Adolescent: Adolescence and Chatting Online

During my adolescent years, I wasn’t very tall, petite, had acne and never had enlarged breasts. I didn’t develop pubic hairs until I was in my sophomore year in high school. I went through menarche when I was 10 years old. I was one of those females who went through the dissatisfied body phase. I compared myself to other girls a lot. I think I developed late into my sexual identity. I was more concern about the consequences of having kids and being infected with a virus than pleasing a guy. I became more intimate in my 20s when I was allowed to date and see guys. I come from a strict home so men were not my focus.
During school, we hardly did any exercising and most the items on our lunch menu were fried and unhealthy. The most participation in exercising I did was marching during parade season and football games. I would spend a lot of my time using the computer and chatting online. I was given a sufficient amount of sleep during school days but on the weekends I was able to go to bed and sleep as long as I wanted. I wasn’t into substance use but I was surround by those who sold it. I’ve lost a few male friends during my adolescent years due to violence. Most of them were killed because of issues with their drug deals.
My social context did put a lot of pressure on me to do be someone I wasn’t and to do something I shouldn’t do. My fear of being punished for breaking the rules did not fall for the pressure. In my household, we received spankings as punishment. Most of my

decision-making was based off how would it affect me if my parents found out. I don’t recall ever dealing with the top-dog phenomenon. I was pretty laid back by the time I reached high school. I just went with the flow of things. I was more excited to move forward and be part of a new experience than anything.
During my developmental changes, I went through the MAMA cycles. I would like to believe I’m still currently trying to achieve things in life and often have to deal with crisis. My mom has always supported me in my decisions through out my teen years.
She was strict but played her role well as a mother. I was able to speak with her about anything. My father was hardly around and I feel that played a part in how I felt about boys as well. I had many friends and majority of them were my age or younger. I stayed around a positive crowd and steered away from ignorance. Growing up in low-income housing, I think I am one of the few who wanted to do better.
I was given a hard time growing up in low-income housing but I never let it define me. I wanted to be the person who’s not the stereotypical teen from the “hood”. I was always told that I was very mature for my age. I wanted to be my own person and not follow the crowd. I dealt with trying to figure out who I was, where I was going and where I belonged like anyone else. I just made sure I thought out my decisions and made my own choices and chose my directions carefully.