1.2. Physical: Thus far into my early adulthood I have been able to see what health problems will develop as I age. For example, during my adolescence I injured my ankle and because I did not rehabilitate it correctly I have recurring problems with it that continue to grow. I have also started to see how much changes in my diet can affect my health. I now see that I need to change my diet to be that of an adult who cannot always metabolize the same junk food I could when I was younger. I can also see how much stress affects my health from how I eat to the restfulness of my sleep to how my skin may react. I know that I am still only just enter my adult life but I am learning valuable lessons about my body. During this time I have also had to learn about physical safety in my sexual well being. While I would love to be a mother someday later in my early adulthood I have learned how to protect myself against any unwanted and unexpected complications. As my early adulthood continues I hope to start a family.This means that sometime soon I will need to discuss my options for this with my doctor and partner.
1.3. Social: Even though my relationship with my boyfriend began when we were early in our adolescence, we have grown closer as we've grown older. Our relationship has grown from a young infatuated love to romantic love to a mature consummate love. As we discuss our futures we find it easier to discuss a future together. As I get older I also make plans and consider what I Would like my family to be like later in my young adulthood. During this time, I have also learned how to find and keep quality friends based on common interests and values rather than shallow qualities and common time spent together.
1.4. Cognitive: Right now I can see myself approaching K. Warner Schaie's achieving stage with many choices coming into light. While in college I have been confronting decisions such as which major to pursue, whether or not to stay in the same relationship, and which job to take while being in school. As I move further into my adulthood I see how my emotional intelligence has grown. In my adolescence I was very emotional and had little control over when and where I would have my emotional breakdowns. As I have matured I am much better about relating to others and not putting my emotions before everything else.
2. Middle Adulthood
2.1. Major Stages of Development
2.2. Physical: As I age, I am sure I will see many physical signs of my age. Into my middle adulthood I will have to watch for any signs of osteoporosis and breast cancer since both run in my family. Another sign of my aging will most likely come in the decline of my vision. Since I already have problems with my vision I can foresee needing stronger glasses and possibly bifocals. To combat any unnecessary decline in my physical health I should create more intensive workout regimen and also keep a healthy balance of vitamins in my diet. This time will also be an important transition period for my body by going through menopause.
2.3. Social: During this stage it will be very important for my generativity to be successful in the career I pursue (which I hope will be secondary education). If I fail to yield a successful career then I am in danger of going through a major midlife crisis in which I could feel the need to drastically change any or all aspects of my life. This age is also a tumultuous time for many marriages. I hope at this time,even though my husband and I may not be at our peak of happiness we will work through the rough patches to have a chance at our most happy times. I would also hate to keep with the family cycle of divorce that has plagued generations of out family.
2.4. Cognitive: In this period I know there will also be many changes in my cognitive abilities. But not all of these changes will be negative. For example during my middle adulthood my crystallized intelligence will grow as my fluid intelligence declines. This mean that although I may forget how to do the same algebra I did in high school I will be able to solve my crossword puzzles more easily. Along with increased crystallized intelligence I will have a wider set of schemas based on the life I have lived. These will help me in situations in my career as a teacher since I can use every experience to teach about my students.
3. Late Adulthood
3.1. Major Stages of Development
3.2. Physical: Into my late adulthood I would like my good health habits in my earlier stages to pay off. I would ideally like to have enough vitality to play with my grand children, go on evening walks, and still be as outdoorsy as I am in my young adulthood. I know that to do this I will have to be very cautious about my diet and safety. To avoid my fear arthritis problems I will be sure to take the proper drugs and exercise regularly. To make sure that I do not develop any problems like hypertension it will also help to keep a balanced diet, monitor my blood pressure, and exercise regularly. I will also put a large importance on keeping a low stress lifestyle to avoid other health risks that arise from high stress lifestyles.
3.3. Social: At this late age it is unlikely that I will experience many personality changes after already changing in my younger years. In this stage I may experience what Levinson calls "The Winter of Life". If I ever begin to feel like my part in life is not important I will be sure to look at all the good and love that I worked so hard to leave as a legacy. If I am unsatisfied with this then my work is not nearly done on this earth. At this time I may not be able to impact such a large change so I will be sure to keep up with my community service activities to make my mark on the world. Another important aspect of this time will be working with my partner to teach our grandchildren certain lessons about life that only a grandparent can give you.
3.4. Cognitive: Even though many experience vast declines in their cognitive abilities I hope that my hobbies such as reading and a long career in teaching that I would be retiring from soon (hopefully) will keep my brain strong, active, and always learning. I am a very big advocate of cognitive training at various ages to avoid losing any knowledge you already have and to strengthen such a large muscle as your brain. I will be sure to participate in memory training to combat against any onsets of dementia.
4. Prenatal & Newborn
4.1. Major Stages of Development
4.2. Physical: Between conception and the end of the newborn stage of development many changes occur. Through the stages of prenatal development, a baby will develop their senses and physical attributes along with gender. Eye sight abilities increase during the first few weeks after birth and neck muscles begin to strengthen. A newborn's movement will increase daily as muscles strengthen with practice and exercise. Towards the end of the newborn stage a baby will begin to roll over on her own.
4.3. Social: Newborns have very little ability to determine what is happening in the world around them or recognizing the other people in their lives. Later into the newborn stage a baby will be able to smile and laugh while exploring their emotional range. During this time it is important for newborns (later on) to be able to recognize the constant people and surroundings in their lives.
4.4. Cognitive: During infancy it is important for children to develop proper schemes so that they can determine the mos basic working s of the world around them. It is also very important for these schemes to change through assimilation and accommodation. Even though children may not accurately recall memories from this time, they will definitely remember what they learned about the world as if they had always known it.
5. Preschool Years
5.1. Major Stages of Development
5.2. Physical: I learned how to get a hold on my fine and gross motor skills. I could also use language very well for a child my age. From this time on I was a very chatty girl. I also had plenty of energy during this time. My mother was very avid about keeping her children healthy and energized so she made much of her own baby food. Even though I was always outside and running around with my older sister, I was a very cautious child, so I avoided any major accidents and never broke any bones as many young children do durning this stage.
5.3. Social: In this age period I developed my own sense of identity especially when it came to my gender. I have always been sort of a "girly-girl". In gaining some independence I thought my sister's tomboyish ways were more boring than my Barbie dolls and tea parties. I also started to have many friends. It was easy to make friends when I was all energy and fun. More often than not I made friends with children who I had spent only a few minutes with. I was always quick to engage in constructive play since I found it much more interesting with new friends. When it came to discipline during this time (even though I was a well behaved child) it was somewhat confusing because my mother was sometimes an authoritative parent she also had her moments of being more permissive. This caused me to be more independent when trying to reason what was the right or wrong things to do.
5.4. Cognitive: During my preschool years I matured quickly by watching how those around me dealt with the world. I lived with my mother, older sister, and uncle at this age so I had many older influences to follow. In this stage I was always eager to tell stories of my adventures to anyone who would listen, and by doing this I constantly engaged my autobiographical memory. My parents would help me strengthen this skill by asking me constructive questions so I would expand on my stories more thoroughly.
6. Death & Dying
6.1. Major Stages of Development
6.2. Physical: I truly hope that all my work at a healthy life full of vitality will lead to my easy and natural passing. Whether I have lived my last few years in an assisted living situation or at home I hope that there is little pain and minimal deterioration for my family to watch me go through. In this I hope that my terminal decline is slow so that my family has time to prepare for my death.
6.3. Social: Before my death I hope to have enough money left to at least ease the burden of my funeral somewhat especially if they also have to handle my partner's death around the same decade. My funeral will be fairly simple and traditional, but mostly about celebrating my life and the love I brought into the world through my work and my family. I also hope that by being open to discuss things with my family will make their grieving process easier. I would hate to leave my family suddenly which would hurt them much more.
6.4. Cognitive: If I am not suddenly diagnosed with some terminal illness then I foresee little issue with approaching and accepting my death. Since I have lived my life full of love and happiness then it will only be my proper time to go. During the time leading up to my death I will be sure to openly discuss my wishes with my family and have my final will drawn up. I also do not want to be any sort of financial burden upon my family so I would not be opposed to a hospice home where I could see my family as well.
7. Middle Childhood
7.1. Major Stages of Development
7.2. Physical: My middle childhood, where most grow in their physical skill I didn't quiet get a hold on my coordination skills. I had an aversion to many sports because of my lack of physical capabilities. I tried my hand at volleyball later during this time but did better with things such as music and dance team.
7.3. Social: Self-esteem showed its importance during this stage. With my older sister having a better bond with my mother, I often thought myself inferior to her so I tried to mimic her which only caused an annoyance on her part. As I began to find my own friends I was less concerned about acting like my sister. When my younger siblings were born, my social life suffered a bit because I was often the one who had to stay home and babysit even at a young age.
7.4. Cognitive: From the time I learned to read I devoured books daily and always read much higher level books than those suggested for my age. I also showed emerging talents in understanding music, so I learned to play the flute and did so for about 5 years. During this time I found that one of the things I enjoyed most was going to school. I was always excited to learn new things and practice what I had learned in school. Through this I was able to show pride in my own abilities in a successful "industry-versus-inferiority stage".
8. Adolescence
8.1. Major Stages of Development
8.2. Physical: Like every other person during this time, my body went through many more changes physically. I grew about 4 inches between the ages of 13 and 15. I also filled into some curves during puberty. Overall I was an average bloomer (not late or early). During this time I saw many of my peers experimenting with drugs and alcohol, but that was not the path I took because of my family's past experience with addiction and substance abuse.
8.3. Social: During my freshmen year of high school (14 years old) I started dating against my parents' rules. Fortunately this relationship continued to blossom into a healthy long term relationship. Sometimes this created waves in the rest of my social life trying to balance time with family, friends, my boyfriend, and my own alone time. To cope I learned to compartmentalize some things, and I also was fortunate enough to have friends who got along well with my boyfriend.
8.4. Cognitive: During this time I was encouraged to explore my learning style leading to metacognition. In school we took test to find out our personal learning styles. I have always been a visually based learner who needs instructions that are straightforward. I learned that I also like trying things on my own before being taught how to do them so that I know I can do it on my own. In looking back to this time I can see where instances of "adolescent ego-centrism" was clearly steering my logic. In problems with my friends things always escalated quickly because I would feel that I was being targeted by people who were supposed to support me.
9. Infancy & Toddlerhood
9.1. Major Stages of Development
9.2. Physical: In the physical aspect of infancy, babies make leaps and bounds in this stage. Between the periods of infancy and toddlerhood, children will develop many physical abilities. I began talking around 9 months, walking by 12 months and was potty trained around 18 months of age.
9.3. Social: During infancy children develop socially by being able to respond to others in many situations. During this stage in life I was a quiet but happy baby. Always smiling and giggling, one of my favorite games was looking at "the baby in the mirror". As I moved into toddlerhood
9.4. Cognitive: Changes in this time included the move from the sensorimotor stage to the preoperational stage of cognitive development. According to my parents I was eager to learn and easy to teach. My vocabulary grew quickly and I had fun playing games that tested my intelligence. Because I was able to explore my own talents freely I was able to gain my sense of autonomy, as in Erikson's theory of psychosocial development.
