Coming Of Age Ceremony-Personal Narrative

The concepts of change and identity are problematic for the characters within Leslie Marmon Silko’s Ceremony. Tayo’s hybridity represents all that the Laguna people fear. The coming of change and meshing of cultures has brought an impending threat of ruin to Native American traditions. Although they reject him for his mixed heritage, Tayo’s journey is not his own but a continuation of the storytelling tradition that embodies Native American culture. Through tradition he learns to use his white and Mexican heritage to identify himself without abandoning his Native American practices.

It is only natural for teenagers to struggle with their sense of identity. One of the biggest challenges one faces during their “coming of age” is trying to discover various parts of themselves. I will be exploring the idea of how family and friends can socially influence an individual’s identity and affect the process of finding one’s true sense of belonging. I will be exploring this idea through the four texts; The Fault in Our Stars by John Green, Divergent by Veronica Roth, The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky and The Catcher in The Rye by J.D. Salinger.

Rituals around the world all teach valuable lessons that help initiates see the value and importance of life. Each culture has different rituals that provide experiences for their youth to learn these valuable lessons of life. Many coming of age rituals are intense procedures. The Amazon's Satere Mawé youth enter adulthood through the bullet-ant glove initiation, teaching courage and endurance, and the crocodile scaring ritual that the men from the Sepik River in Papua New Guinea participate in teaches them pain and accomplishment.

Most of the time, becoming an adult is planned. There are religious ceremonies, the gaining of a driver’s license, and other forms of new responsibility to signify the coming of age. Sometimes though maturity comes at you like a freight train. It comes at you in the blink of an eye and there is no stopping it once it hits you. You are forced to grow up and take on new responsibilities that you thought you wouldn’t have to take on until many years later. It's up to you though to decide what to do from there. You can either try and run away from the problems you have come to face or you can take the train head on and conquer what has been presented to you. I decided to face the train.

This is a fictional story from the perspective of a male in his early twenties

I awoke to the sound of beeping, my eyes needed to adjust to the light of the pristine white walls. I heard shuffling of clothing to my left, I slowly turned my head to see a man with

Native Americans are losing their background and where they come from starting with culture and heritage that has been passed down to each generation. Not losing site of that, there is a chance in seeing the positive of preserving and continuing the culture and heritage of the Native Americans and bringing significance to ceremonies.

"Come on, I don't have all day!" She scolds, watching him nervously fumble with the key ring.

Everyone has their coming of age moment, whether it's when they're little, or even when they're in their teenage years. It's a time of feeling the moment of maturity, finally recognizing the world around you, and knowing how common sense works. Some moments are serious, others are very optimistic and blissful. I interviewed my mom, and there were times where she had times in her life that were absolutely hilarious, and times in her life that were so embarrassing.

My coming of age moment happened at a very young age. I was only five years old when I had my first true moment. Before I was five years old, as far as I can remember, I was a really happy and innocent child. I didn’t really have any cares, as a young child shouldn’t. I was a seemingly normal child with a white picket fence kind of life. Then a couple weeks after I turned five, my mom passed away. It was from that moment that I knew what the world was really like and I knew that my life was never going to be the same. I began to take on guilt and responsibilities that a kid never should’ve had to. I began to become very precautious of everything and I wasn’t able to do the things that a normal child could do out of fear that something may happen

Prepare notes on the following questions and bring them to class on the first day of school:

“Common sense is the collection of prejudices acquired by age eighteen.” - Albert Einstein. This quote is talking about adolescents and everything that they learn when they’re young and how it shapes them in their future. Childhood is a rough time for everyone, and it can be hard to make the best of it;, fortunately it is only a fraction of the time that you will be around. You should treasure it while you can because eventually everyone has to grow up and change. Authors illustrate that in coming of age stories;, they do this through a variety of way but some main things that are common is there’s always a young child or children and they go through some experience of some kind that forces them to realize what the adult world is like.

Many underestimate the power that a singular event possesses and the extent at which it can alter one’s mindset. Often times a shift in the method of thinking and processing information, the act which drives our entire being, signifies a “coming of age”. Reaching a pivotal moment in time where not only do those around you recognize the transformation, but you also fully embrace the alteration. In layman's terms, transitioning out of childhood conjures thoughts and ideas that evolve from the foundation of one’s life. For me, the potent mixture of a short-lived period of blissful innocence and a pressurized home environment led to the culmination of a desire to succeed.

Everyone has a coming of age experience in their lives at some point of time or another. A huge coming of age experience is starting to work, take responsibility for your actions and your life, as well as making your own money. I sat down and interviewed Starla on her training courses for her job and on her experiences. I asked her if she went to college or experienced any types of training for a job and If so what was it for, she calmly responded by saying ¨ Yes I went through 9-12 months of training and I trained for medical assistance.¨

As a symbol of long lasting commitment to your one true love until death do us part. My great grandmother’s wedding ring has been passed down and is currently in my mother's possession since she is the oldest daughter. I hope that on my wedding day the ring will be passed down to me even though my sister is the oldest between the two of us. It’s very special to me because I love nothing more then imagining my own wedding someday in the near future and hope this heirloom that signifies long lasting love and commitment is passed down to me.