M______W______
Mr. Ryan
English 11: period 1
2008 November 19
Teenagers: an examination of their instinctual quest for individuality
Awkward faces, head banging, writing on jeans, social commentary, cliques, sycophants, drugs… teenagers! The humans that range from ages thirteen through nineteen. “Adolescents” they are sometimes called. Basically, anyone who I not quite a child but yet not a full-fledged adult either. These beings all strive for individuality. The strive is instinctual like the strive for boys to eat and girls to talk.
But what is it that they are searching for within themselves? Certainly not conformity nor unation (is that a word?) These teenagers want the opposite. They want to stick to, to be unique, independent, and original. Technically, the desire for individuality is the strive for “characteristics which contribute to the differation or distinction of someone from a group or otherwise comparable identity.
Quentin Crisp once said “ The young always have the same problem - how to rebel and conform at the same time. They have now solved this by defying their parents and copying one another.” This brings me to the subject of peers. Peers are the comparable identity to (most) teenagers. Yet relating to them makes the struggle with parents worse. They are paralyzed by the need to feel like they are the only one in the history of the universe to ever feel like they do. This is self-victimization.
The comic strip Zits by Jerry Scott and Jim Borgman provides comical examples, as seen below. Many teens enjoy Zits because it is relatable. The main character, Jeremy Duncan shares the views of a typical American teenager.
The lower comic seen below is taken from a story line where Jeremy tries wearing his hair in dread locks, trying to define a new style for himself. He decides he doesn’t like it, but we see it works for his friend the punk Pierce. It seems like Pierce is more comfortable with who he is, maybe farther in his identity-seeking quest. When Clay Aiken looked back at his adolescence he noted “The biggest problem I had - and the biggest problem teenagers have - is not how they dress, how they look or how they act or talk. It's how they see themselves - their self-esteem. In the tenth grade, I realized I am who I am. I've got big ears and big feet. I can either sulk around or I can be happy with who I am. The minute I decided to be confident with who I was, all that other stuff stopped. It's all in the way you carry yourself.
Clay had it right, with confidence in ourselves we live better. Teenagers see happy adults and wonder why, so they try to be like the adults and copy that identity. These templates help to awaken the instinct to stand out. Teenagers are not the only animals to want to stand out, to be the best of the best. Just think of how the peacock with the best feather gets the mate and the chimp who thinks of the idea of a new, more effective tool eats more.
Many times adopted children go on a quest to find their biological parents as soon as they can. Even if they come from the nicest most supportive adopted family they are rarely satisfied with surrogate genealogy and medical histories. Because teenagers are curious, they are normally the age in which the adopted child starts their search. Sometimes the reason is for security in their health knowing what hereditary issues (or plusses) ‘run in the family’ but often it’s not. Often it is just so they know where they come from, their individuality. This is so common that many books and movies deal with the concept : Annie, August Rush, Harry Potter… the results vary but the instinct is the same.
Teenagers subconsciously need to know that they are unique in order to succeed. Our modern culture is aware of this primal need and even tries to sell it. The strive for individuality is an undeniable part of a teenager’s life.