Erikson’s stages of psychosocial development, explain eight stages through which a healthily developing human should pass from infancy to late adulthood.

It took me a while to figure out who I really wanted to be. Everyone goes through multiple phases that help them figure out what they actually liked to do and what they didn’t like to do. But for me, I was always in limbo. I never joined any specific clique or dedicated my time to one thing in particular. Nor did float around to these different environments around me. I kind of just stayed in one place and waited to see who I would become. According to Erik Erikson, one must test various roles and eventually settle into a consistent environment in order to form close relationships and ultimately live a happy life. But why did I need to go out and experience different things by myself in order to find a group to do it with me? I had a different approach. Not necessarily a good one, but it ended up working for me. If all my friends were playing baseball, I would go play baseball. Not because I thought that if I kept playing baseball I would eventually become a major league superstar, but because that’s what everyone was doing and they seemed to be having fun doing it. When I got to high school and my friends were drinking, I’d probably join them, but not to try and look cool, but because realistically there was nothing else going on. People say going out and experience new things will help you find your true identity, but sometimes it’s ok to let your identity come to you. Although I can be very energetic and outspoken, I can also be introverted and kept within my own thoughts. During the time when all my friends (who at this point were about 12 and 13 years old and truly didn’t know anything about their own futures) were practicing their so-called “passions,” I was enjoying my time in my own mind knowing that I would eventually find comfort. And I did. This may go against what a bunch of you may think, but just know that I believe that you don’t always have to find happiness, sometimes it may just find you.