Personal Experiences with Development
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Personal Experiences with Development
Who am I, and where did I come from anyway? How are my relationships between other people and me? These are some questions that people ask themselves, especially during adolescence. My adolescent years were complicated, with a pinch of fun attached to it. I am reserved, laid back, calm, kind-hearted, friendly, outgoing, goofy sometimes, and a fun type. Although, when dealing with other people, my personality and behavior change. This fact is dependent on how close we are and how often we are together.
Identity is linked to an individual’s sense of self-consciousness. Consciousness throughout adolescence serves as the foundation for consciousness early in adulthood. Genetic and environmental forces construct a teen’s culture (Rico et al., 2018). My identity and personal development process during my childhood were long before I went onto the right path. I was the only child in my family, and my parents were overprotective. At the same time, they gave me whatever I wanted. As such, I soaked all the attention my folks gave me. I was mainly imaginative to the extent that I did funny and obnoxious things over the years around my dad’s ranch. Because cartoons easily fazed me, I changed when I wasn’t more invested in human interactions, which was the wrong move. As a result, I was naive due to a lack of enough exposure to the world. Also, I was so self-focused due to my awkward and reserved personality.
I’m a reserved and quiet individual, especially in my dorm room when I’m by myself. However, I can be loud and goofy when dealing with my closest friends. I’m more relaxed, composed, and respectful when dealing with my parents and other older adults. Therefore, I can be a bit complicated sometimes. It angers me that I have never adequately discovered my true identity. I was more conscious about what my classmates and teachers thought of me during my high school life. For instance, when I was relaxing with my friends during a school trip, we contacted our rival school, and my clique got into a fight, and I broke someone’s nose in the process. My favorite English teacher showed her disappointment in my behavior which made me rethink what others thought of me. I was not self-aware, and to an extent, my teachers were always so concerned about my weird changes in behavior.
Even though I was reserved, open, and outgoing, I became confused due to a lack of self-identity. The need to seek a higher social status is one of my issues based on self-identity. Cliques were so common among schoolmates, including myself, upon which I thought I was creating my identity. I was in several cliques throughout my life and was guilty of undermining other students who refused the influence of cliques in the process. I kept associating myself with the popular kids in school and did their bidding to feel like a part of them. I remember sneaking out of school more than once to chill in the nightclubs. I had fun because the popular kids knew how to maneuver around such environments. I was lucky I was never caught or mentioned, even after a few friends were caught and expelled after this encounter. This experience was the first step into my self-identity, which led to my personal growth.
Although I was still a child, I hated being treated like one. Like me, other teenagers assume that acting like an adult will earn them acceptance and recognition. They begin partaking in smoking, partying, drug abuse, and sexual activity. I recall sneaking from classes to smoke at a specific joint with my friends. Also, if necessary, drinking was part of it, especially during the weekend. Although I was notorious for sneaking out of school, I rarely did it. For filling in, my friends and I snuck out to party and came back before anyone noticed my absence. I thought such things made me cool to others, but I was sabotaging myself.
Like other adolescents, I was a rebel to fit in. Many teenagers use rebellion to demonstrate they are unique and gain acceptance from their classmates and cliques. I was coping with concerns such as looking at my grades and dealing with bullying due to my parents’ established authoritarian personalities, which made my life in school terrible.
As a result, I went through a rebellious phase, and I was never mindful of other people’s feelings or even the consequences of my actions. Although I focused on feeling good about myself, my grades didn’t improve during my first year in boarding school.
Establishing your self-identity is crucial since it improves your individuality. As a result of knowing ourselves, we gain confidence in ourselves and can discern our qualities and flaws. Personal strength also makes us unique and differentiates us from others, and we’re all distinct from others in some way. Third, retaining our consciousness allows us to feel at ease in our skin. The moment we accept ourselves and our shortcomings, the earlier we can let go of our uncertainties and accept who we are. Finally, we become more conscious of our surrounding context and our location within them. We are all here for a reason, and realizing our self-identity provides us with the necessary tools to carry out that reason.
Although I underwent an identity crisis, I realized that such a phase affects people, and I was not alone. Therefore, I took a bit of time to look into myself and inquire about what I appreciate. Also, what I want to improve in the future is part of my self-improvement. The meditation process was helpful. I found answers for these inquiries over time, and I understood what was happening. Although I didn’t have all the correct answers immediately, I was able to handle the issue. I began dealing with the brilliant students in the classroom and acting like them. After some time, I realized that my performance was improving. I was grateful for finding the correct path and fixing my identity crisis before any significant consequences caught up with me.
In conclusion, other people’s opinions can significantly influence human health. Your personality is critical to your general well-being, and wasting effort on negative thinking will get you nothing in return. It may take some respect for the people you care about to accept any alterations you make, but you’ll be happier and more successful if you stay loyal.
References
Rico, A. P., Huerta, J. L. H., Cagnolati, A., Gómez, S. G., & Gómez, S. V. (Eds.). (2018). Globalizing the student rebellion in the long’68 (Vol. 8). FahrenHouse.