Psychologist Eric Erikson redefined and expanded Sigmund Freud's theory of stages. According to his theory each person passes through eight psychosocial stages that are predetermined and set by nature. Each stage is characterized by a psychological "crisis", which must be resolved by each person before one can move to the next. Stage three focuses on the crisis of initiative versus guilt. When I was a child my mother always inspired me to be creative, become a ballerina and excel in school. My mother's encouragement has helped me to established strong sense of initiative instead of guilt.

Looking back on my childhood days, I remember instead of letting us watch cartoons, my mother would always come up with different activities for me to do. She especially supported my passion for painting. She bought me all different kinds of art material with all the colors I could imagine. I also...