Observation #4

Class/section:

FHS-1500-004

Name:

Josephine Rivera

Assignment:

Observation #4

Background Information
Childs Age:

17 years

Fictitious Name:

Shay

Location:

My home

Brief Description:

The interview was conducted in my home where the only people present
were my Mom (who was in another room), myself, and Shay, a younger
sibling of a friend who I had never met before.

Physical Development
Shay is a bright and equally beautiful 17 year old girl with long brown hair and green eyes. She
is 52 and weighs 108 lbs with her BMI being 19.8, which is normal. She plays a variety of
sports, but has focused mostly on tennis and track during her time in high school. This is her
junior year. She has an athletic build and wears minimal make up. She doesnt seem to be too
concerned with her appearance, which is unusual for girls her age. (Berger 2016, p. 324)
We began by discussing her general health habits. We started with questions involving
her sleep patterns. When it was tennis season, Shay would generally get about 6 hours of sleep
every night, mostly due to her studies and erratic schedule. Last year, Shay was only competing
in one sport, track, which made her schedule less demanding. This year, however, she was
involved in both tennis and track, causing her to stay after school later and practice before school
as well. After she would get home at about 6:30-7:00, Shay helped prepare dinner, watch her
younger siblings, and take care of her chores. Shed then eat dinner, occasionally go to friends
house for a couple of hours, and come back to do her homework around 10:00. Most of the time,
she goes to bed around midnight and wakes up at 6:00 every morning school begins at 7:30.
Some days, Shay gets up even earlier to run with her track team. Our textbook writes: biology

(circadian rhythms) and culture work to make teenagers increasingly sleep-deprived and not
only does insufficient sleep decrease learning and well-being, but so does an uneven sleep
schedule (more sleep on weekends and erratic bedtimes). (Berger 2016, p. 328) Shay stated that
it is incredibly difficult for her to wake up, but she has maintained perfect attendance all through
high school and doesnt want to compromise her streak by being late.
When we began to discuss eating habits, I was pleasantly surprised to find that Shay eats
breakfast, a home-cooked dinner, and rarely eats school lunch. She instead packs one, along with
several snacks such as almonds and apple slices. I was surprised to hear this due to the fact that
...Teenagers often skip breakfast; eat at midnight; guzzle down soda; and munch on salty,
processed snacks (Berger 2016 p. 327). Although no teenager (or human) eats perfectly, I was
impressed by Shays responsible eating habits, because eating poorly during teenhood may cause
peoples health to be damaged lifelong. (Berger 2016, p. 327)
Cognitive Development
Shay was very well-spoken, articulate, and concerned about her future. Although Shay
was very agreeable, she revealed a stressor in her life: Shays tennis coach has encouraged her to
play club tennis and possibly play in college. She noted that while she loves tennis and track, she
seemed mostly concerned about her grades and worries that her busy athletic life will interfere
with her academic performance she currently holds a 3.8 GPA. I inaccurately assumed that
because Shay is a talented athlete, shed want to compete in college or even professionally.
Teenagers often invent a personal fable, or belief that one is unique, destined to have a heroic,
fabled, even legendary life (Berger 2016, p. 330) but Shay seemed uninterested in the unlikely
event that shed play professionally. Instead, Shay confided in me that shed like to pursue a
career in Special Education; her younger brother is autistic, and watching the challenges and
triumphs of his life has inspired her career path. If that doesnt work out, Shay reasoned, Ill
probably pursue something in the design field. Her mother is a professional photographer and
Shay has been designing calendar and invitation templates in her free time. She opened her
Instagram page to reveal a plethora of designs and drawings she has made. Her creativity
astounded me and caused me to connect her talents to the text, which reads that the developing
prefrontal cortex ...helps explain the creativity of adolescence and early adulthood, before the
brain becomes set in its ways. (Berger 2016, p. 329 originally cited in Monastersky, 2007, p.
A17).
Because her career choices were connected to experiences in her family, I questioned
Shay about her familial relationships. With the elections coming up, I thought Id briefly ask if
her political views aligned with that of her parents. Shay said that she hasnt invested a lot of
time in politics and has a gut feeling that shes less conservative than her parents but [shes]
not completely opposite. This demonstrated Shays inductive reasoning; even though shes

never given much thought to politics, she immediately shared assumptions about her and her
parents political views, even if it wasnt reality. (Berger 2016, p. 333)
Social/ Emotional
Shay struck me as being very emotionally mature for her age. I began to ask her about the
typical themes of adolescence: peer pressure, drama, fighting with parents, relationships, etc I
was surprised to hear her response to these topics. Shay shared that because she didnt have
many close friends in middle school, she hung with her older sister and her friends. Shay stated
that shed heard all of the dramatic stories and gossip before. By the time she got to high
school, she didnt care about the backstabbing and high school drama that shed already
witnessed through her older sister. I felt that this demonstrated selection and facilitation. Shay
identified that she was able to choose friends whose values and interests [she shared],
abandoning former friends who follow other paths. (Berger 2016, p. 363) Interesting, Shay
noted, If a friend with boyfriend issues comes to me, Ill listen to them, but I wont read the
texts and gossip. She explained that, at one point, many of her friends were the center of drama,
but she has learned to eliminate toxic friendships. Nonetheless, she feels that the pressure to be
popular and take part in the drama is still there, and sometimes its difficult to ignore the
pressure.
While I doubted Shay had any major relationship issues with her parents, I wasnt
surprised to know that she constantly seemed to feud with her parents about her social
obligations. Shay leads an incredibly hectic life, with sports, school, friends, and family taking
up most of her time (even cutting into her sleep). When I asked her what she and her parents talk
about, she immediately responded that she spreads herself too thin and becomes irritable with her
parents. I could be more respectful, she explained, but sometimes I dont have time to clean
my room or do the dishes. I yell sometimes, but its only because Id wish theyd realize how
busy I am. Even though Shays relationship with her parents can be a bit rocky, the petty fights
subside through the years. The text writes, ...teenagers learn to modify their outbursts and
parents increasingly grant autonomy. (Berger 2016, p. 357) Shay continued: Its definitely
become better. It was worse when I was 15.
I deeply enjoyed talking to Shay and hope I will get to know her better and witness her
progress in her education and career. After being out of high school for a couple of years, it was
reassuring to hear the things that I once intensely experienced I wasnt crazy after all. Shay
leads a successful life fueled by positivity and dedication; Im happy to have had the opportunity
to interview her.

References:
Berger, K. S. (2014). Invitation to the life span (3rd ed.). New York, NY: Worth Publishers.