Reflection statement
Both the written and visual related texts that I have chosen relate directly to the concept of growing pains for different reasons.
The first photograph that I have chosen to appear in the visual related texts section clearly shows a teenage girl being labelled with awful remarks such as ‘not good enough’ by other teenagers or by herself, either online or in real life. It shows this young girl struggling with the transition between adolescence and adulthood and potentially a change in social status or friendship groups. This picture clearly demonstrates internal change (not accepting changing stages in her life) starting to show on the outside and her changing as a result of her situation. Situations like this are where depression can commonly sprout from and it is so easy for teenagers to fall into the deep spiral of depression.
The second text I have chosen is a cartoon. The teacher is asking what the children want to be when they grow up, and the response is ‘alive!’. This could commonly be seen as a simple comedic cartoon, however, I think that it is symbolising the immense pressure put on children and teenagers these days. Apparently the general stress of the exams that pave the way of our future is not enough any more. The media has changed the way we see ourselves and what is perceived as ‘normal’. This new perception of the ‘correct’ way to look is, naturally, a clear starting line for bullying to take off from, and now that we all are so addicted to technology, the new world of cyberbullying has opened up. Bullying comes arm in arm with three essential elements of growing pains; Anxiety and confusion, exhibiting a range of emotions, and powerlessness. This child is saying that his only goal is to come out of the end of the adolescence to adulthood alive because that’s a big enough struggle without additional goals and expectations. Also it is being said by a young black boy and statistically, young american black boys have more chance of going to jail than college so this is also a brutal representation of the inequality still present in the world.
The first of my written texts is Presidant Obama's eulogy for Edward Kennedy. I chose this piece because there is no more significant transition than that of a beating heart to a stone cold one. Death is part of the cycle of life, however it is also life's polar opposite. Death is the kind of transition that leaves aching people behind, therefore they display all areas of the rubric. No one can deal with the idea of a loved one being dead without struggling with the transition. The internal change of a part of your life being non existant can commonly be accompaned by many external changes such as arguments due to the anxiety and confusion. The range of emotions is obvious.. one minute you're crying so hard you think there cannot possibly be any water left in your body, and the next you're happy because they are in a better place. Powerlessness is obvious too, as no one, no matter how inteligent or brilliant they are, can bring back the dead. I believe that a eulogy represents growing pains more than any poem can becasue of the nature of the transition from life to death.
The second of my written texts is an advert done by the company youthbeyondblue about depression in teenagers. The elements of growing pains can be the result of depression in some youths who cannot cope so this ad relates directly back to growing pains. The symptoms of depression exhibit all the elements of growing pains that I have discussed throughout this website so this advert ties it all together. The element of growing pains 'anxiety and confusion' is specifically mentioned during the girl's monologue. I like the way this advert is filmed so everything the she does is backwards because this shows what depression feels like- that you're never doing anything good or beneficial and are always taking steps backwards.
