“By doing so, we en- hance an understanding of adolescence, the life course more generally, and the developmental pro- cesses that connect the two. We shouldn’t isolate all of these ages as complete separate chapters of life”. (Johnson, Crosnoe & Elder, 2011, p.274)

As read in the article, it is basic psychology, or at least general knowledge, that all of our experiences can shape much of who we become and what we do in life. Every single person is a product of past encounters along with new ones that allow for personal growth to alter and shift concurrently with time. These shifts are also based on various external influences as well as one’s intrapersonal relationship- which diverges throughout the span of life. What we consider to be the “phases of life” seems to resemble gray matter in that when and how we each go through each phase is subjective. It is not to say that particular ages in which childhood to adolescence to adulthood do not exist, in a more general sense they do, but I support that more investigation of their relativity is needed.
The standard transition of adolescence to early adulthood in and of itself has begun to look quite different from what it used to, but I wonder if creating expectations for kids to “be a certain way” by a certain age is always the right way to go, (I feel that perhaps it is not). Why are our students the way they are at the age they are at? What does their daily life look like? What kind of expectations do they have of themselves? /do others have of them?
I think we need overall to reverse, rewind and study the interconnectedness of these paradigms which could provide us with a more clear, holistic view of ourselves, our students, and of life itself- ie it’s context in a “full life course” (Johnsons et al, 2011).