Adolescent Development
In adolescence, one can experience many thoughts and emotions. Some have memorable years, and others have erased their teen years from their memory banks. It could also serve as a pivotal period in some of their lives as they begin to grow and evolve into adulthood. This is my story and what being an adolescent felt like for me.
My childhood days as I remember were ok. I had lots of fun spending time with family and as a child, didn't seem to have a care in the world. I didn't know anything about responsibility, accountability, or anything for that matter. I didn't even realize how poor we were because it didn't seem to matter. My routine was fairly ...view middle of the document...
These were areas that were a concern for me, and it was an especially difficult time in my life. Instead of enjoying my teenage years, I became withdrawn and recluse. It may seem strange to some, but I didn't have the pleasure of enjoying a movie or bowling with friends as I grew up. I never went to parties or sleepovers except with my cousins. I felt accepted by my family, and they never seemed to judge me. Things began to change for the better and in my late adolescent years, the acne started to get better and I began feeling better about myself and I was embracing the change that my body had gone through. By this time, I had already missed out on a couple of years not hanging out with friends and it felt like I was a step behind. That was one of the impacts of being withdrawn and not wanting to be around friends. Some of them actually thought I didn't want to be friends with them but that was far from the truth. This also made me realize that I wasn't being judged by what I looked like or what I wore, my friends accepted me for who I was. After doing some catching up, I also learned that they were going through similar struggles, but the only difference is they had each other to talk to. I forfeited that opportunity because I thought I was being judged. Now that I was back to hanging out with my friends, I began feeling accepted and with acceptance comes other things. Not that I was peer pressured into doing so but, I had my first drink with my friends and even experimented with drugs. It didn't take long for me to realize that I didn't want to use drugs, and once again another separation formed. It was hard to talk to my parents about what I was experiencing because I felt like they wouldn't understand what I was going through. I did however rekindle that relationship with my friends but also made the decision that I didn't have to conform to what they were doing to be accepted.
Even though the adolescent phase is a period in a teen's life when they are discovering who they are, it also plays a major role in which they become. Today, I am a happily married 41 year old; that doesn't have many friends but am very content with my life and how it turned out. Looking back over the years, I see some of the same struggles with my son and how he is maturing. Although we are better off financially than I was growing up, he is experiencing acne, puberty and is girl crazy but doesn't talk to us about it. Now that I am a parent, I realize that my parents did know what I was going through but they let me experience it as well as learn in the process.
How does an adolescent perceive themselves is such a mix of emotions trying to deal with their physical changes and also becoming aware of their sexually. They are finding it hard to separate all these emotions and struggle with just finding who and what they are. With today's possibility of contacting STD's, and the peer pressure to experiment sexually today's adolescent face an...
