Young Adult

Social

As I grew older and entered my late teens, I started to relate more to my sister. When she still lived at home we would fight just like normal siblings do, but it wasn’t until she left for college that we became closer. We ended up sharing an apartment together during my second year of college, but it didn’t really work out; we decided that we love each other, but just couldn’t live together. A few years have passed and we have gotten even closer because we have shared a lot of life experiences at the same time even though there are 4 years between us. These are such things as, travelling, relationships, hobbies, etc. I would now consider her my best friend. There is no one else that I could ever share the same bond with, the same laughs, or the same jokes.

 

As one reaches young adulthood, close relationships with siblings begins to grow. Riggio (2000) asserts:

A shared background promotes similarity in values and perspectives, and the possibility of deep mutual understanding. Warm sibling relationships in adulthood are important sources of psychological wellbeing.

Cognitive

I have noticed a change in how I think and solve problems compared to when I was 18 years old and in my first year of college; I find that I like to challenge myself in school, and love to research, something that I always loathed to do.

This corresponds with Perry’s theory of epistemic cognition, where the thinking patterns of college students transforms from dualistic, where answers are either right or wrong, to relativistic thinking, where there are multiple answers or possibilities (Mpofu, 2010). The fact that I grew to enjoy researching is an example of my relativistic thinking: I want to know all the possible ‘why's’ and ‘how's’ to a certain problem or topic.

Emotional

I experienced my first serious relationship at the age of 19. There were many things that I learned from this relationship in terms of who I am as a person, and what I want out of life. It was hard, and it took quite a while to move on, but I used that time to focus on myself and accomplish all the goals that I set out to do: travelling, going on student exchange, running a marathon, spending more time with friends and family, etc. It was during these 3 years that I really figured out what I wanted out of life, and it wasn’t until then that I found the perfect person for me. So perfect, that he gave up his cushy life in Canada to move to New Zealand with me so I could pursue my goal of becoming a physiotherapist.

According to Erikson’s stages of adult psychosocial development, it is during this time that one will face the conflict of intimacy versus isolation; Erickson believes, “a secure identity fosters attainment of intimacy” (Berk, 2009). Looking back, I believe that I was not ready for such a serious relationship at the age of 19. However, I was able to reflect and reevaluate my life; I learned so much about myself and what I want in a relationship; I was able to develop a stronger self concept, or sense of identity, and this allowed me to commit to someone new and engage in a healthy relationship.

Cultural

Last year, shortly before Christmas Marjorie asked me to get her father to burn the imprint of our cattle brand, a reverse GB (standing for Grace and Bruce), on to a small piece of wood. I was wondering what she was up to, thinking she was making a project for her dad for Christmas. When she came home for the holidays she put on a pair of shorts which revealed her upper leg and said with a big smile and glint in her eye, ' Well, how do you like it?’ I was very surprised and taken aback that she had a tattoo of our brand on her beautiful leg. When she said it was a symbol of love remembering her parents for all time I was very honored."
Grace Walker

 During my adolescent years, especially during 13-16 years of age, I was the typical moody teenage girl who would constantly be annoyed by their parents and very irritable. According to Berk (2009), this is common during this stage, where parents will also notice that their adolescent’s are spending less time with them, and more time with their friends. It wasn’t until years later that I developed a more satisfying relationship with my parents. This can be attributed to leaving home and establishing my independence. I discovered how important family is to me, and how much I valued my upbringing as a farm kid.

My parents provided me with everything that they could, and were always supportive with everything that I have done or wanted to do. I needed to find a way to express this value and I thought the tattoo was perfect.