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Quintessential Pavel Belansky The key word which I find is crucial to adolescent development is quintessential. The meaning of quintessential is defined as being a perfect representation or example of a thing or person. The use of this word lacks much historical significance from my research on it, some origins of the word come from French and Latin, and its noun, quintessence, originally was defined as describing the essence of heavenly or divine (Etymology, n.d.). Therefore historically, the word has always been used to describe examples of perfection. Through my writing experiences I have only come across this word once, yet as a word it has a definition which is essential to the adolescent experience. Its synonyms are crucial to understanding its true meaning and social importance. Similar terms of the word according to Oxford dictionary are: stereotypical, archetypal, classical, typical, prototypical and model. Quintessential encompasses all these words since a perfect example of something must derive from a preconceived perception of the topic in question. In order to formulate an understanding of the characteristics of the example we must incorporate stereotypes, archetypes, and classical views. A major issue with adolescence is the prevalence of stereotypes, where young adults are pressured from teachers, peers and media to fit into certain societally created categories (D’Amico, 2022). In my own experience I have often seen teachers refer to racialized students as the quintessential student athlete, or the quintessential future med student. This puts pressure on adolescents to fit into the norms presented by their peers and educators. Academic research shows that fitting in can be more important to most young students than academic achievement, thus this demonstrates the importance of fitting in (Schall et. al, 2014). Stereotyping can lead to severe mental health issues in adolescence regardless of the stereotype being positive or negative (D’Amico, 2022). If a person is seen as having to be smart or having to be athletic, then they can
