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Life Map Presentation
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2 Years Old
Autonomy vs. Shame
Around the age of two, I was taken from my mother because she was incapable of taking care of me. She went to jail, and my god-mother took me in. She and her mother, Lena Williams, served as a consistent source of love and guidance which produced autonomy within me. As a result, Lena Williams stayed in my life and served as another grandmother to me. Most of the good in my childhood are directed correlated to Lena Williams. -
Robin with Lena Williams as she protectively puts her hand on her shoulder
Lena Williams was a teacher, and taught me how to count, my ABCs, shapes, and how to spell my name. At an early age, I was reading, writing, and counting. -
4 years old
Initiative vs. Guilt
The reality was, she was not my real grandmother and had no legal backing to keep me. My grandmother took guardianship over me and my brother. My brother, who is 18 months younger than me, moved in with my grandmother and her husband. This was an authoritative household. I did not develop to take an initiative to try things. Everything was restricted, even my play. I was always second guessing myself and careful not to make a mistake because it would result in trouble -
My Brother and I
My brother had behavioral problems due to him not attaching to my mother because of her inconsistencies as a baby during the trust vs. mistrust phase. When we moved to our grandmother's authoritative household, he was sneaky. He was often physically abused by my grandmother's husband. Again, Lena Williams was our "safe place". Even though we never told what was going on, it was always good to go to her house and feel safe. In this picture our body language shows the insecurity. -
8-18 years old
When I was 8, my grandmother's husband began to sexually abuse me. When I was 10, my brother left the house while I was gone. This was during the Industry vs. Inferiority phase. In the beginning, I didn't know what was going on. I just knew I wasn't supposed to say anything. I was good at school, but I liked to be the class clown. I enjoyed making people laugh because that was something I was good at. -
Sexual Trauma
The abuse continued until I was 18 years old. I didn't tell, but my ticket out of that situation was college. I got accepted into Virginia Tech. But those feelings of inferiority created a mindset that I flunked out of college. From 12-18, the stage of development according to Erikson is Identity vs Role Confusion I had a hard time of having a good grasp of who "Robin" was. This also contributed to my academic failures. -
21 years old
2001-2002 was a great pivotal point in my life. I recently gave my life to Jesus Christ. This helped me establish an identity of who I was, a Christian woman with great purpose from God. I began seeing my life as not just a clump of random misfortunes, but something that could be used for good. I began meeting people with similar stories as mine and I didn't feel so isolated. We began sharing our testimonies and how they walk around their Christian faith. -
Wedding Bliss
January 2, 2002, my husband and I got married. We have in common very difficult childhoods. We sought out guidance and we got mentors to help us in our new journey together. This helped us establish a solid foundation in our marriage. We were taught to never disrespect each other and to always support one another. This resulted in a solid marriage rooted in strong intimacy which we still enjoy. -
Parenting
With the help of our mentors, we were supported in parenting our children. They understood the complexities of our childhood and helped us with the things that we missed and made sure we understood what our children needed. Despite being in the military, we did not feel alone when it came to our marriage and raising our children. -
Today
I am currently in the stage of Generativity vs. Stagnation. My husband and I are both thinking about the next generation and how we can prop our children and grandchildren to overcome obstacles they may come across. I went back to school and finished my degree in Psychology. I am currently pursuing my Master's Degree in Social Work. My experiences and pain has become my purpose and what I want to use to help others.
