Tuesday 31 January 2012

Erik Erikson.. where am I?

The question was presented at the end of class to acknowledge which of Erik Erikson's 8 stages us as individuals are currently in. After discussing the stages I interpret that I am in between the identity vs. identity confusion stage and the intimacy vs. isolation stage. The reasoning behind my thinking is that I still listen to different types of music dress differently occasionally for the simple reason of trying to define who I am. Although I have a pretty good idea of my beliefs and values and am pretty strong in holding those beliefs and values my outer appearance is something that I can honestly say is not srong and set in its ways. The next stage that I feel I may be part of is the intimacy vs. isolation stage. I have come to the point in my life where I don't count on my parents as much as I used to to meet my basic needs. I can go out and accomplish those myself without the aid of my parents. The reason that I feel I am in between stages is because I feel as if I know who I am to a certain extent, but there is still some room for self definition, and I feel that I still rely on my parents to be completely free of the intimacy vs. isolation stage and therefore am in between. I am not sure if it is possible to be in 3 stages but to a certain extent I feel that I am. When I look at the generativity vs. self-absorption I kind of feel like I have dipped a bit into this stage as well. My sister had a baby a short while ago and when I think of taking care of her and so on I think that I give up a lot of my free time, making it less and less "all about me". Another reason why I feel I am partially in this stage is the my goal to become a teacher. One of the main reasons I would like to be a teacher is to help children acheive their full potential and somehow right the wrong teachers I had going through the education system. I know this is going to take me giving up a lot of my own time and own self to do and therefore I feel as if I am in this stage as well. All in all, I believe I am in stages 5,6,7. I'm not sure if that is possible but that is what I got after considering where I am in my life and Erik Erikson's stages.

No comments:

Post a Comment