Blog Option 4

Everyone has experienced those uncomfortable “adolescent years” at some point in his or her lives. Whether it was short-lived and you developed quickly and bypassed many of the typical pangs of growing up or struggled adjusting to the rapid changes that have to do with your body and psych, most people can find that one photo of themselves when they were 12 years old that makes them cringe. In fact, that’s exactly what happened to me the other day. I was going through some old photos on my computer, and came across a folder titled “Do Not Open”. Of course when I saw this I immediately proceeded to open it …and then immediately regretted it.  Not only did I have some questionable hair and outfit choices but I also seemed to have a very vulnerable look in my eyes. When I was gathering my thoughts for what I should write about for this blog post, the short story “Eleven” came to mind.

I felt like there was a similar connection between Rachel’s story and my less- dramatic yet equally horrifying occurrence. In Rachel’s short story of self discovery she deals with her teacher’s power to humiliate her as she struggles to understand not only her own feelings but also other people’s mean intentions. You see how the mind of an eleven year old works and you sympathize with her journey growing up. If you’re like me, you might also relate to some of the emotions she was expressing throughout her story.

During adolescence most kids start trying to establish their own identity that is separate from their parents, start to let go of their childhood tendencies, learn social responsibility as well as develop their own way to deal with authority. While Rachel’s self esteem and self-image is challenged by this burdensome image of this sweater on her desk “sitting there like a big red mountain”, she is not any different from most girls like her in that age of transition. She is putting in as much effort into being heard and taken seriously so she can prove to herself that she can move onto the next stage of her life. I feel for Rachel and her apparent struggle, and while she has to deal with somewhat unwarranted circumstances, I realize that we all will/or have gone through similar situations that hopefully one day we can store in a folder that we don’t have to ever relive again but still understand that it’s all apart of growing up.