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Adolescence Paper

Adolescence Paper
Human Behavior in the Social Environment
November 12, 2013
Wayne State University School of Social Work
Chelsey Pasha
Ec5994

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Adolescence Paper
In life we are told that the situations presented sometimes help us to grow into who we
are or the person we are becoming. Everyone has a story to tell but it is often how you decide to
tell a story that people will find it to be most interesting. I always tell my friends that life is just
beginning for us. Throughout my life Ive had many events that have shape the way I act and feel
currently, but I will never forget them, good or bad they must be included in my story.
Adolescence was a growing period for me and now that I look back I dont have any regrets.

Significant life events experienced during adolescence

In high school I thought my life was perfect. I went to a well-known private school for
girls in Warren, Michigan. I met some great friends at the school and some of them are friends
for life. My mom worked for the Department of Homeland Security (former US INS) and my
father worked for the Detroit Police. The only job I had was to go to school and made sue that I
kept my grades up. My mother would pack my lunch for me at night, iron my uniforms and fill
my gas tank up. I considered myself to be very blessed to have such a wonderful mom.
Sometimes I would get upset and have periods where I wouldnt talk to my mom and it would be
for something so small like her not buying the latest fashion piece from the mall for me. One day
during my senior year of high school I was so upset with my mom over something so trivial I
went a whole weekend without speaking to her. That weekend I will never forget because I woke
up that Sunday to my dad calling me with panic in his voice to come downstairs because he
thought my mom may be having a stroke. I rushed downstairs to see what was going on and my
moms speech was slurred and she was saying she couldnt feel her right leg. We immediately
called 911 and the paramedics showed up and took her to St. John hospital. I stayed home and

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Adolescence Paper
waited for my dad to call me and let me know what was going on. He called two hours later and
explained that my mom had a clot, which had traveled to her brain, and that they would have to
keep her overnight. I was crushed and couldnt believe that my mom was sick. In my seventeen
years I never once saw my mom get sick. My mother stayed in the hospital for close to two
months and I would visit her after doing my clinical in the hospital. I always promised myself
that I would never get sick in anyway shape or form, I would always stay healthy.
My mother always expressed how important it was to keep up with my doctors
appointments especially if I didnt feel good. I always thought I was doing okay health wise until
I went to the OB/Gyn for my yearly check up. My doctor kept feeling on my right breast and
asking different questions about a lump she felt. She asked me if I had ever had a cyst in either
of my breast before, and I told her that I never felt or noticed any major changes in my breast.
My doctor ordered me to go straight to Beaumont hospital, and get a mammogram. I cried from
the time I left the doctors office until the time I arrived at Beaumont. The mammogram and
ultrasound came back after an hour and it showed I had a fibroid Adenoma, which is a benign
tumor. I was sent to a breast specialist who performed a biopsy that same day. He stuck a probe
in my right breast that was longer than a pencil. The probe sucked the tissue out to check for
cancerous cells, it very was painful. Finally after a two weeks the wait was over, and I went back
to the doctor, he said that they didnt find any cancerous cells that we could begin the next step.
We discussed my options, and the only two were to remove it surgically or to freeze it through a
process called Cryoablation. I thought about how my breast would look after they removed the
tumor surgically and if there would be any kind of disfiguration. I finally decided that freezing
(Cryo) it would be the best option for me. In order to make sure this optioned worked, the doctor
would have to freeze it in two settings. The day of surgery I was scared and nervous, and because

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Adolescence Paper
it was an outpatient setting I couldnt be put to sleep. The doctor numbed up the right side of my
breast and made an incision right below the armpit, because the tissue of the tumor was so hard
he had to push the probe through with all of his strength. I cried like a baby, the pain was
excruciating and in order to keep me from getting a burn from the freezing I had to be given a
shot of saline in my breast every sixty seconds. The first procedure lasted almost an hour and
when it was over the whole right side of my body felt like a train had run over it. The next week I
went back for the second part and it was the same story all over but this time I promised myself
that I wouldnt cry. Weeks after the surgery was over I began to notice changes in my hormones,
my body didnt feel quite the same. I started having a menstrual cycle every two weeks, I would
become moody at the drop of a dime and my face began to break out badly. I remember telling
my mom that I was tired of being sick and I am only 21. I still suffer from hormone imbalance
and my right breast hurts almost every other day but I have learned to deal with it because it
could be a lot worse.

Effects these life events and issues had on myself during the time and may currently
still have.

After my mother had a stroke I was angry with her for getting sick. The things I took for
granted like her making my lunch, ironing out my uniform or taking me to school she could no
longer do. My mother lost function in her right leg and could no longer drive or walk with out
assistance. I was so angry because I couldnt enjoy the things that I once did with my mother,
such as driving me to the mall or movies and going on long road trips. I stayed upset for a long
time and sometimes I think about it and I still get a little upset. I would challenge my mother on

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Adolescence Paper
everything and if I didnt get my way I would immediately get an attitude and give her the silent
treatment, that has changed, and today I can say proudly she is my best friend, although
sometimes she still say no.
Having hormone problems makes me sad most of the time. I am tired a lot and often I
have so much on my plate that I snap, without realizing that I am snapping. I take medication,
which has side effects, like having menstrual cycles for ten or more days. My hair is thinning and
my chest always hurt, but I have to cope with it and remember things will get better.

Sexuality

I was raised in a catholic household. My mother implemented the importance of

abstaining from sex. She explained to me that if I were to become pregnant before I had a
husband, I would have to move out. That statement alone scared me. She always explained that
she had already raised her child and that anything pass that was is not her responsibility. I was
mortified at the thought of having a baby so I stayed clear of sexual activity. My mother bent
over backwards to send me to private school and I knew if I made one mistake I would be
wasting her hard earned money. I would listen to my friends stories of their Friday night hook
ups and I cringed at the thought of having sex with someone at such a young age. The Catholic
Church teaches that you are single until married and you take a vow with God to abstain from
sex until you are married. I believed in that very much. I was called a prude many times because
I didnt want to engage in sexual activity and I even lost my high school boyfriend because of it.
It didnt make me feel bad because I knew at the time that I was making the right choice.

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Adolescence Paper
In an all girls school five days a week, eight hours a day you are surrounded by females
and for some girls it was a test of their sexuality. Girls struggled to identify with who they were.
I never struggled with my sexuality personally but I had friends who did. It was hard for them in
our school setting, because the nuns frowned upon something of this nature as taboo. They had to
hide who they were until they graduated and that I didnt think it was fair.

Drugs

My parents always expressed the effect drugs could have on a persons life. My aunt
battled drug addiction for many years and lost her kids to the system multiple times as a result.
My mother and father both held jobs in law enforcement and they had no problem sharing their
stories of arresting people who were on drugs, and my father would tell me he locked up my aunt
countless times because her behavior was irrational. When I was in the 12th grade my friends
began to experiment with drugs. Every Friday they looked forward to getting high and for the
life of me I could not understand why! One of the girls at my lunch table had fallen during a
soccer game and broke her leg, as a result of that her leg was put in a cast and she was given pain
medications for the first couple of days. The prescription was for vicodin, which is a very strong
pain pill and if taken in excess can be dangerous and cause one to get high. She bragged and
bragged about taking them and mixing them with other prescription pills that were not prescribed
to her. One day she went to far and the consequence was not good. She sat down at the table and
opened a container full of marijuana. I was nervous because there was a teacher within arms
reach of us and I knew that she would either smell it or see it in the container. I got up and left
the table because your always guilty by association and this particular student didnt have the

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Adolescence Paper
best track record. Throughout the day, the girls were whispering about their plans for the weed
and pills, and I laughed because in all honesty I thought they were stupid. That Monday morning
we had home room meetings and I waited on them to walk in the door to tell me about their
weekend but only one of the girls showed up and she was sad. I asked her what happened and
why she looked so sad and she explained to me that they had gotten so high that the other girl
passed out and had to be rushed to the hospital where she had to have her stomach pumped.
Needless to say the school was informed and they were both in trouble for their actions. I always
felt that drug addiction is the scariest addiction you can have.

Peer Pressure

On many occasions I have given into peer pressure, especially when it comes to alcohol.
Senior year was a year filled with parties and many memories. After homecoming and prom
some of the parents decided that they would throw after parties for their daughters and our class.
The rules of the party is that you could drink but if you were drinking then you had to hand over
your keys the moment you walked in the door. I had never had a drink of beer or anything else
before in life so, I was reluctant to go this party. In my mind I went back and forth with idea of
me getting drunk and having to stay the night, my mom would definitely think something was
going on. My friends begged and pleaded with me to go to the after party and I finally gave in.
We arrived at the after party and they were playing a game called beer pong and flip cup. I was
only seventeen, but I couldnt believe I was drinking. Social Learning theory implies that a
person learns their behavior by watching their social role models (Ashford & LeCroy, 2013). My
friends became my social role models, many of them I grew up with so we often made decisions

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together since our middle school days. I looked up to them, so when they started drinking in my
mind the behavior was okay because everyone was doing it. I had been a part of a group called
SADD, which stood for students against drunk driving. I beat myself up because I took an oath
to stay away from situations like that. I still give into peer pressure when it comes to drinking. If
my friends go out to the bar and they have a drink, I have to have one as well.

Body Image

My family consists of many different shapes and sizes, but mostly tall people. My dad is
63 and my brother and sister are 60ft. By my senior year I stood at 59. I was tall with no
curves and I weighed about 129 pounds. The rest of my friends were short and had curves, so I
always looked liked the odd girl out. Adolescent egocentrism refers to a type of thought that is
characterized by preoccupation with ones behavior, feeling, or thought in a self-conscious
manner (Ashford & LeCroy, 2013). I struggled with my appearance for a long time in high
school because my body didnt match the rest of the girls, I wouldnt attend many events without
having to go the mall first because I was worried about what people would think or say. I had an
egocentric view on how things would turn out instead of not worrying at all. I eventually learned
to accept my body and the way I looked when I realized that I couldnt change it, but it wasnt
until I turned to 19 to finally understand it.
Family Dynamics

My parents worked full time. My mom worked forty plus hours a week. My mom dedicated most
of her time to her job and I really did not see her much after 9/11. I would go to sleep some

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Adolescence Paper
nights and she would not be home. I saw that she was stressed which in turn made me stress out.
My mother would come home and lash out on me about the littlest thing and I in turn would go
and lash out at my friends. According to Watsons Behaviorism theory states that we start as
blank slates. Bandura states that behavior is learned not inborn (Ashford & LeCroy, 2013). I
watched my mom growing upset and lash out, and I in turn mocked that behavior up until high
school was over. I knew she didnt mean to but she was stressed, especially being on call with
her job. I wasnt born angry I learned to become angry as a result of watching my mom. As an
adolescent it affected the way I valued work. I saw my mother working as a negative thing not
realizing that it was a way to put food on the table.

Issues of Diversity

Growing up my mom put me in every activity possible. I started going to the YMCA at
the age of ten in South-West Detroit. The population was very diverse and I learned to interact
with everyone. I also learned to play the Violin and Piano at Wayne State on Saturday Mornings
with children my own age. My mother told me the more opportunities I was given the more
cultured I would become. Going to private school opened many doors for me but it also showed
me the other side of things as well such as racism. In high school there were ten black girls in my
graduating class. I never thought I would face an issue of diversity until one day I was shown
otherwise. I was taking a poll for senior year in the lunchroom and my job was to go table to
table and ask about the songs we listened to when started as freshman and the songs we listened
to as seniors. I went over to the table next me to first and asked the girls about their music
selection. One of the girls replied, No one listens to your black nigger music so get out of

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Adolescence Paper
here! Her friends laughed and my mouth dropped. I could not believe what I was hearing. I ran
back to my table to report what the girl had said and everybody shook their head in disbelief. I
have always been told I act to white or I dont act black enough. I never let those comments
get to me because I identify as an African American. I have a very diverse group of friends and I
will never change the way I talk, act or dress to fit in with any crowd.
They say if it doesnt kill you it can only make you stronger. I have had struggles in my
life and like every teenager I have also had my rebellious moments, but I believe that its a part
of life. The peer pressure and struggles with identity was are worth the stories that I am able to
tell today.

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Adolescence Paper
References
Ashford, J., & LeCroy, C. (2013). Human behavior in the social environment: A
multidimensional perspective. (5th ed.). Belmont, California : Brooks/Cole.