“Adolescents experience dramatic changes in physical appearance, family relations, peer relations, sexuality, and media use” (Arnett, 2012). Through these experiences, adolescents have the opportunity to change their outlook and behavior. From family relations to questioning identity, to peer relationships and self-esteem, adolescents have various ways of coping with the changes they are presented with. The stories of José and Chhaya reflect the changes adolescents go through to better understand who they are. Their stories mainly look at their peer and family relations, and the impact they had on José and Chhaya. These stories accurately represent the discussions and readings we’ve had in class (J.Davis, Psych 234, February 28, 2014).
Identity is defined as a person being aware of their uniqueness in terms of beliefs, attitudes, and aspirations. As most people have difficulty defining the word identity, most people struggle with their own identity. This can be particularly true for adolescents. Identity can be coupled with achievement or confusion; either the individual has a clear understanding of who they are, or they do not (J.Davis, Psych 234, February 28, 2014).
Both José and Chhaya reached a point in their life when they were confused with their own identity. José struggled with identifying his ethnicity, and acknowledging he was different from his classmates and peers. Chhaya struggled with her identity in regards to her parents, peers and how they would treat her, and what was expected of her through their relationships.
José was faced with being unaware of his racial identity. He viewed his ethnic identity with public regard, and only thought about how others viewed his race, and felt that he was no diff...
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...t she should have showed interest towards the young man, because he was attractive, and there would be few others of his caliber to go out with her again. This lead to Chhaya believing there was something wrong with her, and the way she handled the romantic situation she was placed in (Garrod, Smulyan, Powers & Kilkenny, 2012).
José and Chhaya both went through struggling to understand themselves, and how to handle the responsibilities their peers or parents had put on them to act a certain way, or provided José and Chhaya with the need to make a point, and prove themselves.
Works Cited
Arnett, J.J. (2012). Human development: A cultural approach. Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.
Garrod, A., Smulyan, L., Powers, S.I., & Kilkenny R. (2012). Adolescent portraits: Identity, relationships, and challenges. 7thedition. Boston MA: Allyn & Bacon.
True identity is something people must create for themselves by making choices that are significant and that require a courageous commitment in the face of challenges. Identity means having ideas and values that one lives by” (Merton). Concurring with Merton, a person is not given their identity at birth or while developing as an embryo, rather it is something that you create for yourselves over the course of life through decisions and actions made by the individual. Identity is something that one may not be fully aware of or discover until the last breath. Identity can be influenced through associations with others, and environmental factors.
After reading the directions and topic for this paper, I was extremely eager to get started. Adolescence is a stage of life that is very critical for a person. Speaking from my own experience, I know that the teenage years are a difficult part of life and during these years, one experiences a rollercoaster of different emotions, obstacles, and decision-making. Aside from the topic of Adolescence, I was glad that I could choose which movie I wanted to watch, and that was an easy decision. I decided to watch Sixteen Candles. The last time I watched this movie was when I received the DVD as a gift, which was when I turned sixteen. Watching the movie then, I obviously did not realize that most of the problems and events that occurred in the movie
This film contains some classic examples of the kinds of real life issues adolescents deal with. Issues such as popularity, peer relationships, family/sibling relationships, sex, and struggles with identity are all addressed in this ninety-minute film.
Identity is a group of characteristics, data or information that belongs exactly to one person or a group of people and that make it possible to establish differences between them. The consciousness that people have about themselves is part of their identity as well as what makes them unique. According to psychologists, identity is a consistent definition of one’s self as a unique individual, in terms of role, attitudes, beliefs and aspirations. Identity tries to define who people are, what they are, where they go or what they want to be or to do. Identity could depend on self-knowledge, self-esteem, or the ability of individuals to achieve their goals. Through self-analysis people can define who they are and who the people around them are. The most interesting point about identity is that some people know what they want and who they are, while it takes forever for others to figure out the factors mentioned before. Many of the individuals analyzed in this essay are confused about the different possible roles or positions they can adopt, and that’s exactly the reason they look for some professional help.
Adolescents experience a developmental journey as they transition from child to adult, and in doing so are faced with many developmental milestones. Physical, cognitive, social and emotional changes are occurring during this tumultuous stage of life, and making sense of one’s self and identity becomes a priority. Sherman Alexie’s The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian addresses the challenges of adolescence in an engaging tale, but deals with minority communities and cultures as well.
This agency creates a complex self-realization that readers find in both of the characters, however both shows different approach that differentiate their character from one another. As a result, both characters manifest a sense of victimization, but somehow in their hope for upward mobility, negate that. The power of this purpose is retrospective to all migrant workers because that is all they have---it’s rather success or failure.
Five teenagers who don't' know each other spend a Saturday in detention at the suburban school library. At first they squirm, fret and pick on each other. Then after sampling some marijuana, a real encounter session gets underway. The stresses and strains of adolescence have turned their inner lives into a minefield of disappointment, anger and despair.
...tyle that alludes to the multitude of constantly changing and sometimes even contradictory elements in each characters journey to racially and sexually define themselves. Audre, Miguel and Leticia hold multiple racial and sexual identities in a fluid constant that change depending on their location and social context. Instead of serving as a bridge for their families, these characters break free of their place of origin and connect the multiple elements that inform their realities in order to adapt them to their present. Race and sexuality are inextricably linked. To believe in one true sexual or racial identity allows for a feeling of safety, as the aim is then find a definable, core sense of self; however, these three texts illustrate that a singular form of identity is insufficient at defining the complexity of human racial and sexual experiences.
Lynda remembered her adolescent years as a time of many changes, “high school was a roller coaster, and I think it is for every teenager. I had so many different clothing and hair styles; even friends moved on frequently, you realize you’re not into the same things.” Peer relationships plays a very important role in this stage of development as the adolescent tries to answer the question “Who am I?” The adolescent is making a search for identity, they are experimenting and they begin to realize things about themselves that help them form an idea of who they are and what they want in life. According to Erikson, healthy resolution of the earlier conflicts now serves as a foundation in the teenager’s search for an identity. A strong sense of self-control and feeling of independence is the result of a positive resolution of this stage. Unsuccessful resolution of this life stage will lead to what Erikson called role confusion; these individuals will lack a feeling of self, they may drift from job to job and jump from one relationship to another, not knowing what they really want in
Before beginning the explanation of how an identity is formed, one must understand what an identity is. So, what is identity? To answer this, one might think of what gives him individuality; what makes him unique; what makes up his personality. Identity is who one is. Identity is a factor that tells what one wants out of life and how he is set to get it. It tells what kind of a person one is by the attitude and persona he has. And it depends upon the mixture of all parts of one’s life including personal choices and cultural and societal influences, but personal choices affect the identity of one more than the others.
The first topic I would like discuss is when adolescents start to form their identities. Although this ma...
Adolescence is the stage in life when you are no longer a child, but not yet an adult. There are many things that still need to be explored, learned and conquered. In the film Thirteen, the main character, Tracy Freeland, is just entering adolescence. While trying to conquer Erikson’s theory of Identity vs. Role confusion, Tracy is affected by many influences, including family and friends that hinder her development. Many concepts from what we have learned in class can be applied to this character from identity development, to depression, to adolescent sexuality and more. In this film Tracy is a prime example of an adolescent and much of what I have learned this year can be applied to her character.
Identity. What is identity? One will say that it is the distinct personality of an individual. Others will say that identity is the behavior of a person in response to their surrounding environment. At certain points of time, some people search for their identity in order to understand their existence in life. In regards, identity is shaped into an individual through the social trials of life that involve family and peers, the religious beliefs by the practice of certain faiths, and cultural awareness through family history and traditions. These are what shape the identity of an individual.
The period of adolescence is a time of immense changes, both biologically and socially, through self-discovery and identification. During adolescence, the human body goes through a wave of hormonal changes in preparation for sexual reproduction. As the individual reaches adulthood, this process is called puberty (Arnett, 2015, p. 350). In addition to the physical changes, teens undergo many social and psychological changes as they approach adulthood, preparing them for the many responsibilities to come (Arnett, 2015, p. 350). Adolescence is constructed by changes in relation to the physical, cognitive, and emotional states of an individual. Within each of these developmental areas, teens mature in varying ways. In regards to physical changes, adolescents undergo the previously mentioned process of puberty, but they also face many issues such as eating disorders and substance abuse (Arnett, 2015, p. 357-359). For cognitive development, teens undergo
For nearly fifty years Erikson 's psychosocial theory has provided an essential framework in understanding the role of adolescence in life-course development, especially the crises of identity and intimacy and their achievement. During adolescence, we are confronted with “the need to resolve the crises of identity versus identity diffusion and intimacy versus isolation” (Meacham & Santilli). Because it is a volatile stage of development, many changes are taking place during this part of the lifecycle, including deciding who to be with, who we are and what our roles are in society.