1. Identity Status (Chapter 12)A. Career/Professional Aspirations While in high school I went from a huge public school to a small charter school. This allowed me to step outside of my environment and explore other options for my future. When I was 16 my character had started to mature resulting in the achievement of my identity in my life. I was committed to improving my present so that my future would be prodigious. I already knew at the age of 16 that I wanted to become a family law attorney, but before reaching that conclusion my focus became more on teaching. After researching both careers and starting to experience different situations in both fields, I was finally able to make my choice. From reading the text you understand that someone with this identity status believes strongly in what they want to do, is committed to their values ​​and goals, and follows a period of exploration (p. 315). During this journey to research future careers I had to do a lot of research. As I started to develop a taste for what I wanted to do in the future, I knew I loved children, so I ventured into the path of teaching. At the time, I was attending a charter school that allowed me to intern in a third grade classroom. I loved it; I gave spelling tests, helped with lessons and arts and crafts, all this time I was only 14 years old. In my mind this would be an exceptional job. Being with the children all day, teaching them skills they would use in their future. It was a dream for me. But as I explored I had to realize that if I wanted to live the lifestyle I grew up in as a teacher, I wouldn't let it. The book talks about how, in the phase of achieving identity, one looks at the criteria of w...... middle of paper ......rted (page 330). Dealing with eating disorder recovery and dealing with my parents finding out many of my secrets, my hormonal response was putting my body into a depressive state. As a girl I am more likely to experience depression than a boy (page 330). Although many girls feel depressed due to early maturation, many other factors are involved (p. 330). Many times girls do not know how to deal with everyday problems such as anxiety and the problems they encounter every day (page .330). For me, I wasn't sure how to navigate life with an eating disorder that everyone knew about, I didn't know how to talk about the anxiety of trying to be perfect again and trying to get healthy. Even though I had a counselor to talk to and someone to help me, I was a 16 year old girl and didn't know how to express the feelings I was having causing further depression.