This stage occurs around the age of 11 and 18. As adolescents, we are concerned with finding our own identity and role in the world. We also may experiment with various identities before we find the one we feel comfortable with. However, if we are unable to commit to an identity or have regrets about the identity we have chosen, we may experience role confusion, which can lead to an identity crisis. Around the age of 12, I started to ask myself the big questions about who I am, what my purpose in this world is, and what I want to do with my life. This happened around the same time that my grandmother died, so I felt like those questions hit me harder that they would have had otherwise. I started to experiment with my identity and to explore different subcultures. I started getting into the Goth subculture for a while. In hindsight, I know this was a way for me to figure out where I …show more content…
I ended up not identifying with any of them and realizing I was an Atheist. I did, however, adopt some standpoints from Buddhists teaching. In the years onwards, I was able to figure out who I was as a person and what I wanted to do with my life. After experimenting for a while, I found an identity I am comfortable with. During this stage, the body image of one’s self also changes as our body goes through the changes of puberty. I had no problems that I can think of in regards to my body; I was always confident with my body. According to Erickson’s theory, I have successfully gone through this stage, as I have been able to from a cohesive identity and have demonstrated the ability to form interpersonal relationships, which demonstrates fidelity. Fidelity in the context of Erickson’s stages of psychosocial development refers to the virtue of being able to commit to others and accept them even if we