Name: Aballa, Mary Ann E.

Grade & Section: 12 - Erickson

Psychosocial Moratorium on Something Spectacular

Something Spectacular is a novel first written and discovered in Wattpad by April

Avery. The story revolves on a college business student named Isabelle Dizon who
always got straight A marks in Accounting Department. Still, despite all the recognition
she received, she noticed that something lacks within her. She is struggling to look for
her passion and trying to make sense of her own world away from her parents' idea of
her. In this story, the protagonist is suffering from identity crisis called psychosocial
moratorium and eventually led to identity achievement.

At some point of human's life, they start to question the things around them,
including their sense of self. 'Who am I?', 'What do I want to be in the future?', and
'What skills do I have?' These are just some questions that adolescent usually ask and
start to doubt their abilities. The main character of Something Spectacular, Isabelle
Dizon experiences the same situation. She is scared of making her parents
disappointed, so she always does the things they wanted her to do. She exerts efforts in
studying, tries to make them proud and even attended a business course even though it
is not her passion. At their home, she was never cheered for her achievements. Every
time she walks through the hallway of their building, she never felt happy, curious, and
excited. All she feels every time their class ends are exhaustion and relief. Then at the
very corner of her mind, she knew that she does not love the things she's currently
doing and then she gradually doubts her identity.

Due to the pressure and unsupportive environment of the protagonist, she

started to be confused between her wants and need, ability and her identity. This is the
fifth stage of Erik Erikson's Psychosocial Development which is the Identity vs. Role
Confusion. Erikson sees this stage as confusion and experimentation regarding identity
and adolescence's chosen course of life. Isabelle felt empty and lost until she met a
rowdy group of people where her views started to change. This group comprises of six
members and part of an organization named Arcadian. The day Isabelle decided to defy
her parents' decisions; she started to undergo the psychosocial moratorium in which
Erikson coined the term to describe a free exploration before a final identity is achieved
(Newman, B., Newman P. (1994).
Name: Aballa, Mary Ann E.
Grade & Section: 12 - Erickson
Erikson's theory was further explained by James Marcia, a developmental
psychologist in which he identified the four statuses: diffusion, foreclosure, moratorium
and achievement. Isabelle Dizon's current status in development is the moratorium
wherein she is establishing her identity by exploring along with the Arcadians. She is
exploring and gradually building her views, passion, and objectives. Little by little, she is
breaking free from the chain of demands by her parents. During the foundation week of
their University, she was with her friends, and they taught her to unwind and gave her
the wisdom of becoming brave. Then the time when they went to a gathering for
aspiring artists, she found her passion and decided to pursue arts. The last encounter
with her close friend, Gavin, was the time she finally found and achieved her identity.

The story regarding dreams, freedom, struggles, friendship, and adolescence is

indeed inspiring and enlightening. For all the youth who are experiencing the same
situation will surely relate to the well-written story. The story gave light to all teenagers
to look and create something spectacular that will remain on their memories until
adulthood. However, I think that the book only focused on the struggles of Isabelle.
Personally, giving light and strengthening other characters such as every member of
Arcadians should be displayed regarding their attachment on their respective fields.
Building the Arcadian's background will strengthen the protagonist story.

The period of adolescence is where youth adapt to the changes around them.
Where they start to build questions and look for answers, this is the stage where it is
difficult to look for the right path into the future. Along the way, they stop, make
mistakes, doubt, and cling to the despair of what lies ahead of them. Therefore, several
professionals investigated and explained the developmental changes of humans to
enlighten and give clarification on human's behaviour. Isabelle Dizon is an epitome of
struggling teen lacking with the support of her parents. She is experiencing the
psychosocial moratorium wherein an adolescent is exploring, experimenting, and taking
a break from society's countless demands. This is the time where teenagers need to be
understood, guided, and accepted by adults no matter what changes they have over
time. Changes on human will always be inevitable, and every stage that a person has,
they must feel the sense of belongingness within a community.