, and she fell off hitting the wall. After that incident she learned not to play on furniture and listen to her uncle's fun ideas. The independence she gained from making her own little choices was allowed by her family as …show more content…
Developing goals and values are being explored and tested during the teen years. Continuing with her being busy still happened while she was in a private high school as well, but this time it included more sports such as track and cheerleading. Her mother and grandmother were coaches of her cheerleading team and even bought their uniforms. My friend expressed how grateful she was for her mother's family being supportive of her during high school. Similar strains with peer relationships as when she was three to six years old, girls would not stay friends with her because of "jealousy". At the beginning of her high school years, she found her first love and he was in the military and that gave her an idea of joining the military when older, but her grandmother aided in her changing her mind. Another dilemma occurred in her relationship with her first love was getting pregnant in high school. Her mother influenced her to getting an abortion due to her age. From then on, she moved in with her grandmother because "she wanted to run the streets" and figured her grandmother would be more gullible than her mother; they were constantly arguing about what she can and cannot