Final Reflective Paper

My Life’s Journey
Michael Nichols
PSY202: Adult Development and Life Assessment (ABB1226F)
Dr. Linda Martin
Ashford University
7/16/2012

Outline
I. What Does My Past Say About Me?
    A. Family Life and Growing Up
    B. My So-Called Teenage Years
    C. Early Twenties and Searching for Myself

II. Where Am I Presently in My Life?
    A. Starting a Family of My Own
    B. My Crazy, Rollercoaster Life
    C. Changes and Rediscovering Myself

III. What Does My Future Hold?
    A. Finally Obtaining My Degree
    B. A Satisfying Career to Provide for My Family
    C. A Home/Work Life Balance

My Life’s Journey
In this paper I will explore that journey of my life: my past, my present and future. I have had a lot of ups and downs throughout my life but I do not regret or wish to do over any part of it because it has made me the man I am today. And when it comes to telling my story there are several things to keep in mind, where have I been, how did I get here, and where am I going?
So here is the first question that needs answered, what does my past say about me? My family life and growing up had its normal trial and tribulations and there were milestones that adolescence meets. “Erik Erikson and Daniel Levinson developed influential theories suggesting our lives develop in patterns, often within roughly the same time frame.” (Witt, G.A., & Mossler, R A. 2010). However, my childhood was anything but normal. I was born in 1977 to two parents that were practically still kids themselves. Two years later, they had another child and in 1981 had their third and what everybody thought was their final child. The reason being is that my third sibling was born three months premature and with cerebral palsy. This information will be important later. As I grew up and was working towards my teens, there were a lot of things that were abnormal. My mother developed breast cancer and was in and out of the hospital and my father developed a rare...