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1.1 Entering Adolescence
I was excited to enter 5th grade! Physical appearance was extrememly important to me. The snotty-nosed boys that I once loathe, were suddenly cute. Puberty struck-I was sprouting, and not necessarily in terms of height. I was starting to notice more curves than before. With my new friends, I was facing new conflicts. I craved more sleep and became a night owl-exercising my newfound "independence". I exhibited classic symptoms of adolescence transition described in the book. -
2.1- Typical maturer.
Puberty is the era of sexual maturation. On this day, I got my first period. I was 11 years young and maturing right on time. Many of my friends had already spoke about their experiences, some as early as 3rd grade! It was the time when my body went through a series of changes. Gonadarche is the period of time that I am referring to, the time in which I noticed alterations in sexual characteristics (genital, breast development). Had I been a late/early bloomer, I would have felt awkward. -
2.2- Niche-picking
The roller skating rink was the perfect environment for me. I was able to freely be myself. I loved to skate, and music served as an escape for me. Arguably, this example embodies passibe genotype-environment correlations due to the fact that my mother also grew up frequenting skating rinks. Within that environment, I was able to be sociable, thus learning how to interact with peers//boys and solve conflict. -
6.3- companionship
The majority of my friendships were companionship. My friends and I had many things in common and we could enjoy those things together. I always loved dancing and stepping. Most of my friends were on the step team with me. We practiced together and created new steps together. We would collaborate and compete in order to sharpen our skills. We were supportive of one another and always had fun. -
7.1- Transition to High School
The transition from middle school to high school was a blur. There was an enormous amount of pressure. I was told that everything I did from that moment on "counts" and could possibly hinder my chances for gettting into college. For this reason, I refrained from exploration that most teens parktake (e.g. relationships). High school was like a preparotory school for college. For the first time in my life, I began to feel stressed about my future. However, I enjoyed the independence of driving. -
7.3- Extrinsic Motivation
My source of motivation involves by intrinsic and extrinsic aspects. However, the more dominant, is extrisic. I worked hard in efforts to not only please myself, but to make my family proud. I worked hard to get good grades in hopes of attending college and receiving scholarships. I didn't have a college fund waiting for me; I had to encorporate self-responsibilty and determination in order to make sure college was accessible. Successful in my efforts, I am a full-time college student! -
3.2- Abstraction
I'm not sure who I am or who I want to become. I'm growing and changing seemingly by the hour! I'm learning about myself daily. It's difficult for me to make decisions; I've very indecisive. I am always offering a listening ear; I'm understanding. I like to learn about new things and often question why things happen. I guess you can say I'm full of curiousity. I don't like talking about myself, it's surprisingly difficult for me to do. I'm selfless, I think of others before myself. -
6.1- parent adolescent conflict
I once falsely believed that my mother and I could no longer see eye-to-eye because of the "generation gap". I now realize that cognitively, I was questioning her disciplinary actions, reasoning more logically for myself, and searching for rationale in my mother's demands. My mother's expectations consisted of washing dishes, cleaning my room/bathroom, and laundry. Our conflicts constisted of everyday issues. I refused to wake on my own for high school and we fought about it DAILY. -
3.2- Differentiation
When I'm in school, I'm quiet. I'm shy and reserved. I usually don't talk much. I hate when my hearing aids screech during class-another reminder of just how different I am from everyone. I'm self-conscious about my hearing loss. Ah, it feels good to be home. I'm much more relaxed. I'm my true self; talktaive and outgoing. With my family, I can laugh, joke, and be carefree. I'm loud and goofy; my family understands me and accepts me for who I am. I am my possible self. -
6.2- ego support
Strangely, I never perceived any of my friendships as ego support, however, the book has led me to believe otherwise. One of my high school friends was a fashionista. She was always aware of the "ins and outs" within our high school walls. She provided me tips and advise about keeping my physical appearance. My "friend" was always well aware of fads and loved to share them with me. -
4.2- Non-gender typed behavior
According to the text, girls have consistently outperformed boys in writing skills (Santrock, pg. 177). I am reminded of my junior year of high school, when I took an AP course in Language and Composition. That statement couldn't be further from the truth. In that class, we were expected to present a high level of writing/composition skills. Our professor was a brilliant MAN and the best writer in the class was in fact a male. -
3.1- Imaginary Audience
Walking down the corridor in high school, I sensed all eyes on me. My short buzz haircut was the center of attention. Natural hair was taboo. My hearing aids were now in plain sight. Why was everyone staring at me like I was "onstage" preparing to perform? Accoring to text, I was experiencing egocentrism.The audience that I had percieved was an imaginary audience. Formal operational thinking caused me to compare myself to ideals standards. Ideally, girls don't shave their hair! -
4.1- Gender-typed behavior
"Males hold center stage through report talk..." (Santrock, pg. 179). On my graduation day, I listened to various speeches that were given by males (i.e. valedictorian, principal). Each man stood tall and commanded the attention of everyone in the auditorium. There were nearly 10,000 people in the crowds. Public speaking is considered report talk, an area that is typically dominated by males. -
8.1- Rite of Passage
My quest into adulthood began on the day of my graduation. High school graduation serves as coming-of-age ceremonies. I felt like a young woman as a walked accross the stage to receive my diploma. In just a few months, I would enter into a world of college and leave my life behind to begin a new journey. I was no longer a young girl. Moving several hundred miles away from home, I was stepping into a world of adulthood and independence. I incurred all responsibilites to care for myself. -
1.2 Emerging Adulthood
The first day JumpStart in college and I instantly felt a surge of responsibilty and maturity. I was no longer depending on my mother and I was now making decisions for myself. Shortly after I began to explore love, relationships, and my personal identity as a Deaf person. I often asked myself, what is my purpose in life? Once again I gained new friends and I was starting to notice that my friends were a reflection of me. My beliefs were changing-I was instable, as the book states. -
7.2- Transition to College
Nervous does not even begin to describe how I felt when first step foot on Gallaudet campus for JumpStart. I began my transition to college prematurely, as I arrived for the summer program about 6-8 weeks earlier than all other freshman. I felt like an underdog once again, leaving my throne as a senior "top dog" in high school. I was overwhelmed when meeting new faces; unlike Gallaudet, my high school lacked diversity.This transition was the most exciting and stressful one of my life, thus far.