Day by day, everyone tries to get through life in one peace. People strive to become a certain image they would like to project into the world, to be known as someone, to be remembered and to be loved. Often we start seeing and shaping ourselves by the feedbacks we get at a young age either from school, the media or our friends. And as we age, we start to get a better understanding of our purpose and image. Erikson believed that a lot of our early half of life is just preparation for the latter half of our lives. With Erikson’s theory of Integrity vs. Despair (in late adulthood), as people get older, some tend to look back with feelings of integrity that resulted from contentment and fulfillment of having led a meaningful life or they might
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Due to her family’s financial status, she had to grow up pretty quick and had to work at a young age. Her first job was a merchant at a local market in Mexico, she then quit school and got a job as a maid, later she worked at a shoe company during her young-adulthood. It’s clear that she did not have an easy childhood, but she didn’t seem to mind it because she told me she was very happy to be able to support her family financially. This is a perfect example of Erikson’s theory, he believed that if we see our lives as unproductive, or feel that we did not accomplish our life goals, we become dissatisfied with life and develop despair, often leading to depression and hopelessness. Thus, for Diana to feel happy for working at an early proves that in some way she felt that she was doing the right thing, and that it was her purpose to provide an extra income for the family. When I asked her what kind of point in life is she at right now, she said that it was a peaceful life. She said that she enjoyed cooking and helping around the house for her grandkids, thus allowing her to continue life with a purpose, because as people grow old, they need some sort of a drive to keep them moving, and to keep them get up from bed every morning. Older people who can’t find a purpose in their late-adulthood can sometimes experiencing loneliness and lack the will to live
Due to her family’s financial status, she had to grow up pretty quick and had to work at a young age. Her first job was a merchant at a local market in Mexico, she then quit school and got a job as a maid, later she worked at a shoe company during her young-adulthood. It’s clear that she did not have an easy childhood, but she didn’t seem to mind it because she told me she was very happy to be able to support her family financially. This is a perfect example of Erikson’s theory, he believed that if we see our lives as unproductive, or feel that we did not accomplish our life goals, we become dissatisfied with life and develop despair, often leading to depression and hopelessness. Thus, for Diana to feel happy for working at an early proves that in some way she felt that she was doing the right thing, and that it was her purpose to provide an extra income for the family. When I asked her what kind of point in life is she at right now, she said that it was a peaceful life. She said that she enjoyed cooking and helping around the house for her grandkids, thus allowing her to continue life with a purpose, because as people grow old, they need some sort of a drive to keep them moving, and to keep them get up from bed every morning. Older people who can’t find a purpose in their late-adulthood can sometimes experiencing loneliness and lack the will to live