1 Developing your identity and image Aim To explore your sense of
A sense of identity
identity, and your feelings about image and becoming an adult
WHAT KIND OF ADULT? Adolescence is all about developing from child to adult. But, Janet Lake asks, what kind of adult do you want to be?
B
ecoming an adult is the main point of adolescence, so it’s worth spending some time thinking about the kind of person you want to be. What qualities do you want to have? What skills and abilities? What characteristics do you definitely not want to have? Draw up a table like the one below. (The qualities listed are only an example – everyone will feel differently about this.) It may help to think about adults that you respect, whether they are members of your family or public figures. And, of course, adults with qualities you don’t admire.
QUALITIES I WOULD LIKE TO HAVE
QUALITIES I DON’T WANT TO HAVE
✓ Coping ✓ Strong ✓ Dynamic
✓ Indecisive ✓ Nagging ✓ Stressed
1
Remember, there is no right or wrong answer to the question “What kind of person do you want to be?” But the qualities you jot down will tell you a lot about your emerging identity.
1 2
On your own, draw up a list of qualities, as Janet Lake describes. Share your list with your partner and explain why you have included these qualities in your list. How similar or different are your lists?
3
4
Read the article on the right about designer clothes and the quote below. Do you agree with Wayne Hemingway that ‘it’s cooler to be an individual than look the same as everyone else’? Or do you agree with Damian that it’s cool to wear the right brands?
Discuss whether you think your lists will change in the next five to ten years. If so, how?
2
What do you think your lists say about your ‘emerging identity’?
“There is a lot of pressure on teenagers to appear cool. That means wearing the right brands. Like it or not, that’s the way it is.” Damian
Discuss your attitudes to clothes and why you dress the way you do.
6
29408_P001_057.indd 6
2/21/15 4:43 PM