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Akiko in Gradeschool
Akiko wants to be an astronaut, but is told by a boy in her school that she should learn how to cook because that's what she will do as an adult. Akiko asks her parents about this, which they confirm saying she will marry and be a wife. This represents Erikson's industry versus inferiority. The crisis is between Akiko learning whether or not her desire to be something other than her culture expects her to be is worth losing face in her culture. -
Akiko moves to United States
At age 17, Akiko moves from Japan to the United States. She was experiencing disillusionment with the role of women in Japanese society and wanted to move to a country where she felt she might find a better way to express her identity. Akiko is going through Erikson's identity versus identity confusion, the crisis where she is leaving what she knows behind and delving into something completely new. -
Akiko becomes a professor
Akiko is given a teaching position at a prestigious college where she teaches astrophysics. This is an example of Erikson's generativity versus stagnation. Akiko has learned that her skills in math and science can help others achieve their goals and become scientists, or astronauts, like she had wanted to be as a child. The crisis her is accepting that she will not be an astronaut and enjoying her position teaching, or wallowing in self pity because she did not achieve her childhood dream.
