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Achievement during adolescence is crucial as it correlates to adult roles and their decisions can have dire consequences. It is also where adolescents start to stand out and their accomplishments can lead to big successes that filter into adult life. Adolescence is extremely salient to one’s future especially in our society as the better you do in high school the more likely your are to get in a good college. Also the more determined you are in a sport or other activity contributes to ones future. Adolescence begin to think about long-term consequences and also how their achievements may impact them in the future and this can be positive and negative since adolescence tend to value their peers opinions. They may think that being super smart or academically successful may make them less popular or on the other hand they know that it could lead to more successful occupations in the future, and they are on a good head start to a substantial life. I was very much on the latter perspective as I always thought about the long-term consequences that came to my academic success, and I perhaps did it too much as it became a very big focal point in my life. I would be extremely hard on myself and take my academics too serious at times. I wanted to make sure that I was on the right path and that I was doing everything I could so that my future would be bright. The image I chose however, reflects the first perspective that I addressed in which individuals may not want to succeed academically as it may be embarrassing or not cool to do so. In the movie mean girls the main character is really good at math and is encouraged to join the math team , but is discouraged by her peers as joining the math it comes across as being a loser.

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During the development of adolescence is a time where adolescent start to explore and look into their sexuality. This means exploring intimacy and exploring who they are attracted to romantically. It’s also a time where they can express themselves more confidently, and begin to understand their body. Sexuality can also be a risky time if teens are not presented with accurate information, it can lead to them engaging in risky behaviors such as unprotected sex. Thus, it is important to provide adequate sexual education. It’s also important to not ignore this stage of development as it is one of the most crucial aspects. I wasn't interested in romantic relationships until the end of my high school experience and I wasn’t comfortable or engagedin any sexual experiences yet. Sexuality is an important part of development for every adolescent, and it does not look the same for every adolescent. Although I wasn’t very interested in intimacy at this time, I do feel that the type of sexual education I have received was not good and I feel that we as either a state or country or even society needs to do a better job at educating adolescents about sexuality and not just about sex but body autonomy and consent and more. The picture I chose is a scene from the movie mean girls where the movie takes a satire approach that is simultaneously reflective of how sex education is. They make a joke about how having sex means you will die and I feel that this is reflective of the experience I had as of course they do not say you would die, but they focus so much in abstinence and talked about the risk that I feel it was not very effective in it being sexually positive . Sex education as we have learned through this model should focus on it being informative and not completely stray away from teenagers having sex and it also does not mean that you are encouraging sex. There is a significant amount of adolescence that do engage in intimacy and the more that adults try to ignore it or push it away. The more that adolescents will try and figure out things themselves and get inaccurate information and therefore get into dangerous or risky situation.

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During adolescence, an individual starts to form their own morals, values, opinions, religious beliefs, politics and more which contribute to their behavior and actions. A big influence is also peers as teenagers tend to care about what their peers think of them and strive for their admiration. I surrounded myself with peers that had the same values, beliefs and morals as me. I was very passionate about my morals, values, politics, religion and more and it was during my adolescence where I started to explore these areas more and educating myself about them. My morals, values, and beliefs and opinions often reflected itself in my assignments and who I chose to associate with. I consider myself a very open-minded person and I would come across very close-minded people and not be very interactive with them.

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Kat Stratford - 10 Things I hate About You

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Adolescence is the beginning of wanting to explore romantic relationships and sexuality. Adolescents start to form and express interest in becoming intimate with someone and being open, honest, and vulnerable with someone else. As biological changes within puberty also align with exploring sexuality, Adolescent is the start of learning how to be with someone in more vulnerable context. During my adolescence I was more focused on my academics and friends than romantic relationships it was not until the end of my senior year I started to explore romantic relationships. In the film 10 Things I Hate About You, the lead female character who is in the picture is first not interested in dating and focused on herself and her schooling. I like her was not really concerned with being in a relationships at first and wanted to put by academics first. I was also more focused on my friendships. Therefore, I was more focused on my platonic relationships as opposed to romantic relationships, which we learned in this module, is also an important component within adolescence.

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Me (on the right) and my best friend taking pictures at walmart 

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A major aspect of adolescence is learning and understanding what one’s identity is. In other words, that means finding yourself and knowing who you are. Adolescence tends to be the beginning of this massive and at times long journey. I am definitely not the same person I was in high school but there are many attributes about me that are reflective of who I am today. It wasn’t until high school were I really started to be more involved in my academics and become more aware of who and what I wanted to be in life. I wasn’t completely sure what I wanted to do until late high school, but I knew that whatever it was that I did, I wanted to make a positive impact in this world. An Important component of me finding my identity was being around people who I felt like I was comfortable being around and who encouraged me to be the best version of myself. One of those people was my best friend who I am still best friends with currently today. I strongly feel that our friendship played a major role and me finding out who I am and what it is I do and do not like. Our friendship really helped me grow and break out of my shell in a way where am I became more social and outgoing.

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An important component of becoming an adolescent is obtaining a sense of independence and one of the biggest things about being independent is obtaining responsibility. One of the most significant ways an adolescence can gain responsibility is to take on a job or sport or other form of activity that teaches them vital life skills and promotes them to have responsibility. During my adolescence I was already a pretty responsible kid however I got even more responsibility by working part time in a daycare and participating in the Toledo debutante organization and the National Technical Honor Society. My job was crucial and helped me improve my sense of responsibility as working at a daycare means you are responsible for children. Since children are one of the most important things if not the most important thing in the world it is extremely important that there are responsible people working with them. I’ve learned many skills pertaining to child development and working with children that even impact me when parenting my own child. Other things I learned in regards to responsibility or life skills was through many leader ship workshops through my debutante organization and my National Technical Honor Society. Both programs allowed me to be a part of my community and to take on leadership roles or teamwork roles to better understand how my actions can impact others around me.

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Penta Career Center - Vocational High School I attended.

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School plays a pivotal role in all of our lives. In adolescents' schools can shape their cognitive thinking skills, leadership skills, academic skills, and more. The curriculum, structure, size and area of the school all impact adolescent's development. The path schools leave for adolescents can cause negative or positive implications for their success later on in life. While I attended a normal high school my freshmen year, I attended a career tech school my sophomore through senior year. I received both a general high school education and education in my technical skill (Small Animal Care). I feel that vocational schools can be a great asset to the community/society and the adolescent population. College is not for everyone and that's okay! Tech schools especially those targeted for teenagers can be crucial to improving their employment skills and hard-working skills in general. Many tech careers are beneficial and needed careers. I feel that so many schools try to push college down adolescents' throats when career schools are just as important and informative. At the career school I attended there were many options all the way from construction to dental assisting. Students could choose whatever program they wanted and most students enjoyed their tech programs and looked forward to coming to that portion of school.

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Although the movie is mainly a comedy it shows how we can lose ourselves by trying to fit in.

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Although I never experienced anything to the degree of Mean Girls, I did experience cliques and the struggle of fitting in. During adolescence, peer approval and fitting in become very important. Adolescence begin to take social relationships more seriously and begin searching for people who have similar interests as them. However, outside influences like society or peers can impact their behavior and make them do things to get others approval. In the movie the main character ends up becoming who she wanted to destroy and it almost cost her, her valuable friendships and academic success. I attended a high school where most students had money and wore named brand clothes. At the time my parents and I were living with my grandma in a two bedroom apartment. My parents couldn't afford rent let alone a $80 Nike sweatshirt. I never felt like I could fit in with anyone there and eventually became very reserved and quiet. Although I did not lose myself to the extent where I became what I hated, I lost my confidence and excitement in peer relationships. It wasn't until I switched schools where I found my peer group who accepted me for who I was and did not care if I had the latest iPhone or not.

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Dear Mama - this songs explains the gratitude and love of a mother and   how that love is reciprocated  

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During adolescent family dynamics can change as parenting a teenager is much different than parenting a child. There are many different routes parents can take and the routes they take can have positive or negative implications to their adolescents development. It is also a time where family may become the background as peers start to take center stage. However, I only had one close friend and although my mother and I would argue at times we were still very close. I still hanged out with my mom a lot in high school and felt like she was always supportive. My mother was an authoritative parent, and her parenting style helped me become more mature and academically successful. My mom was one of my best friends during my teenage years and still is.

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Social Transitions consist of a time where adolescents will begin to take their journey to adulthood and becoming more and more independent. As a child my family struggled financially. Therefore, by the time I was a 15 I already had to get a job to help my parents out. While many teenagers have jobs during this time and begin making their own money, there were many times I would have to give my money up to help my parents. This experience made me aware of the importance of school and being financially responsible. Therefore, as I entered adulthood, I became very strict on my spending. I also had a less traditional job for a teenager. I worked in a daycare which also helped show me that I really enjoy working with children.

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Unlike my childhood, during my adolescence I became much more passionate and dedicated about my academics. When I was a child, I went to school to socialize and play. However, for my adolescent years I focused more on my grades. Adolescents gain the ability of abstract concepts and possibilities. I began to understand the importance of good grades and the long-term impact it can have on one's life.

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A major change and one of the first signs of adolescence is puberty or body changes. These changes can lead to significant insecurities and body perceptions. During my adolescence social media was a big thing and I saw what was considered by society's standards as the perfect body and knew mine did not look like that. I often felt insecure and ashamed of my body and how it was developing.