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1.1 Entering Adolescence
I believe I entered the adolescence world at about 11-12 years old. I just finished the sixth grade, and I was going to be a 7th grader. I was going through puberty and my hormones went off the rails, so I began to have more mood swings, fight with my family members more often and kept arguing with teachers at my school. I also became more independent. Looking back, it was definitely a phase/stage in my life; being a know-it-all. (My textbook is still on way) -
2.1 - Typical Maturer
I began puberty at about twelve years old, going on 13 so that's a very common age. I remember very well when I was in middle school, my friends and I would talk about periods, getting bras, and so on. I would see some of my friends go through physical and emotional changes rapidly, and some didn't. Honestly, I'm glad I was a typical maturer- I believe I would be a lot more moody or shy if I matured earlier or was a late blossomer. -
4.1 - Gender-typed Behavior
In 6th grade, there was a spat between four girls including myself. Obviously, we were separated in pairs of two. I can't remember why we fought, but we were extremely petty! It started in class but we decided to bring it into lunch by having everyone else 'side' up with either. My friends and I sat on the opposite side of the cafeteria, and we kept looking at each other. It was stupid, really. A good example of petty behavior, verbal aggression, and commonly seen in girls. -
3.1 - Personal Fable
When I was in the 6th or 7th grade, I used to pull my hair up in a ponytail EVERY SINGLE DAY. Many of my friends & teachers asked me to let it down many times, and they said they think I'd look pretty, etc. I was too shy and having my hair up was a habit & made me comfortable. One day, my hairband broke & I didn't have an extra. I had to leave it down, and I was so focused on thinking about how everyone is looking at my hair & how bad it was. In reality, nobody was looking or even cared. :P -
6.1 - Parent Adolescent Conflict
When I was going through puberty, I had mood swings and constantly gave my parents and teachers a hard time. I would talk back, question why, and be irrational sometimes. Looking back then, I realized I could've treated everyone better & be less intense. I thought I was acting logical but I really wasn't! I also was naive & acted like my parents didn't know anything about my generation since we lived in different times but I was being unreasonable. -
3.2 - Abstraction
I can relate to what the text said about abstraction. When I was about 14 years old, I was always sarcastic and usually gave the authority a hard time. I liked to give unclear answers about my hobbies or what my opinions were. Today, I hate unclear and vague answers. I like to be direct and love it when someone would be direct with me, too. I love to engage in deep discussions & I'm more clear about who I am. I do see a big difference between 14 and 20 years old. -
4.2 - Non-gender Typed Behavior
Back in middle school, I was watching my school's boys basketball game. I believe it was a championship game or at least a very important game, and our school lost by a buzz-beater. The boys were very devastated, and I noticed some of them began crying. The teammates next to them started hugging them and telling them it's okay, and there's always a next time. This warmed my heart! It's not like for boys to cry in public or embrace/support each other like that. -
7.1 - Transition to High School
I believe my experience was different from many- When I was in middle school, I was taking advanced English so I skipped two grades. When I was a 7th grader, I was placed in the freshmen English class. I was very shy back then, so I felt a bit 'small' and was afraid to speak out on my opinions/thoughts. When I was actually a freshman, I felt more confident because I've already experienced a sneak peek of high school and didn't suffer any 'top-dog' phenomenon, so I didn't have any struggles. -
3.3 - Differentiation
It's true that I show different versions of myself to different groups of family. For example, my family and close friends know who I really am, and people at school such as teachers, they know a different version of me. My dad's side is hearing and doesn't know any ASL, so I don't really know them much - just basic small talk. As for my mom's side, everyone is Deaf (8th generation) and I'm much closer to them & the version they know is completely different than my dad's side. It's interesting. -
6.2 - Stimulation
I was frustrated with my old school for the lack of stimulation I got from my peers and I wanted to transfer. I was 15 when I transferred to MSSD, where I met many friends that could keep me entertained - we had a lot of things in common, always made each other laugh, and became lifelong friends (One of them is my roommate now at Gally!) My personal growth was really boosted, thanks to peer stimulation. -
6.3 - Intimacy and Affection
I'm in a group of girls who have been close for many years, and we value our friendship a lot. We have a special kind of trust in each other and we know that we can be honest with each other; we only want to help each other improve and become better individuals. In order to achieve that, we take care of each other by making sure that we know we are loved and will always have support from each other. -
2.2 - Niche-Picking
I'd say I'm both evocative & active. I've followed certain steps that my parents did at my age - for example, both of them attended Gallaudet & graduated here. Obviously, I'm here doing the same thing. However, there are some things that I've done that are different than what my parents did, i.e., major in Deaf education, while I honestly don't want to do anything related to that, and I want to work in the hearing world with a decent Deaf community nearby. Let's see! -
7.2 - Transition to College
I graduated from Model Secondary School f/t Deaf and went straight to Gallaudet. I might have just moved schools on the same campus, but the experience was so different. I didn't feel any stress before going into my first year of college, but I was overwhelmed by the number of mistakes I made & I was treated like a pure freshie so that hit me. I learned how to be more responsible, own up to my mistakes, learned how to apologize better and quicker, and many life lessons were learned. Go Gally! -
8.1 - Rite of Passage
My family isn't really traditional or religious, but there is one Polish tradition from my dad's side that we always follow: For every first birthday, 3 items will be set in place; a bible, a shot glass, and a heavy coin. Whatever the baby grabs first, that will represent what they will become when they're older. Unfortunately, this isn't during adolescence. I believe that my high school graduation was probably the only 'rite of passage' that I went through when I was an adolescent. -
1.2 Emerging Adulthood
I would say I felt like my adulthood began at about 18-19 years old. After 3 years at Model Secondary School for the Deaf, I was "forced" to become more independent and co-live with many other students. When I entered college, I still had a lot to learn and mistakes so the experience made me realize that I had a lot more responsibility and duties to do. I started to get my act together the second year of college, and began to work, be more involved, more independent, find my identity and so on.