Qualities of a Strong Teenage Girl

For those of us that are parents, we know that raising a child to adulthood is not an easy task but one which we do lovingly (hopefully) and responsibly. I’ll go out on a limb to say here that everyone agrees that the teenage years are the most challenging. The general consensus is that teenagers are unruly, aggressive, careless, spoiled and dependent on technology. On the other hand, I believe along with a small group of other parents that teenagers are also brilliant and in the process of becoming and reaching their potential and that they deserve much more respect than what they are given.

The age of adolescence has become universally known as an awkward period of growth and socialization. The article “Saplings in the Storm,” by Mary Pipher, was published in 1995 and gives an interesting look into some of the issues faced by adolescent girls, but gives little evidence to support her claims or ways in which to encourage the self-confidence in adolescent girls. More recently, there has been further research looking into the reasons as to why girls become more depressed, endure a decrease in self-esteem, and lose their curiosity after puberty.

They are going through transitions in intellectual development and the process and transition of primary to secondary education.’ There are various intellectual skills that an adolescent will learn within this life stage. When in the adolescent life stage, the emotional development norms for an individual is to learn their personal identity and they must leant about who they are about how to control their emotions within the change of puberty. Low self-esteem and confidence issue is often something most teenagers struggle with. With adolescence secondary learning occurs, a person’s self-worth can change within this life-stage due to the social situations that an individual had to be within, also their use of clothing, language and religion etc. The introduction of hormones can often change how teenagers see themselves. Adolescent’s independence that they go through can affect their social and emotional development.

Adolescent girls growing up in today’s society endure many more hardships than in previous years. Adolescence is no longer a time of endless sunny days spent on the back porch with a glass of country time lemonade and a smile extending ear to ear. Adolescence for girls is now generalized as a dark and depressing period of life that often seems hopeless and never ending. Mary Pipher PH.D tries to illustrate just how drastically life has changed over the years for teenage girls through her best selling book “Reviving Ophelia: Saving the Selves of Adolescent Girls”. Although Mary Pipher was once a clinical psychologist, she articulates very well for everyone to clearly understand her ideas and perspectives. One way

Variety can occur surrounding height and strength and most boys will be taller than girls at this stage. Young people will now have an idea of their favourite subjects and may lack confidence and avoid situations where they have to face less popular subjects. It is particularly important for teenagers that they feel good about themselves feel they belong. The self-esteem at this age can be very vulnerable and although their bodies are increasingly growing more mature, they will still need guidance in many different

Firstly, most girls desire beauty and the use of cosmetics. They constantly ask for an opinion on what looks best or if their make-up looks decent. This is because they watch actresses also asking for opinions instead of deciding on their own. It causes teens to be more dependent on other views and eventually, they won't be able to do their make-up or hair without someone telling them how to do it. Consequently, teenagers become so dependent on other stand points, they won't be able to make adequate decisions in adulthood.

Adolescent females often have to face physical and social changes that can affect their self-esteem. The self-esteem of an individual can affect his

Winston Churchill’s famous words, “Fear is a reaction. Courage is a decision,” are very important to me when we are thinking about courage. I believe that courage is important trait to obtain because not having courage wouldn’t let us do many of the things we have accomplished. Sometimes showing courage means doing something we wouldn’t normally do, and it also represents itself in doing something against our morals. In the book Jasper Jones, Charlie is a character that stands out to me because he shows a lot of courage throughout book after Laura’s death.

The author cites many studies, including a 2006 survey of more than 2,000 school-aged children that observed young girls feeling an increasing need to be “perfect” -- not only to excel academically, but also in extracurricular activities, sports, and friendships. She also reports that the number of young girls worrying about their weight increased between 2000 and 2006 as well, along with rates of stress, suicide, and depression. Orenstein quotes Susan J. Douglas from her book Enlightened Sexism to reconcile these studies: “We can excel in school, play

First of all, with the use of plot and character as dramatic elements, MacLeod is able to depict the main characteristics of the nature of adolescence, mainly the search for identity and the quest for independence. Among the scientific community, adolescence is believed to be the most crucial period in human development. It is a period of “rapid biological, social and psychological change” (Soto, et al. 330). There are the transformations that define puberty, there are changes in the relationships and attitudes towards adults and peers, and many teenagers struggle to form a coherent identity (331). In the process of discovering their identities, most adolescents become self-centered. Having not yet

The first reason why teens need positive adult role models is, if teens are not influenced by a positive adult role model, they will be influenced by media. First, media has had a large negative impact on the way teen girls see themselves. They don’t need media telling them they are ugly, or that they are not good enough, they need role models telling them that they are beautiful no matter what they look like. The way the internet and magazines influences girls by the sizes of actresses and models to believe that they have to be skinny to be beautiful, but that is not it. Beauty comes from the inside, inner beauty is the only thing that matters, and that is when the role models come in. If young girls are told that beauty is an inside thing, they’ll influence friends and future generations the same, and the epidemic on beauty will be over. Also, while teens develop, they seek greater freedom and independence. With all the negatives of media, teens go to that first. The

The relationship between a teenager and the people around him/her can affect his/her self esteem, the decisions he/she make, and the teenagers futures. Have you ever been bullied? Bullies seem to have a big impact on how we look at ourselves. Positive encouragements can also make a teenager look at him/herself differently. For example, when someone is trying out for a talent show and someone tells him/her “You can’t do it”, they are going to have less confidence and feel bad about him/herself.

One social effect of conformity in young girls is low self-confidence, which often follows into adulthood. Mary Pipher, Ph. D., is a clinical psychologist and author of “Reviving Ophelia: Saving the Selves of Adolescent Girls”. Throughout Pipher’s writings she recalls personal and patient’s experiences that have brought to light the “destructive forces that affect young women.” (268). Pipher explains that as girls grow up, “They lose their assertive, energetic and “tomboyish” personalities and become more deferential, self-critical and depressed. They report great unhappiness with their own bodies.” (267) Throughout adolescence they are taught by plays, movies, books, and society that a woman’s purpose is to please others. Her favorite example

The formation of a concrete sense of self is one of the milestones of adolescence. However, this task is anything but easy. The teenage years are full of turmoil and changes that can have a detrimental affect on a girl's sense of identity and

Dove’s Self Esteem project was made for young girls because more young girls struggle with having low self-esteem between the ages of seven to seventeen than most people realize. Not having good self-esteem takes a toll on young girls and causes them to miss out on many opportunities while growing up. Dove stated “six in ten girls avoid participating in fundamental life activities because of concerns about the way they look”. I found this very