Adoloscents

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...