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This picture shows a guy sweating and working out in the gym. This symbolizes the weight gain and increased testosterone I experienced in my adolescence.

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Biological transitions in adolescence are primarily hormone driven changes in the physical appearance. For instance, girls typically experience the development of breasts, widening of hips, and the onset of menstruation. Boys, on the other hand, may notice the growth of facial and body hair, deepening of the voice, and an increase in muscle mass. Both genders may undergo a growth spurt, resulting in a rapid increase in height. Additionally, there are changes in skin texture and oiliness, with the potential onset of acne due to increased hormone production.

For me personally I never had bad acne and hair growth was not a major thing for me neither. One noticeable change was the increase in testosterone and a lot of gained weight. When I was 18, I gained over 20 pounds in less than one year. I especially connect that time to working out and eating the hole day.

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This is the logo of a german agency that brings german athletes to the US to play college sports. It represents identity formation and metacognition for me.

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Cognitive transitions in adolescence are the profound shifts in thinking and reasoning abilities that occur during this stage. This significant cognitive development is marked by advancements in abstract thinking, critical analysis, problem-solving, and decision-making skills. They become more adept at understanding complex concepts, evaluating information, and considering multiple perspectives, laying the groundwork for independent thought and intellectual autonomy. Additionally, adolescents develop greater self-awareness through metacognition, enabling them to monitor and regulate their thoughts and behaviors more effectively. These cognitive transitions not only shape adolescents' intellectual capabilities but also play a crucial role in identity formation, social interactions, and future planning, ultimately preparing them for the challenges and opportunities of adulthood.

For me my decision to choose an exercise science major over a math major and going to the US instead of Germany show that kind of development. Making those decisions helped me thinking about my future and what I want in life.

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Ozean by AnnenMayKantereit - This is a song from my favorite German band about leaving the past on the other side of the occean, just like I did when I came to the US.

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Social transitions in adolescents are the profound changes in their social relationships, roles, and identities. These transitions involve shifts in peer dynamics, exploration of identity, renegotiation of family relationships, and initiation of romantic involvements. They play a critical role in shaping adolescents' sense of self, social skills, and adaptation to the broader social world. For me moving from Germany to the US was like a new beginning. From one to the next day my hole environment changed and I didn’t know anybody from here. I was basically able to reinvent myself, and anything that happened in the past was irrelevant, because nobody knew anything about my past. I was able to be whoever I wanted and develop my social skills. That’s also the theme of the song. It’s about leaving your past on the other side of the occean. I heard that song a lot when I knew I was moving to the US and it is still one of my favorite songs.

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That’s a picture from the Bavarian alps my mum send me this week. It represents home and family for me.

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In adolescence, "family" refers to the people who are closest to teenagers and often includes parents, siblings, grandparents, and other relatives who provide support, guidance, and care. Family members play a significant role in adolescents' lives, influencing their development, values, and relationships. I was super fortunate to grow up with two parents that love me and an older brother and sister. My brother is only 18 months older than me, so we had a lot of the same friends and even played on the same soccer team for a while. I grew up in a rural area in south Germany close to the mountains with a lot of nature. I went on a lot of hikes with my mum, which created a strong connection between the mountains and home and family for me. I think the positive relationship to my family shaped and helped me being who I am today and I will always be thankful to my parents for that.

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This is a team picture of my U19 soccer team. My teammates always were one of my most important peer groups in every team I played, even outside of practice and games.

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Peer groups play an important role in the development of adolescents. During this period of life, individuals seek belonging and acceptance, which is often found within their peer circles. In those circles adolescents can explore different aspects of their personality, values, and interests. Interactions within peer groups help the development of social skills, emotional regulation, and conflict resolution abilities. For me probably the most important peer group was always my soccer team. I’ve played for different clubs over the time, but that was true for each of them. Besides practice and games we went out together, met up to play soccer in our free time, or watched soccer games together. I think working together for one goal and spending that much time together just bonds automatically.

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This is a picture of my friend and me at our high school graduation ceremony in Germany. It was during Covid and celebrated the successful finish of 12 years of school.

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Schools play a big part in the teenage years. It's more than just general education, it's where adolescents form connections and figure out who they are. Being around classmates helps them learn how to socialize, understand their emotions, and handle conflicts. Schools are like a training ground for life skills, where teenagers pick up how to get along with others, solve problems, and manage their feelings. Plus, the school environment gives them a sense of belonging and support. Even if I didn’t love school, I started missing it after a couple weeks into summer break. I started missing some of my friends I only saw in school and I started missing having a regular schedule and a set time to wake up. I never had any problems with anybody in school and feel like I learned a lot of things about how to treat different students and teachers. I had some pressure from home and some teachers to have good grades, because both of my older siblings were very good in school and had a lot of the same teachers. I never held up to their standard, which let to some discussions between my mum and me, but it never got out of hand.

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This is a GIF representing the effects of avoiding social media or media in general to pursue better and more helpful activities.

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Work, leisure, and media represent the activities adolescents have outside of school. They have a big influence on the personality development as they shape character traits, create connections, and prepare for becoming an adult. Working and having other productive activity have been shown to have a very positive effect, while playing computer games and being on social media too much can lead to problems with social interactions, self-image, and many other things. It’s important to find a middle way though, where leisure time can be used to relax and recover from school and work. I personally was pretty fortunate that I always had a busy schedule with soccer, chess, playing the trumpet in several bands, and refereeing soccer games and tutoring kids on the side. That way I never really had time to be on my phone or watch TV too much. I always preferred to play soccer with my friends outside over playing computer games or just doing nothing at home. Especially now that I’m a lot on my phone myself I learned to appreciate being busy and not waisting so much time.

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This is a picture of a “Bolzplatz”, which is a soccer field where you can play with your friends for fun. It represents the importance of that sport for my everyday life.

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Finding your own identity is one of the major challenges of adolescence. Questions like ‘who am I?’, ‘what defines me?’ or ‘what’s my purpose?’ come up during that time. The answers to those questions can vary over time, but have a major impact on every decision we make and the future plans we create for ourselves. Not having any answers to those questions can often lead to an identity crises and mental problems. For me during that time it got more and more clear to me that soccer is a big part of my identity. I removed friends that were partying too much for me, I stopped other hobbies, I never really talked to any girls, and put most things in my life behind soccer. While I still believe that soccer is more than just a sport for me, I realized later that that can’t be everything, and that I have to be more than just a sport.

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G-Eazy - Me, Myself & I (Lyrics) ft. Bebe Rexha. This song represents the time I spend with myself during Covid and the independence I gained from that.

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Autonomy in adolescents refers to the development of independence, self-governance, and self-direction during this transitional period. It encompasses the ability of adolescents to make decisions, solve problems, and take responsibility for their actions, thoughts, and emotions. While I believe it was always important for my parents to learn those qualities early on, covid was an especially influential time in that regard. In Germany we had several lock downs and my social interactions were almost down to zero for over a year. This was during my last year in high-school and first year of studying in Germany. Being with myself a lot teached me that I don’t need anybody to be productive and functioning. I made the decision to go to the US, started cooking my own food and structuring my own day with online lectures and working out. While I wasn’t the happiest person during that time, I learned a lot from it and became a more independent person.

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G-Eazy - Me, Myself & I (Lyrics) ft. Bebe Rexha

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This picture is symbolic for me for avoiding intimacy and holding things to myself.

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Intimacy refers to the emotional closeness, trust, and connection that individuals develop in their relationships with others. In adolescence, intimacy primarily involves the formation of close friendships and romantic relationships. Adolescents explore and deepen their capacity for intimacy through experiences such as sharing personal thoughts and feelings, providing support and empathy to friends, and engaging in activities that foster emotional bonding. It contributes to adolescents' sense of belonging, identity formation, and overall well-being. For a long time I wasn’t really intimate with anybody. There was always things I didn't really feel comfortable talking about with my parents. I talked a lot with my friends, but mostly about their thoughts and problems, because I didn’t want to bother anybody. And with girls I didn’t feel comfortable for a long time as-well. That kind of changed since I’m in college in the US. Especially some of my new friendships and experiences with sexuality made me comfortable talking about anything and being intimate to people. Now I’m almost the opposite and I can open up super easy and get intimate very fast.

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This GIF represents the expectation from my mum during High-school. I followed this expectation until I went to college in the US.

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Sexuality in adolescents includes the exploration of sexual feelings, attractions, behaviors, and identity during the teenage years. It involves physical changes, romantic and sexual attraction, relationship exploration, understanding of sexual orientation and gender identity. Hormones, parental influences, and peer influences often play a big role. I personally didn’t have any sexual experiences for a long time. The two main reasons for that were my mum, who thought that relationships is something for adults. And nobody of my older siblings ever brought somebody from the opposite sex home. I also never wanted to do anything casual, so I just didn’t do anything with girls. My focus was more on myself and soccer. After my first experiences in college I changed my mind and decided to experience with sexuality. That helped me learning a lot about me and relationships.

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This picture represents my injuries I had during my adolescents that made me interested in the field of exercise science.

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Achievement in adolescence can be divided in educational and occupational milestones. Educational achievement involves academic success, such as grades, test scores, and completion of schooling levels, while occupational achievement refers to accomplishments in the workforce, including employment, career advancement, and skill development. Both types of achievement play vital roles in shaping adolescents' future opportunities and outcomes. Both of my older siblings were always really good in school, so the expectation was for me to do the same. While I never reached their level, I also never had any problems passing classes. Occupational I was only focused playing soccer for a long time. After I got injured a couple time I got interested in physical therapy and exercises science. I learned a lot about how our bodies work, and about exercising and nutrition. It became clear that I want to work in the field of sports later. I decided to study exercise science and got some experience in personal training over the years.