“After facilitating the group, I would walk with the girls to the subway. I would often hear snippets of their conversations with each other about their home lives. They would talk about their family, their friends as school, and occasionally their husbands…..I couldn’t imagine how these giggly high school girls could possibly transition to be someone’s wife once they left the playful space of our girl’s group (Yetu 3.). Continue reading Cultural Practices vs. Adolescent Well Being →

Some [adults] are plain old strict, fearing our fun will lead to trouble. They scare us by telling us not to get too close to boys, not to dance like that—but then how will we look cool to the kids? How are supposed to gain experience? How will we learn when to say no, and when not to? It seems as though adults are afraid of our sexuality and give us no credit for having good sense and self-control. Some kids may need to be restrained, but most of us know when to stop. (Appleton, 2007, 149)

After reading this passage, I remembered the many conversations my friends and I used to have about our parents when we were still in high school. Just like the girl in this article, we would always complain about how over-protective they were and how they seemed to have forgotten what they were like when they were younger. Now that several years have passed and I have a younger sister who goes to the same high school I student teach at, I completely understand my parents’ reasoning, and I am actually grateful that they protected me like they did. As an adolescent, I had the wrong definitions for “cool” and “popular” and I am thankful that my parents tried to make me realize that I had to redefine these concepts in order to have a positive high school experience.Although it is true that adolescents have a mind of their own and should be able to make decisions (right or wrong) in order to prepare themselves for adulthood, like the adults in these children’s’ lives, I think it is our job to guide them and teach them how to protect themselves even if they don’t like us for doing it. I am sure they will thank us later, and if they don’t, we at least know we did it with the best intention.

“It’s almost like being transgender is being a hero to me because, you know, there are so many people that just won’t come to the realization and they don’t advance on their transition because of the pain and suffering it causes. But I just realized it’s something I had to do…”

The interview between Michael Sadowski and Matt, a transgender youth, was impactful in making me recognize how painful ignorance can be to youth navigating their sexuality and identities. Continue reading Ignorance isn’t always bliss →