FINDING ONE'S SELF

By Jennifer N.

Daily, teenagers are constantly in a battle with the changes that take place while growing up. Adolescents tackle important social and emotional tasks as they make the transition to adulthood. They develop a sense of identity which they will carry through their adult lives. Teens also become more responsible, independent, and better able to make their own decisions.

Most researchers say that teenagers' feelings about themselves may fluctuate. Teen years bring about the beginning to be able to clarify your long term goals, or having a new understanding of yourself and where you are headed. For Erik Erikson, establishing this sense of who you really are is the major psychological task of adolescence.

Before adolescence, a child's identity is like separate patches of fabric. By the end of adolescence, the patches have been sorted and those retained have been connected into a quilt of integrated pieces.

Identity is defined as a sense of self or self knowledge about one's characteristics, or personality. One of the fundamental tasks of adolescence is to achieve a sense of a personal identity and a secure sense of self. As an adolescent gains comfort with, and acceptance of, a more mature physical body, learns to use their own judgments, learns to make their own decisions independently, and addresses their own problems, they begin to develop a concept of them self as an individual, and thus an identity. Difficulty in developing a clear concept of self or identity occurs when an adolescent is unable to resolve struggles about who they are physically, sexually, and independently.

According to the book "Infancy, Childhood, and Adolescence" by Jay Belsky, Erikson has stated that the key to resolving the identity crisis that most teenagers experience lies in the adolescent's interactions with others. Belonging to a club, such as the drama club at school, contributes to an adolescent's sense of identity.

When people who matter react positively to a young person's aspirations, the young person has an easier time making the choices involved. For instance, if a young girl is interested in taking a dance class, and is encouraged by her family and has the approval of her peers she, is more apt to integrate this new dimension quite smoothly into her developing sense of self.

As with all things in life, a teenager's identity takes time to build and grow. The late teens and early twenties are usually a critical time for identity to crystallize, and experimenting with possible new experiences continues well into adulthood. In fact, Erikson believed that the search for identity is never really over. So next time when you think you've lost yourself somewhere out there, look to a friend or parent for support in an activity or join the new club that opens up at school. There are many different possibilities and experiences to try to shape the person that you want to become.