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Adolescence
The teenage years: a time filled with plans for the future, new discoveries and enriching experiences. The world is finally at your doorstep! But this stage of life can also be a challenging one, as you go through a number of physical and psychological changes. You want to be accepted by your friends and feel like you belong; you want to fit in and feel loved. You’re discovering your sexuality. You’re doing a lot of soul searching. You’re starting to figure out who you are. You’re gradually pulling away from your parents. At times, you might feel like you don’t understand yourself anymore, and ask yourself a thousand and one questions.
As a teen, it’s normal:
- To feel awkward and uncomfortable sometimes
- To feel confused by some of the things you’re experiencing, like mood swings. These changes can happen suddenly and without warning.
- To not like yourself some days, and feel like good things only happen
to other people. - To feel overwhelmed by all the choices society is expecting you to make (about your career, your friends, your sexuality, your values). You have a lot of freedom (though it may not always seem that way to you) and sometimes there don’t seem to be any clear guidelines to help you choose.
- To think that the world isn’t perfect and neither are adults—it’s true,
they aren’t! - To feel misunderstood by others. It can be tempting to find ways
to avoid these situations.
It’s important not to isolate yourself while you’re struggling with these issues. You need to share them with others so you can realize you’re not the only one asking these types of questions. You might be surprised to find out that lots of other teens are going through the same thing as you. Express yourself in the Forum!
- Source : Delagrave, 2005
