I am not too sure that my pursuit of an higher education satisfies my needs for autonomy. Granted, I am satisfied and proud of achieving an higher education along with doing well in my studies. Yet, I feel that societal pressure to get a college degree was a strong influence in my decision to go to college. In fact, I went to college because  introjected regulation motivated  me to prove to people that I am competent and capable of getting a degree, as well as to avoid feelings of shame & guilt that comes with being a young adult who does not have their life figured out (Deci and Ryan, 1985). Therefore, I would consider myself autonomously dependent or heteronomous. 

Ironically, my pursuit of higher education has gave me a feeling of community and relatedness that I never experienced outside of my personal microsystem. Meaning, university life introduced me to a vast majority of culturally and intellectually diverse people that challenged me, motivated me, and gave me a new prospective on the world I live in. 

Most importantly, I believe my academic life has satisfied a need for competence that I did not realize that I strongly desired. Previously mentioned, I had no desire to go to school because I struggled in grade school and dropped out of college during my first attempt at higher education. However, the more I succeed in my academics, the more intrinsically motivated I feel to keep pursuing more academic success, and building my self-esteem at far as how I view my own worth. 

References:

Ryan, Richard M, and Edward L Deci. Self Determination Theory and the Facilitation of Inartistic Motivation, Social Development, and Well-Being. 1985, s3.amazonaws.com/blackboard.learn.xythos.prod/5a3434ca259b6/4600266?response-cache-control=private%2C%20max-age%3D21600&response-content-disposition=inline%3B%20filename%2A%3DUTF-8%27%27SDT.pdf&response-content-type=application%2Fpdf&X-Amz-Algorithm=AWS4-HMAC-SHA256&X-Amz-Date=20201102T030000Z&X-Amz-SignedHeaders=host&X-Amz-Expires=21600&X-Amz-Credential=AKIAYDKQORRYTKBSBE4S%2F20201102%2Fus-east-1%2Fs3%2Faws4_request&X-Amz-Signature=d4c9b9456137e5838ce55d9bb5094b8360c3a52598b265ea8b23619365bd71dc.