“Puberty is uncomfortable for everyone I think. Plain and simple. It’s a time of a lot of changes and it seems people get really sensitive and more self-conscious. It’s kind of like going through an awkward life crisis in your pre-teen or teen years,” said senior Lauren Livengood.
Filled with many physical and emotional changes, puberty is an awkward growing phase for most everybody. It’s a period of time filled with many doubts, anxieties, hormones going wild, and of course awkward moments.
This course of time in life ranges from bodily changes leading to buying a first bra, developing a beard, or gaining acne from oily and sensitive skin.
“The time of puberty is usually when individuals develop a sense of self. As many know, puberty can be filled with many emotional ups and downs so developing a good sense of self can be difficult,” said senior Hannah Sorenson.
An imbalance of emotions can make someone during this stage become either very happy or intensely upset. This upsurge of emotions can cause a lot of drama in teenage friendships or love.
“I definitely feel that myself and others got a lot more sensitive and emotional once puberty begun. Especially with girls because when girls are on their periods a lot of the times they can get PMS and it can get us either incredibly sad or really angry at times,” said senior Lizzie Guilford. “I think that might be why there’s a lot of drama amongst teenage girls and whatnot. But I think guys can be emotional during this time too, like in relationships because their hormones are out there too.”
Body image can become a large issue when puberty rolls around due to the fact that not everyone goes through puberty around the same time.
Girls will begin to develop breasts, gain or lose weight, and might start growing taller. Some boys might start developing more muscular physiques while other will still have developing bodies.
Weight could also possibly become a probable issue if not handled correctly. Weight gain during this particular self conscious time of life could lead to diets. Diets have been known to be linked to depression, eating disorders, and weight gain.
With puberty comes the awakening of sexual urges amongst teenagers. A Carlmont senior who asked to have his name withheld said, “I used to get ‘aroused’ right before I would go up to do a class presentation. If that’s not awkward I don’t know what is.”
“It’s better to just embrace the awkward moments and situations that occur during this stage because they’re something to laugh at, maybe not today but eventually. Others are going to have an equal amount of embarrassment too,” said senior Iman Fawahl.
When it comes down to it, maturing into a young man or woman can be filled with troublesome situations. The changes occurring in teenage bodies and emotions can be uncomfortable but everyone ends up going through this awkward stage known as puberty.
