Section 7: Personality Development

38. According to my parents, I was slow-to-warm-up. As a child, I did not live in my biological father's house. My sister and I only visited my dad and his family from time to time. At first, I was very shy around my relatives and stayed quiet whenever I would spend time with them. They even nicknamed me "mute" or "pipi" in Tagalog because I usually wouldn't talk whenever I visited. After I got used to them, I started to be more comfortable and became more outgoing towards them.

Erickson's Stages of Social Development

39. Dear Journal, 

Stages 5 and 6 from Erickson's eight stages of personality development may be the highest hurdles to jump in life because it occurs during adolescence and young adulthood. Step 5 is when teens develop a sense of self and personal identity. As a teen in junior high and high school, this was difficult for me because a lot of my friends already had some sense, at least, of who they were. They knew what their interests were, their likes, dislikes, etc. while I couldn't even figure out which foods I liked best. As I grew older, I had a more refined sense of who I was (this mostly happened in high school). However, another reason why Stage 5 was difficult for me was because I mostly just stayed in my comfort zone. I never really ventured out and tried different things in order to figure out what my interests were. In 10th and 11th grade, I feel like I have improved in this more because I try things now that I usually don't really do. In 10th grade, I started dancing which helped make me take risks and be bolder and helped get me "out of my shell" a little bit more. I think that Stage 5 for me is still an ongoing process. Stage 6 is when young adults form intimate, loving relationships with other people. I've never had a relationship before but I've made a lot of friends. Some true, some not.

-Joan

Maslow's Heirarchy of Needs

40. On Maslow's Heiarchy of Needs, I currently see myself on Esteem Needs. Being this close to graduating makes me realize how close I am to achieving something that I can be proud of and something that I've worked hard for for the past few years. I think that this can motivate me to satisfy needs higher up on the pyramid. I see myself achieving these needs when I've graduated and am finally starting college.