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Developmental Letter Assignment
Kaitlin R. Billeisen
Liberty University
PSYC231
Amy Conner
September 4th, 2023
Guidance in Adolescence
Dear beloved daughter, I will be across the Earth from you when you read this. You are
about to enter the wonderful world of adolescence. This time can be exciting, confusing,
emotional, and tiring. I could only leave you with good conscience by giving you some helpful
advice to make your journey seamless. I will discuss puberty, body, and emotional changes
throughout this letter.
Puberty and Body Changes
Puberty is something that happens to boys and girls. It is when your body begins to
change quickly. It is a normal part of a developing body. Your body has powerful chemicals in it
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called hormones. Estrogen is one of those hormones; your ovaries produce estrogen, an
important part of puberty (Santrock, 2022, p.50). As you progress into adolescence, you will
notice that your body is rapidly changing. You may notice your breast will begin to grow, you
may, and you will begin to grow pubic hair. These are all normal events that will occur during
this transitional time. This time is called the gondarche, the phase in puberty where your ovaries
are maturing (Santrock, 2022, p.52). Growth spurts are also normal during this time; girls
typically will grow about three and a half inches each year (Santrock, 2022, p.52), so if you
begin outgrowing your clothes, tell your dad it is time for a shopping spree. During puberty, you
will have your first menstrual cycle. At first, your cycle may be irregular and could be
accompanied by discomfort in your lower stomach. I recommend putting a heating pad on your
lower stomach and perhaps taking a Tylenol to relieve the pain. Since your menstrual cycles will
be random, I recommend you put pads in your backpack for school and any bag you carry in case
of the event you begin your cycle when you’re away from home.
Emotional Phases
You may have a lot of emotional changes during your transition into adolescence. More
than likely, you will express more independence and self-awareness, which may contribute to
your emotions (Santrock, 2022, p.157). During this time, you may have a new sense of curiosity
toward the world around you and be interested in exploring new social and emotional
experiences. Additionally, there may be times when you will struggle with your self-identity,
which could lead to feelings of self-doubt and insecurity. Academic and social pressures could
impact your sense of self-identity. This is why it's essential to surround yourself with friends in
your best interest and not be tempted to hang around peers who can lead you into trouble
(Santrock, 2022, p.62). Remember what the Bible says about temptation "No temptation has
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overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be
tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also,
so that you will be able to endure it" (1 Corinthians. 10:13, New American Standard Version)
God will never put you in a situation that you can not handle; remember always to recognize the
voice of God and not be fooled by the enemy's untruthful whispers.
Reflection
Before writing the essay, I wanted to sit down and dive deep into my adolescent self and
think about what eleven-year-old me needed to hear at that time. This is why I felt it was
important to speak about the emotional phases females experience during adolescence. My
mother would tell me growing up about the body changes I would experience, but she never
explained the emotional turmoil I would go through. This, in turn, made me believe that
something was wrong with me. The textbook said, “Not only do you think of yourself
differently, but your parents and peers also begin treating you differently” (Santrock, 2022,
p.56). That resonated with me because it was the first time I remember being self-aware of my
body changing, and not many of my peers were going through it and did not understand, so it
causes a weird period in time where you feel alienated and don’t feel like you belong anywhere.
While writing this paper, I found it hard to change my verbiage to a way a child would
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understand; I found it easier to think about how I comprehended information at that age. This
paper was a unique way to grow and heal parts of my inner child because I felt as if I was writing
a letter to my younger self, and it assured her that there was nothing wrong with her during her
transition to adolescence. My biggest fear while writing this paper was not explaining the
process of adolescence correctly and mixing my opinions with factual information. I hope this
letter will help calm a child's anxiety about emotional changes. Body changes, in my opinion,
can be inevitable, but emotional disturbances can bombard you when you least expect them, even
if it’s a part of your body changing; When you don’t have an awareness of how emotions can
affect your life, it opens the door for the enemy to attack.
References
New American Standard Bible (NASB) (The Lockman Foundation, Trans.). (2011).
Foundation Publications.
Santrock, J. W. (2022). Adolescence. McGraw Hill Education.
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