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Running head: ADOLSCENT PAPER

Adolescent Paper
FH0825
Wayne State University
S.W. 3510

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Running head: ADOLSCENT PAPER

In this paper I was discuss my life as an adolescent and the various experiences that have shaped
my life.

Childhood Memories
I can remember when I attended kindergarten I was very excited about going school and
learning new things. I and my sibling always played school at home. My sister would actually
give me work to complete so I was well prepared.
I gained a good rapport with my teacher Mrs. Bauer she was a middle age Caucasian
woman. She made me feel comfortable and I always wanted to go to school to see her. I gained
so close a connection with her that when she didnt come to school I had a panic attack and made
up excuses to go home.

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Another occasion I recall is when Mrs. Bauer did come to school and I had a substitute
teacher named Mrs. Nichols. I remember her because I had her in many different classes years
later.
I exited the school after being dropped off and begin walking back home, which was very
dangerous. My sister was taking care of me and my siblings because my mom was in the hospital
giving birth to my brother Tommy. Well once the school figured out I wasnt in attendance they
called my home and the panic began because my sister Silva had dropped me off and I wasnt
accounted for. The end result was that my teacher had to call me at home personally to let me
know when she wasnt going to be in on that day.
I can relate this to an attachment disorder and Eriksons trust verse mistrust theory which
is Psychosocial Stage 1 - Trust vs. Mistrust Failure to develop trust will result in fear and a belief
that the world is inconsistent and unpredictable. (Ashford & LeCory 2010)
I had not yet gained a rapport with any other staff and I had no emotion connection to
them so it resulted in my unpredictable behavior, such as leaving the school.
In my early adolescent years I was quite the shy guy. Around my friends I was very open
and played well with other and in a scene a leader.
By the time I turned 12 years old I was hanging out with high school kids and older
people. My best friend Johnathan was in the 9th or tenth grade when I was still in middle school.
So eventually his friends became mine. I didnt see anything wrong with my interactions with
older people until I came of age and experienced hardships based on my interactions with this
particular group of friends.

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Running head: ADOLSCENT PAPER

For some reason I was angry with my family and attached myself to my peers and their
families.
I was able to express my rage in unhealthy was. I begin to cut school and drink, I didnt
smoke I could stand the smell; I hung out late and eventually stopped coming home.
From about the age 11 to 14 I found myself living the street life and was very involved, I
gained a name for myself and respect. This is when I was experiencing identity and
independence. I had many ideas on how I wanted to live my life and ideas on how me and my
friends would bond and live. I made a commitment to my friend to be there for them though
whatever obstacles they were facing. This thought process in the long run caused me much pain
and many problems. Till this day I dont have one of those friends.
During the age of 14 to 16 I experienced many problems with the law. Those experiences
did alter the way I lived. Not so much for the better but taught me how not to get caught. Years
later once I figured out there ways a tomorrow, I begin making wiser choices. What I meant by I
figured out there was a tomorrow was I lived day to day. After my friend Johnathan committed
suicide when he was 16 I never thought I would make it to become 16; and when I did I just
lived a paranoid life day in and out. I believe I should have got some counseling. I blamed
myself for his death as well as his family. It was very hard. I dealt with his death by just
forgetting about him. Doing that made me feel un-loyal I still have mixed feelings about that
whole situation.
From 16 to 22 years old I ran the streets. I had my own house and I pretty much did what
I wanted to do. Then one day I was ran over by a car and ended up in the hospital hurt pretty bad.
All the friends I thought I had not been friends at all. They actually in a sadistic way were happy

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that I was out of their way. From that point I went into a deep depression, because I couldnt
figure out way people I loved so much would want to see any harm come my way.
I pretty much hit rock bottom. I took on drinking alcohol as a way to smother my pain.
This too was a bad idea. After having to return to my mothers home when I was an adult was
weird. I had not been home in many years. Everything and everybody were different. I had lost a
lot of years and never realized it until I experience lose and pain. I began to appreciate my life
and people more.
Though my heart was in a good place and I never stopped loving my family, I was a
stranger to them. All they knew was the stories they heard about me. I felt like a solider that had
returned home from war and had to adjust to being a civilian. Going through that a person will
lose his identity. You will question yourself and look in the mirror and ask who are you?
I pushed forward due to the lack of love I received. I returned to school to complete my
high school diploma and I attended trade school for telecommunication. This was a big change
for me due to the fact that I had no employment I lived on the schools 40$ a week stipend.
I have to take all those bad situations that I had been through and apply then in my life to
get some positive things happening in my life. I stopped blaming everyone for the things that
happened to me. Even if realistically some people intentionally did things to ruin me, I accepted
those faults and told myself I was to blame because I allowed it to happen. I took responsibility
for the wrong in my life and it has made me a better man to this day.
Today I have obtained an associates degree and Im working on my bachelors in social
work. I plan to utilize the negative things that I subjected myself to and apply them to my social
work practice to assist others not to make the same mistakes I have or to assist those who have

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made the same mistakes who feel hopeless that they cannot recover from their errors. Im living
proof that there is a tomorrow for those who feel doomed.
According to human behavioral specialist many of the stages that I experienced are
normal thing and ways for an adolescent to do and feel. During adolescent years preteens and
young adults experience various phases in their life such as
Capacity for abstract thought
Development of ideals and selection of role models
More consistent evidence of conscience
Experimentation with sex and drugs (cigarettes, alcohol, and marijuana)
Young teenagers do vary slightly from the above descriptions, but the feelings and
behaviors are, in general, considered normal for each stage of adolescence. Normal Adolescent
Development Part I, Facts for Families, No. 57 (12/11)
Movement towards Independence
Adolescents struggle with sense of identity and find themselves involved in many different peer
groups and activities trying to find a group that has similar qualities as themselves or a group that
will accept them. Adolescents rely heavily om members of their cliques for clues on how to
behave socially. (Ashford & LeCory 2012)
These young teens have awkward or strange feeling about themselves self and there body
which leads them to find themselves feeling lost in a world that is familiar and unfamiliar at
them same time. So the teens begin to act out in various ways. Rejecting the people who love

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them, rejecting rules that have governed them their whole life in search for acceptance of the
outside world.
The confusion doesnt end; particularly if religion is an issue. Parents are still trying to
force values and beliefs and the adolescent is seeking out his own values and beliefs. The teen
will find himself at odds with his parents/caregiver.
The adolescent life will become governed by their peer group and will change overnight
seemingly to his loved ones.
It will only be by trial and error that the adolescent will find his place within society and
continue to make changes throughout his life.
Cognitive Changes and the Future
Young teens interested will be only occupied by present, with little to no thoughts of the
future. This is a very volatile time in an adolescents life because he will need to have the proper
guidance to be able to stay focused and make decisions based on the future which he is
neglecting to think about.
Adolescents will develop emotional attachments and have thing that become important to them.
Their ability to think will increase also.
Emotional Development
As adolescents growth their emotional state changes. They experience shyness and others
are more outgoing. Girls physically develop sooner physically and mentally. Boys are taller and
stronger. Both sexes curiosities concerning sex are heighten.

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Adolescents develop biases to things they believe are normal and abnormal. They begin
to worry about appearance in their teen years. This is due to the need to fit in with the in crowd
and or be accepted by peers.
As adolescents are curious during their young adult life they will experiment with sex,
tobacco and other dangerous behaviors.

In conclusion adolescents grow and learn through trial and error. They are influenced by their
peers and look to them for self- awareness. Adolescents experience many different emotional as
well as physical changes throughout adolescents to help them define how they are.

The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.2012 Morals, Values, and SelfDirection Normal Adolescent Development Part I, Facts for Families, No. 57 (12/11) 3615
Wisconsin Avenue, NW Washington, D.C http://aacap.org
Brooks/Cole Empowerment Series: Human Behavior in the Social Environment Jose Ashford,
Craig LeCroy
5th edition Cengage Learning, 2012

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