Katie Haley

FHS 1500
3/23/15
Observation # 4
For this observation I interviewed a 16 year old girl that goes to Herriman
High School. I am including this information in the paper because I think where
teenagers attend school affects them in so many different ways. I interviewed her
while she was with a couple of her friends because it made her much more
comfortable and answered the questions way more openly than she would have
alone. She had told me this information before we began the interview process.
Biological
This section was hypothetically the most awkward section to undertake but
once you get started in the interview it was just like having a conversation with your
girlfriends about girl talk. It isnt like only some people go through the biological
changes during adolescence and your teen years, every single person does, it just
happens at different times in their lives. The girl I interviewed started her menstrual
cycle for the first time when she was 14. Menarche is the proper term used for when
women have their first period. (Berger, 2014, P. 319). Although she started her
period at age 14 she began puberty earlier than that, around 12 when her
breasts started developing and growing hair in her armpits and genital area.
(Berger, 2014, P. 322). The girl is 5 8 and weighs around 110 pounds. She is what I
would call slender. She is very active and plays sports in high school. She told me
that she eats junk food a lot but always has a balanced breakfast and dinner. I
believe a teenagers nutrition is very important because they are growing and

changing so much. (Berger, 2014, P. 327). She probably could go without so much
junk food but as long as she tries to balance out the junk with healthy food groups.
While she is a pretty healthy eater she told me about a girl in her friend circle that
suffers from an eating disorder, called bulimia, where after eating a person will
throw up their food. (Berger, 2014, P. 329). Her friend is abnormally skinny and
unhealthy. Her bones stick out all over her body and she looks like you could snap
her with your fingers.
Cognitive
During the cognitive section of the interview I asked her questions about
school and her thought processes that she goes through on a day to day basis. I
talked about decisions and asked if shes ever made bad decisions or knows anyone
who has. She lives in a family with older siblings and because of their decisions
when they were teens has given her parents an insight, so to speak, on how she will
act as a teen. She told me that her mom has called when she has been with friends
telling her to come home because her mother didnt feel right about letting her go
out. This is considered to be, intuitive thought. (Berger, 2014, p. 336). The girl
called it her, mommy senses. She told me that she wasnt one to sneak out or
disobey the rules, but many of her friends do, and I think this focuses on
egocentrism. Thinking it is all about yourself and you dont consider the feeling of
others around you. (Berger, 2014, P. 333). A couple weeks ago the girl I interviewed,
had to take the ACT test for school. She studied for weeks and was very nervous the
day of the test, because it is a large determining factor of what you will do after
high school. It is a high stakes test that could help you go to college or make it hard
to get into college. (Berger, 2014, P. 345).

Social/Emotional
The girl I interviewed was very good at expressing her emotions to me and
being able to talk about topics that were a little more difficult, even if they werent
about her. When we were talking about the ACT I asked her if she knows what she
wants to go to college for, or if she even wants to go at all. She does want to attend
college but doesnt know what for yet. She hangs out with many different types of
people and has many different interests, while at the same time she doesnt have a
strong sense of religious faith. She knows she is Christian but does not attend
church. She is in a state called, moratorium. (Berger, 2014, P. 357). She does not
know her true identity yet but is trying new things and always learning and seeking
out others to figure out where she wants to be in the next years. Like I mentioned
above she enjoys all of her friends but all of her friends have different hobbies and
interests, so some of them do not all hang out together in the same crowd. She
described some of the different kids in her school as being part of different cliques.
(Berger, 2014, P.365). She told me she doesnt belong to a certain clique and that
the cliques in her school arent even really that segregated. Most everyone gets
along well with each other. Lastly the teen that I interviewed told me about one of
her best friends that suffers from pretty harsh depression. Depression is where a
person feels sad and a sense of hopelessness that affects them on a day to day
basis. (Berger, 2014, P.377). She said it is hard sometimes because she is a very
happy and upbeat person and her friend will be down on herself most of the time. It
is very challenging growing up and discovering yourself, but it is very rewarding to
look back on all that you have accomplished.