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Early Childhood: Initiative vs. Guilt
When Cat is 4 years old, she is enrolled in preschool where she is able to socialize on her own and meets Anna, her future best friend, and the two begin playing together regularly. During this stage of development, we have learned the basics of communication and are able to move on our own, so we are taking our first steps to interact with our surroundings, either learning how to take action on our own or developing a sense of guilt if initiative is not properly encouraged -
Middle Childhood: Industry vs. Inferiority
Towards the end of this stage, as Cat begins middle school, she becomes friendly with many of her classmates and developing her own world and culture independent from her home life. At this stage, we've mastered the basic childhood lessons and gain some independence, allowing us to move beyond the framework of our home lives and integrate into a larger community, either with confidence enthusiasm or feeling like we are behind the curve and don't quite fit in with our surroundings. -
Adolescence: Identity vs. Identity Confusion
In the Summer of her 17th year, Cat attends a youth writing workshop in Chicago to further develop her skills as a writer, hoping to eventually pursue a career in the field. As teenagers, the lessons experiences of our childhood begin to shape us into our unique selves. We should develop specific interests begin to think about how we might fit into the world as full grown adults, however, if the identity isn't honed in this stage, we might feel confused misguided as we enter adulthood.