Isolation. This stage I know I will struggle with for many years to come, however, Erikson’s fifth stage is one I find to be very memorable. Identity vs. role confusion has impacted me in so many ways which is the reason I find myself struggling with the sixth stage so much. In my younger teen years, I physically matured slower, as every other girl around me including my sister matured vastly. Dealing with bullying being called a “pixy stick” or “stick girl”, I started to find myself embracing a boy’s role since I saw myself as having a boy’s body. I started to plan my future around this mindset that I would either go into the military, or become a mechanic. Growing up as a tom boy, I highly enjoyed racing dirt bikes, fishing, and playing in the mud, as the girls around me were enjoying spending their time learning make up techniques and the latest fashion trend. For a while, I enjoyed being known as the “tough girl”, mainly because other girls feared me and my odd lifestyle, but that all changed when I turned …show more content…
I attempted to try make up for the first time, but once revealing the final product of my “master piece”, I was horrified. While still having a slow growing physical appearance, I felt that I shouldn’t wear make-up and “be a girl” when I don’t have the body of one. Therefore, with my dissatisfaction of my own body, I was introduced to tattoos. My sister being 6 years older than me got her first tattoo when she was 23. I remember being filled with so much admiration of this new body trend; I was able to talk my parents into letting me get one. While my parents were involved in my life to keep me socially in check, they were never there emotionally. Therefore, at the age of 17, and figuring life out by myself, tattoos for me were a way to take the attention off my body shape and point it in the direction of not only my new body work, but also my passion. Every tattoo I had pierced in my skin was something that was close to me, it was my own way of putting my heart out on my