Person 2 Paper

Stages of Development. (Adolescence to Late Adulthood)

Yekaterina Murafa

Salt Lake Community College

PSY-1100-SP 16, Pamela J. Lemons
April 18, 2016

Person 2 Paper
ABSTRACT
This is a second section of the Person Paper assignment. In this section we will be following a
human development from adolescent years to late adulthood. Since I started this project by using
myself as a subject, I will continue to do so. However, I am only forty, therefore I would have to
use my imagination as far as anything that would follow beyond forty. With that said, I will be
using realistic judgments of myself, and my development. I might however make myself a bit
more successful than I might be, just for fun. Of course you never know, I might live up to my
own expectations, and may even surpass them.
STAGE 6
Lets see where we left off. Fifteen years old, off to music college in my home town in
Ukraine. According to Eriksons stages of development, this one deals with identity. Identity
versus role confusion: Negotiating the complexities of finding ones own identity is the primary
task of adolescence. (Erikson, 1968)(Invitation to The Life Span, K.S. Berger, p.356). I would
like to think that I reached identity achievement, as I knew I wanted to be a musician, and being
a symphony musician was the ultimate goal. I knew music had to be my life, be in my life, and
without it I felt like my life would be incomplete, and very depressing. Nobody pressured me
into making this decision, it was completely and fully my own choice. Funny, or sadly enough, I
doubted this decision (of becoming a professional performer) many times later enough, as I dont
think identity search ever ends. Regardless, at the age of fifteen there wasnt anything I was sure
of more. All of the Four Arenas of Identity Formation described in the book was hardly applicable to my life. Religion was forbidden, one political party did not allow any free thoughts on
what political views one would have, working part time for money was virtually impossible in

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the former USSR, and gender identity is still not up for any discussion. The only thing I can relate to in the book is to finally finding my crowd. Coming out of nightmare of a middle school I
was in, I did not have any friends, I did not wanted any, nor I could relate to amy interests my
peers in middle school had. Now things were different- we were all musicians, connected by our
love for arts, music, and with that came very close friendships, and even first kiss, followed by a
heart broken by a clarinet player. To skip a long story, at the age of seventeen I was offered to
move to the United Staes, and making a hard decision, I began preparations for my departure.
STAGE 7
Adulthood, years from age 18 to 25. This should be a fun part of the paper to write. So many
different things had happened during this period, which of course had a direct effect on all of the
developments described in our text- biosocial, cognitive, and psychosocial. I was eighteen, in
America, free to make decisions about where to live, what to wear, and to hang out with
whomever I wanted. Now, I dont know if having all of those freedoms at once was a good thing,
as being so young, and responsible for myself in a new country could of been a disaster. Luckily,
I survived, probably due to strong health, and an influence of an upbringing by a very conservative grandma I have spent many years with. As probably has been true for millennia, everywoman body system- including the digestive, respiratory, circulatory, and sexual-reproductive
systems-functions optimally at the beginning of adulthood. (Invitation to The Life Span, K.S.
Berger, page 394). I can for sure attest to that. Working two jobs, going to school full time, and
party in between, slap fast food on top of that, occasional social smoking- how did I manage all
of that? Both of my jobs were physically enduring, I never had enough sleep as we used to party
late, leaving in Mew York, and got up for school early in the morning, mix in unhealthy eating

Person 2 Paper
I cant even have couple of drinks now, without being unable to function the next day. I do have
to say that this is when I slowly started learning how to deal with sadness that came from missing my family in Russia. I learned that little things would be the most helpful. For example- I
used to get off work in the bar around 1am, and since the bar I worked at was right in the middle
of Times Square, I would walk for a couple of blocks, listening to Miles Davis in my headphones. It would center me, make piece with my crazy day and schedule, and made me see all
the beauty of the place I was in. It finally hit me how lucky I was to get out of my horrible living
situation- I had amazing friends, I have already traveled Europe with a symphony- something I
could of never done back in Russia, and I had a freedom of choice of where to go next, I chose
Utah. I came to Salt Lake to visit a childhood friend, and somehow end up in his band for the
next ten years. Yes, those were literally rock star years. This is when I thought my identity was
achievedagain. I explored new styles in violin and piano playing, we have met so many amazing people, we played on pretty much every stage in Utah, and packed any venue, at any time.
Then all of a sudden I got pregnant, which moves us to a next stage

STAGE 8
Adulthood. Body and Mind. This is when life started throwing all sorts of choices at me. In
our book author starts chapter 12 with a story about Jenny, and choices she had to make about
having yet another baby, nothing in the best possible situation of actually having one. I have to
say- I most definitely could relate to her story. Now, that was my first pregnancy, however, my
circumstances were not the best for bringing a child into this world. I just barely started dating
the guy who got me pregnant, he was laid off his job, I just quit my job to be a full time rock star

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(it seemed like a good idea at the time), not to mention I was living in the house with my bandmates, and they did smoke a lot of pot. There was also a worry that some people express about a
possibility of my child being autistic, as my guy already had a daughter who was autistic. All of a
sudden everyone knew what would be best for me, and somehow majority of people expressed
their wish for me to have an abortion. I politely told everyone to get lost and decided to have a
baby after all, as I knew how to survive, and would do anything for my future born to have
everything she/he needed. Most importantly- I knew I would love that person more than anyone
and anything in the world, and I felt like that would be enough to get everything else going in the
right direction. I started a new path to a healthier body, and healthier and happier mind. I did
meet a lot of resistance from band mates, some relatives, but every day I kept working on being
positive, so my child, even when still inside of me, would only feel love and piece. Talking about
mind work out!
Things worked out, band eventually broke up, my daughters dad and I went our separate ways
as well, butthrough trial and error I learned how to start from the beginning. The best things is
that I have the most amazing partner in crime, and she is healthy, happy, smart, and I couldnt
ask for more.
Metabolism decreases by one-third between ages 20 and 60, which means that adults need to
eat less and move more each year. ( Invitation to The Life Span, K.S. Berger, page 438). Oh
how I wish this part of adulthood development was wrong. Before I had my kid I was in the most
perfect shape- about 125 lb weight, flat abs that I didnt even had to work for. Now I cant even
eat a bagel without blowing up like a balloon. Burgers and pizza are not your friends anymore,
and liquor had to be limited to once a month gatherings, with a very small amount at that. I now

Person 2 Paper
know if I dont work out I will get moody, my weight will start climbing back up, and I will hurt
pretty much everywhere. My jobs are still physical, and I do move around a lot, however, these
days its just not enough.
STAGE 9
Ahh! The dreaded midlife crisis. I think this adult here will do without one. Instead I think
Ill keep working on friendship and human development. Friendship helps with mental health.
One reason depression seems to decrease with age is that friends are more carefully selected, and
friendships more nourished, so that friends become more supportive over time. (Invitation to
The Life Span, K.S. Berger, page 470). Since I am still not very good at finding a life partner, nor
I actually have ever put an effort into looking, I figured my close friends are it- family, partners
in crime, etc. Over the years I have learned to make my circle of friends smaller, getting rid of
unnecessary drama, gossip, basically all the people that tend to complicate your life, rather than
make it easier. I know its coming off not in the best way, but when you reach a certain age, your
time becomes your most valuable commodity, and you have to make some hard choices. I have a
tight circle of friends that I would trust with anything, and vice versa.
STAGE 10
Late adulthood. Body and Mind.
The day-night circadian rhythm diminishes with age: Many older people wake before dawn
and are sleepy during the day. Older adults spend more time in bed, take longer to fall asleep
They also are more likely to nap. All of this is normal: If they choose their own sleep schedules,
elders are less likely to feel tired than young adults. (Invitation to The Life Span, K.S. Berger,

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page 502). If and when I get that old- I am looking forward to making my own sleeping pattern.
After having insane schedules my whole life, and never getting enough sleep - it will be nice for
a change to get some of it back. I envision myself living in the house on a lake, sitting on a porch
with a pipe and a bottle of vodka, thinking about life and listening to music. Maybe I will be an
old gypsy traveling the world with my violin, assuming my wear and tear allows me to do so. All
I am hoping for is that ageism does not impair my mind. I would like to remember my crazy life,
so at some point I can tell the stories of my amazing adventures to my grandchildren, that is of
course if I have any.

References
Invitation to The Life Span second edition, Kathleen Stassen Berger

-chapter 10, p.356

-chapter 11, p.394
-chapter 12, p.438
-chapter 13, p.470
-chapter 14, p.502

Person 2 Paper