What is adolescence? Simply stated, it is the stage of life between childhood and adulthood. It is a time in which you undergo dramatic changes-physically, emotionally, and even socially. In one sense, entry into adolescence is exciting. After all, it means that you are on your way to becoming an adult. On the other hand, new feelings begin to emerge during this phase of life, and some of them can be confusing-even frightening. However, you need not dread adolescence. True, it has its share of anguish. But it also provides a wonderful opportunity for you to make a fulfilling transition to adulthood. Let us see how-first by analyzing some of the challenges that adolescents face.
THE ONSET OF PUBERTY
During adolescence, changes take place in your body to prepare you for sexual reproduction. This process, called puberty, takes years to complete, and it affects more than just the development of your reproductive organs, as we will see. Girls usually start puberty between ages 10 and 12, while many boys begin between 12 and 14. These are just averages, though. According to The New Teenage Book, "each person has his or her own special biological time clock that dictates when the various changes of puberty will occur." It adds: "There is a very wide range of normal." So there is nothing wrong with you begin puberty before-or after-your peers. When ever it begins, puberty can affect how you look, how you feel, and how you view the world around you. Consider some of the fascinating yet challenging aspects of life.
WHAT IS HAPPENING TO MY BODY?'
Puberty begins with an increase in hormone levels, notably of estrogen in girls and testosterone in boys. Hormonal changes are partially responsible for the seemingly miraculous physical transformation that follows. In fact, after puberty begins, your body grows at its fastest rate since infancy.
At this time, your reproductive organs starts to mature, but that is only one facet of physical development. You may also experience a rapid increase in height, commonly called a growth spurt. While as a child you might have grown above 5 centimeters each year, it would not be unusual for you to grow at twice that rate during the growth spurt of puberty. Throughout this time, to some extent you might feel physically awkward. This is normal.
Remember, different parts of your body may be growing at different rates. A degree of clumsiness can result. But be patient-you are not doomed to a lifetime of being accident prone. The physical awkwardness of adolescence will pass. It is not unusual for adolescents to experience a wide range of painful emotions. For example, you may find that you and your best childhood friends have started to drift apart. Not that there was a major falling out. Perhaps you just have a little in common with each other. Even your parents-to whom you once ran for comfort and security-might suddenly, seem old-fashioned and unapproachable.
All of this can leave a teen feeling socially isolated. Some researchers have argued that loneliness is experienced more frequently and more intensely in adolescence than in either childhood or adulthood, says one reference work. Fearing that others will view you as strange, you might tend to keep your thoughts and feelings to yourself. Or perhaps you are reluctant to reach out to others, feeling deep that no one would really want you.
