Keeping on keeping on
Do you wake up in the morning and want to pull the covers over your head and just stay there all day? If you venture out, do you feel like you're walking under signs that read, "Watch Out for Falling Rocks?" Have you found it's been harder lately to concentrate in school? Are you having nightmares? If any of this sounds familiar, YOU ARE NOT ALONE! Even if you aren't a news-hound, you can hardly escape being hyper-aware of how terrorism, anthrax, and war have invaded our world.Surviving adolescence has never been easy but since the enormity of the atrocious events of September 11th 2001, this time might feel that much harder to negotiate. In the immediate aftermath of the attacks, a national poll revealed that seven in 10 Americans have felt depressed. Almost half reported having concentration problems. And a third said they had trouble sleeping. No wonder developing towards womanhood, and growing comfortable with an ever- changing body, is even more complicated than usual.
Today you might feel there's no hurry to be considered an adult. It certainly sounds more appealing to remain a young, free spirit without having to deal with the changes in all things female. What in a more perfect world sounds exciting and challenging...being more independent, making your own way, being held responsible for your actions...suddenly sounds more ominous. In a world that feels precarious, leaving home has lost lots of its appeal.
It's totally normal, if you're at all conscious, to be upset about what's happening these days and, when these feelings combine with the emotional and physical changes of puberty, there might be moments you feel like a cast member of the Rocky Horror Show. First of all, when your sex hormones start circulating (about two years BEFORE your first period), you automatically become more emotional. As if you've never noticed, your moods fluctuate dramatically. You may find that you cry for no obvious reason. Or get real tense without knowing why. But, in these cruel and unusual times, if you feel down or start to cry, your instinct might be to blame the latest frightening news story you heard on television.
It's during adolescence when you start to evolve your own attitudes toward men and think more seriously about what it means to be a female. Most of us have heard about how the Taliban men in Afghanistan make women cover themselves from head to toe, don't allow them to get an education, and generally treat them like property. One story told of a young girl getting beaten because the whites of her eyes could be seen in public. It's hard to imagine. Tales like these can make any human who breathes angry, none more than teenage girls. Feeling the heat of anger can complicate things but when has this emotion been more justified and appropriate? Properly expressed, it will ultimately make you a stronger person.
The silver lining of this black cloud we're living under is that suddenly your rule-setting father and annoying brother seem a lot less lethal. Suddenly the hundreds of choices we have to become whatever it is our hearts desire, the unlimited opportunities to pursue whatever it is we feel passionate about, can no longer be ignored and taken for granted. Our freedom is something to be appreciated, to be savored, to be cherished.
If you are feeling more out of sorts lately and find that you're having trouble getting through the day, try talking with a friend, a parent, or other adult you trust. The fall of 2001 was not a time to deny your feelings or shove them aside. On the other hand, if you are fortunate enough NOT to be feeling upset, please don't feel guilty. We all cope with hardship in different ways. Some of us survive best by feeling numb. Just don't be shocked if all of a sudden some strong feelings manage to squirm their way out. Delayed reactions are common.
And remember, getting stressed out over New Year's Eve or midterms or a bad haircut... or really excited about a vacation or the school play or that cute boy... isn't wrong. It's in our nature, as women and Americans, to keep on keeping on. And that's exactly what our president, the mayor of New York, and lots of other wise and thoughtful people are telling us to do.
Info from BeingGirl.com
