Teenagers and the Struggle For Identity By Seth Mullins Who am I?

is a question oft-repeated by teenagers, though they may not voi e it out loud or use pre isely those !ords" #ne of the biggest hallenges that they fa e during the transition bet!een hildhood and adulthood is this struggle !ith their o!n sense of identity" $or one thing, it seems to onstantly shift% they may a t one !ay !ith a parti ular group of peers and ompletely different !ith another" &here is a sense of being neither here nor there, also" &hey are so often in a state of be oming that it an be diffi ult, at any one time, to pinpoint e'a tly !here they are" (art of the onfusion is aused by hormonal hanges, !hi h are o urring so rapidly at this stage in their lives" &heir appearan e is undergoing a radi al transformation) their bodies not only loo* but also feel different" &hey+re suddenly onfronted !ith issues that they+d given little thought to before% body odor, oily hair and a ne, having their periods, needing to shave" &he !ay that they see themselves in the mirror has a big impa t upon their self-image" It+s human nature to !ant to identify !ho !e are !ith the !ay our bodies are, and !hen hanges are happening so qui *ly it an be hard to form a lear pi ture" (arents often !onder !hy even previously obedient *ids !ill suddenly start questioning everything that they+re told on e they rea h their teen years" &hough it loo*s li*e nothing more than rebellion ,and that may be part of it-, !hat *ids are really doing is e'ploring their o!n independen e and preparing for the life of responsibility that lies ahead of them" If gro!ing up means that they have to learn to thin* for themselves and ma*e their o!n hoi es, then they an+t ta*e other people+s !ord for anything . even if those people are their parents" Ironi ally, though, the opinions of their friends and a quaintan es be ome very important at this age even as *ids are re/e ting their parents+ overtures" 0ere is another area !here their sense of identity an be ome louded, be ause they start omparing themselves to everyone else" &hey may !orry about !hy they+re developing earlier or later than their peers in ertain areas" Be ause puberty and adoles en e are su h onfusing transitions, *ids an feel a strong urge to he * their o!n progress alongside that of another, or to gravitate to people !ho, for all out!ard appearan es,

seem to have it all figured out" 1o !onder they end up questioning !ho they really are, after having spent so mu h time imitating others" &he !ays in !hi h teenagers are apt to lose themselves, ho!ever, probably help them to really find themselves in the end" 2 ertain amount of e'perimentation . !ith rebellion, imitation, and hanges of image and attitude . is probably ne essary before they an form a real sense of !hat they !ant and ho! to go about getting it" (arents !ho re ogni3e this ome to understand that they have to let go of their hildren, to a ertain e'tent, /ust !hen they most !ant to prote t them the most" &hey an+t hoose their *ids+ identities) *ids have to dis over it for themselves"

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