My Virtual Teen Reflection Assignment Questions 15 years (17 points)
1. Mia is very active for her age, and seems to enjoy this fact. Mia goes on nature hikes for fun and is not reluctant to doing so. Mia has also showed great skill in all of the sports that she has been involved with. She has been playing softball since the age of six, and has recently joined the high school softball team. She enjoys playing the sport and appears to be very good at it. Mia also seems to be open to new forms of activity, it is noticed that she has started to play tennis with an aunt that lives nearby and Mia enjoys this experience (Manis, 2006). Mia seems to excel at everything she puts her mind to, and she acts appropriately when life presents new challenges for her. She shows great purpose in all of her practices and I believe that this attitude will allow her to succeed in areas of her interest.
2. There have never been any dramatic changes in my teen’s behavior towards me or my partner. However, there have been minor instances where Mia has been rebellious in a situation for a short period of time. To deal with her rebellious phase, I have been understanding to her thought process, but made sure she understood being disrespectful or lying would not be tolerated in any situation. I believe this has made Mia have respect for authority figures. While realizing that she has the freedom to make her own decisions, she is also respectful and mindful of others when doing so.
Mia exemplified her importance of respect to authorities in the situation where her friends were stealing; she found it troublesome that the individuals would do something without thinking of the consequences of who it effects. This mentality was supported by my partner and I while emphasizing that she must also account for legal discrepancies as well in such a situation (Manis, 2006). Mia has also become more fond of her image and has been working extra chores to acquire money for shopping. It is stated in the textbook that an important way for adolescents to express their identities and discover who they are is through clothing (Dolgin, 2011). We support this idea by allowing Mia to earn money for herself and purchase articles of clothing she desires, while also spending time with her close friends.
3. Mia is experiencing many cognitive and physical changes as she continues to age. It is evident that she is maturing and is affected by the thoughts of her peers. I believe that this has allowed her to have a better understanding of herself and the personalities of the people around her. This understanding has allowed Mia to make positive relationships with friends in her surroundings, and I believe that she has also avoided bad relationships with individuals who would have a negative influence on her. Nevertheless, Mia has had to deal with the thoughts of her peers and had an altercation where she was being teased at school for her physical characteristic of being “flat chested” (Manis, 2006).
Mia wants to feel pretty as any girl would, and this response was expected. She recently complained that she now feels “fat” as she goes through puberty and puts on weight, but my hope is that she realizes this is a part of the stage of life she is in, and that she will cope with the situation well without letting it affect her thoughts of herself in a negative manner. These changes that Mia has experienced are a part of her process of developing an identity, which exemplifies that her identity control system is developing (Dolgin, 2011).
End of 16 years (11 points)
1. Mia has done exceptionally well in school and this has been reflected by her grades and achievements in school. No teacher has had bad remarks of Mia’s personality in class, and the ones who do acknowledge her presence always have kind words to say. She is mentioned as one of the strongest students in her Honors English and History courses, and notably loves to read (Manis, 2006). At the age of 16 she has written pieces for the school literary magazine and is involved with school news reports (Manis, 2006).
It is evident that she enjoys these tasks, and I make sure to encourage this by reading her stories and talking with her as much as possible. Mia is extremely interested in science and math, which leads me to believe that she could possibly be best suited for a career in medicine. I have seen it to be true in myself that doing well in these subjects and having a passion for them has been helpful to pursuing a career in health care. Her personality and ability to handle stressful situations well tells me that she too could be successful in such a role.
2.1 believe that Mia has been influenced by her parents and her peers throughout the years. She has been involved in situations that were acknowledged as negative and she was advised to not surround herself with individuals that would have a negative influence on her. Instead, she has surrounded herself with a positive friend group and she has done exceptionally well in and extra-curricular involvements. The highlights from Mia’s 11th grade report card showed that she received good marks for citizenship from multiple teachers, representing that she contributed often to the class (Manis, 2006). I believe that her involvement in class has allowed her to have a strong relationship with her classmates and Mia has still never received a grade lower than an A in any subject. Her success in school is possibly attributed to her positive relationship with teachers and commitment to the work asked of her.
It is understood that “the more studies that are conducted, and the more closely these studies are analyzed, the more evident it becomes that adolescents choose to follow neither parents not friends exclusively” (Dolgin, 2011). This goes to show that Mia has developed a personality that is specific to her and that although her peers and parents may have a partial influence on her decisions; it is ultimately up to her what she will be involved in. Mia has chosen to be involved with countless activities and does well with all of them. She has gotten “cocky” in situations where she scored well on her PSAT, but with a reality check that praises her achievements while respecting reality helps to keep her ego from getting too big.
3. Mia has adjusted to the issues of risk-taking, drugs, alcohol, and sexual interests by experience. She has been caught drinking with friends, but seemed to feel guilty about it. Acknowledging that this is not acceptable at the time she was caught will hopefully deter her from continuing negative actions. Mia has a respect for her parents and does not want to disappoint us. This is apparent when noting that she got in a minor accident and was afraid to admit it (Manis, 2006).
By addressing the fact that being open about failing is acceptable, she will hopefully be more honest in the future. It is important to let Mia know that rules are set in place, and the she will be punished for breaking them, but I try to be understanding and fair as situations present themselves. Mia seems to respond to this by respecting her parents’ decisions, but she still messes up from time to time, which is expected and not punished overbearingly.