A Way Through Adolescence

The human life becomes beautiful with its four phases, i.e. infancy, childhood, adolescence and adulthood which provide different essences to a complete human journey. When each stage is bestowed with its own worthy characteristics, the adolescence remains the most pleasant phase of human life.

Adolescence, also called as teenage, is the age that bridges the gap between childhood and adulthood, and is witnessed generally at the age of 13-19 years. The person experiences significant physical, psychological, cognitive and other changes during the years of transition from a child to an adult.

Physical Development

The adolescent period is evident of many expressive changes in the physical appearance of teenagers, mainly due to hormonal changes in boys and girls. There is a considerable increase in height and weight of individuals and various differences are seen in body composition during adolescence. The secondary sexual characters are distinguished between males and females. Boys experience a gradual growth of facial and body hair with larger Adam's apple as well as a deeper voice. On the other hand, girls experience an increase in breast development with a softer voice. The major undeniable changes during puberty include sperm arch in boys and menarche in girls.

Psychological Development

There's no denying that adolescence is a state of mental and emotional disturbance and extreme psychological confusion. The teenagers become more self conscious and self aware of their personality and outer looks. It is very common to get attracted towards opposite gender during this stage, and therefore people become emotionally unstable sometimes. They also develop critical and reasoning abilities to look at a wider scenario of the world. They come out of their childlike thoughts and begin to see the globe as a very different place.

Social Development

Along with the physical and psychological development, adolescents also witness considerable social changes in their surroundings. Their relationships with their parents, family members and friends play an important role in their personality and social development. There occurs an inclination towards peer groups and a drift from the parents, often resulting in increased disagreements between children and parents. Egocentrism is heavily possessed by the teenagers, when they desire to be superior among their peers or batchmates. They remain in search of their own discrete identity, continuously striving to improve one's image in front of everyone.

While pubescence is the most delightful phase of one's life, it is the most struggling phase too as an adolescent strives emotionally, mentally, physically and socially as well. A teenager requires a loving and caring attitude and proper guidance from his/her elders so as to pave a way towards a better matured life.