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This transition has to do with the physical part of adolescence change. Throughout my adolescence I struggled felling like I couldn’t find my place a lot. All my friends hit puberty very early or at least like a year before me. They all had something to talk about, something in common. I couldn’t be in those conversations because I had nothing to say. They started to care about things that I genuinely didn’t ever think about at the time . Like boys. Hugging or kisses on the cheek, all I was worried about was playing monster high after school. I started to dislike myself and wonder what I was doing wrong since I still hadn’t started my period nor was there anything new growing on my body. I remember talking to my mom about it and she told me not to worry about it but that’s all I could do. It also didn’t help my friends would tell me that maybe there was something wrong because they’ve already had there period two years and I hadn’t even started yet.

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This is the part where it’s said adolescents begin to become more mature. There thinking becomes more complex and they develop a sense of self. I started to really care what I looked like when I started high school. I always wore makeup, always had my hair done, and never ever wore sweatpants or anything that looked bumy. I was so concerned on how someone would perceive me on first glance. I knew I was an outgoing person with a loud personality so I wanted to fix it by always looking good. I was told I was crazy so many times, and people used to ask if I was supposed to take meds and forgot to take them because I was being weird. I was bullied before high school because i was “annoying and weird” and things like that, so going to a bigger school meant more people to be mean to me. It was draining trying to fix myself so I’d be more fitting to others. It was like a flip switched and I stopped dressing for others. I wore what I wanted to wear, I didn’t care if it was baggy all around or if it was a sweatsuit with sneakers. I was comfortable and happy. I felt more like me. I also started to realize who cares what others think. I can’t change my personality, that’s who I was. So I started being more outgoing and saying what I wanted to. If someone didn’t like me that doesn’t hurt my feelings, not everyone is supposed to want to be my friend in this world and that’s okay. I started to grow on the fact that the only thing in the world that mattered to me was my happiness and success.

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My step fam and me eating at this burger place which is a new tradition when we go to Missouri 

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Social transitions is a time when an adolescent starts to begin their journey to adulthood and starting thinking about more harder topics and independence comes. With my family the older I got the more i started to join in on older family talks. Like we always did and 18 and up gift exchange for Christmas with my dad’s family and being able to find something that matches that family member is fun. I’m the second youngest grandchild so everyone was older than me so when I was finally old enough things just felt different. . I also got to hear more stories about my family and see a side I didn’t see when I was younger. They can speak to me freely and not worry about it being inappropriate. I started to learn recipes, and what traditions I want to uphold if I had a family one day. My family also loved vacations. No matter were we went. We used to have a cottage and that is where I grew up at and felt like I belonged but when I turned 18 they sold it and it’s something I will be grateful for because I learned so much from family members there. The older I got, the more bigger of a role I felt I had. I felt like I was maturing.

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There are 4 main parenting styles. Those being authoritative, authoritarian, indulgent, and indifferent. When I was growing up my parents were authoritative. Even though they were divorced they still agreed on rules and consequences. They gave me curfews, things I couldn’t do, people they didn’t want me hanging out with, and how they wanted my grades to be. But yet they always had a very valid reason to my rules. My curfew was 11, which to high school me was so early but now I totally get it. Im surprised it wasn’t earlier. They respected my wants but also made sure I knew I wasn’t the one in control. They always wanted to best for me and knew things I didn’t know yet. Like what people were good or bad for me. And I’m glad they cared for my grades because I didn’t and without those rules and consequences I wouldn’t of passed many classes. As I got older I understood there was an equal amount of respect going on and they just wanted me to thrive. I’m grateful for that.

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Me and my two close friends who i started to be friend with in high school. The one on the left is like my sister.

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Peer groups can change throughout many stages of adolescence. From elementary to high school they could be the same or completely different. These peer groups give a sense of belonging, support, validation, and self-discovery. They help influence behaviors, and develop social skills outside of family relations. These relationships can have many different effects whether they are positive or negative on ones personality/life. These peer groups can also help one navigate through challenges during self discovery. My peer groups changed a lot through my life. In elementary I had a a small close group of 2 girls and 2 boys. Just friends who were very weird. When I went to middle school it changed to just a group of me and 4 girls. Who honestly weren’t the best for me and helped me make bad decisions but I can’t 100% blame them. Then in high school that friend groups broke apart freshman year because they started to hate me for wanting to focus on my sport. Like they actually tried jumping me twice. So I started being really close with a couple girls on my cheer team. By the end of high school my peer group was girls on my team and a girl in my medical class. Which to this day I’m still very close to about 4 of them and hang with two of them religiously. These people truly helped me become myself and realize It’s my life and I shouldn’t worry about what others think. The girl on the left helped me through so many obstacles during high school.

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Schools provide a vital role for adolescents. They provide essential education, intellectual abilities, social development opportunities, and help shape knowledge. Schools can help shape how one wants to pursue their further. It gives them rounded education and sometimes early programs to help others decide what they want to do in college. It helps them make those social interactions with others and also help their self-discovery. Schools offer many supportive environments like counselors, and sports/ extracurricular activities. Which helps with personal growth. The higher up you get in schools the more it prepares you for the real world and your career. I went to a really big junior high and high school, which really helped me meet new people and help my social skills. I started choir and joined more sports teams. It helped me be happy and get my anger out or if I just wanted to have fun with friends. But with having such a big school we had many random courses you could take and even classes that are pre career classes. We had a medical technology class and that helped me realize I could never work with people in that way. I get queasy and then think that something bad is going to happen to me just like it did to them. But without school showing me all those courses I wouldn’t be so confident in what I’m doing in life now and who I surround myself with.

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During your adolescence you meet many people and go through many randoms experiences that help shape your identity. Many things can contribute to one’s identity and sense on belonging. Like events during school or individuals you meet throughout clubs or sports. When I was going through elementary, junior high, then high school I had many friend groups in which i acted different as a person in each one. Yet never felt like myself. Then in high school I finally decided that it was okay to only want to be friends with the girls on my cheer team. We all had the same work ethic, same values , and enjoyed a lot the same things. While the friends I used to have did not have a strong work ethic and did not like sports. It was a group by proximity, since it was my cheer team who i had been cheering with some of those girls since elementary. I would see those girls almost everyday and over summer we’d have camp together. So by sophomore year they were my complete best friends. Those girls helped me realize who I was, and helped me be more confident in who I want around me. They helped me realize I needed to do what’s best for me and that I’ll always have them to fall back on, which made me realize I love helping others and enjoying the little things in life. So for me personally cheer is a big part of my identity, I helped me find the people I’m still friends with today and be confident in the work I provide. It taught me to never give up and always work for what you deserve.

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Me and my friend working at Indian creek zoo (my mom was my boss and took this photo)

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Work leisure and media all play a big part in an adolescent’s personality and identity. They have so much free time and can use that time in negative or positive ways. And media is all over and easily accessible for anyone. For me personally I had a lot of free time during my adolescence because of covid. So i got a job, and that responsibility helped me adapt to change and taking on different leadership roles in one’s life. This time is a time where maturing and learning new skills. With working an adolescent can show of these new skills and learn to be more mature in many ways. Adolescents tend to have a lot of free time on them when they’re not in school, and sometimes getting a job is there best bet. I started my first job because my mom’s boss at her other job owned a small zoo. It was beginning covid and they needed workers but not exactly new people. I was around that zoo since I was 9, which was before they were even a zoo. I knew it very well. I wanted to make money for fun so I started working almost everyday as a cashier and then sometimes as a reptile, rodent, and insect keeper. This job helped me benefit in my communication skills with managers , customer service skills, and all around gave me confidence in trying new things and working hard. I also started to learn how to save my money better as the years went on, and what I should spend it on. I truly think having a job as an adolescent benefited me in many ways and helped me be more ready for bigger leaderships roles and to be ready for higher paying jobs.

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me and my twin, we share the same beliefs, values, and interests which is why we are so compatible. 

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Autonomy is very important in this developmental stage of adolescence. They are learning how to become independent from others and establishing a sense of identity. It encourages and helps individuals form independence. They are moving away from their dependency from friends and family to start developing their own beliefs, values, start making their own delicious, and find interests. With this they are also starting to make their own decisions for everyday responsibility’s small or big. They also are able to consider other people’s values , beliefs, decisions, and interests. For me i truly started making my own decisions when I started freshman year of collage and my relationship ended. I started to focus on what I wanted and who I wanted to surround myself with. I made my own descisions about everything I did and didn’t let the people around me influence that. I started to really support my values and beliefs and didn’t care if others didn’t like them. The people I surround myself with today have almost the same interest and values as me which is super beneficial.

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Adolescence starts the beginning of wanting to diver deeper into romantic relationships and sexuality. They can start to form an interest in being intimate with someone they’re comfortable around, and start being vulnerable. Like opening up and being honest, having hard conversations, talking about deep conversations, and allowing themselves to be seen in a different/deeper way. It doesn’t always have to be sexual. During adolescence puberty plays a big part in starting this exploration. The biological changes that happen within puberty also start aligning with sexuality, and wanting to start exploring yourself and others. During most of my adolescence I didn’t care about romantic relationships or anything. I honestly hated anything that had to do with being intimate and really enjoyed just being with friends and doing random stuff but once I was a senior in high school I had my first boyfriend which led me to exploring romantic relationships and intimacy. I think intimacy is super beneficial for relationships and not just in a sexual aspect yet to this day I’m still timid about all that and rather focus on myself and academics/sports.

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During adolescent development sexuality starts to playa big role. Adolescents start to look and explore into their sexuality. This means exploring intimacy and exploring who they are sexually/ romantically attracted too. It is also a time where they start to explore or express themselves and even become more confident and understand their body. This time is very important for adolescents so it’s important for them to have accurate sex education. Without doing so it can lead to risky behaviors like unprotected sex. For the longest I wasn’t into being in romantic relationships. I really knew nothing about everything that had to be sexual and was scared to do things because of scary stories I heard from others. I think this is because the “sex education” i had was very brief and only pushed the fact that if unprotected you could have a kid or an STD. They really didn’t speak about body autonomy or anything else. Once my senior year came around I decided to step out my comfort zone and start exploring which I then had a long term boyfriend. I was comfortable in my own skin and took time with everything. It wasn’t only about intimacy but also mental aspect of a healthy relationship. Which to this day I’m more interested in the mental connection you have with someone your romantically attracted to.

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Me and my little sister at graduation, this is when I realized i really did it.

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Achievement during adolescence is extremely important. It plays a significant role in shaping one’s identity and self-esteem. Achievement during this time period can boost confidence and motivation. It helps adolescents develop a sense of competence and mastery in various areas of their lives, such as hobbies, sports, or/and academics. With the achievements they have it can help lead them in their adult life. Accomplishment during adolescence can provide a sense of purpose and navigation which can then navigate the challenges of this transitional phase towards adulthood. As time goes on adolescents start to think about those long-term things when it comes to their achievements. They may even wonder if these achievements will impact them negatively or positively from peers. For example if they are really good at sports more people will like them or that if they’re smart everyone will think they’re a nerd. For a while I truly was back and forth when it came to thinking about my long-term effects of my achievements. I didn’t care about school the first two years of high school and I wish I did. But with cheer I always thought if I worked my butt of I could get into a good school for cheer, but then my senior year I started to hate cheer because of drama so I didn’t put myself out there as much. But when I chose Lourdes and got scholarships from some of the achievements I made in high school it helped my mental health so more and so now Im always looking into the future when I try and make new achievements.