By: Linda Jiang Expectations are dangerous. It can give someone hope and kill them in an instant. It feeds on frustration and is an unhealthy attachment to things, people, and situations that we cannot control. The novel "The Miseducation of Cameron Post" by Emily M. Danforth is not your typical cook-cutter saga of teenagers finding … Continue reading Caged by Expectations →

Sophia Boquist As I write this, I’m 13 chapters into Dread Nation, partly because I don’t want to fall behind with the reading, but mostly because this story has me hooked. Not only is it wonderfully written, it is also full of suspense and drama with a cast of mindless zombies and badass warrior girls, … Continue reading Thoughts So Far: Adolescence in Dread Nation →

The thought of adolescence evolving throughout time is something that really interests me. In this class we’ve seen how true that is with each book that we’ve read. To know that adolescence wasn’t even a term during the time Charlotte Temple was written, to what we see as the most modern definition of it in … Continue reading Adolescence Through the Years →

By Jaya King     When we are young we depend on our parents or guardians for not only the necessities to survive but also our beliefs. Most of the time our judgement is based off of those we are surrounded by when growing up. This is seen in many younger children who haven’t experienced enough … Continue reading Differing Beliefs →

By Maggie Packard At the onset of the novel, both of Cameron’s parents tragically pass away, leaving her without a mother or father figure in her life. Throughout the novel, Cameron searches for her own parental figures, and while most of them do not act with her best interest in mind, she still continues to … Continue reading Parental Figures in The Miseducation of Cameron Post →

I have been harping on identity in my blogs because my initial definition was adolescence being a time of exploration of identity. My definition at the core has stayed the same, but it has been shifted through this class based on seeing how different aspects of life affect these identities from race, gender, location, and … Continue reading The Effects of Gender Roles on an Adolescent-Adult’s Identity →

The concept of gender roles has been around since the beginning of society. Civilization created a set of expectations for men and women to follow. An outdated example would be that men would work for their families and women must stay home to cook, clean, and take care of the children. Times have changed and … Continue reading Components of Sexuality →

I decided to go back to an activity that was large part of my adolescence: Creative Writing. Specifically play writing. In this short story I have depicted the night I was lost an election. For context, in high school I participated in mock government. There were many roles to choose from and in my junior … Continue reading Adolescent Play →

       Eric Gansworth takes us back to the years 1974 and 1975 with Lewis Blake in his novel If I Ever Get out of Here. Twelve-year old Lewis Blake uses music as a way of relating to the world outside of his realm of school and lack of friendship. He soon meets George Haddonfield, and when the … Continue reading The Influential Albert and Mr. Haddonfield →

Katie Senko This year I had a major realization. I have this friend, I’ll call her Susy. Susy and I have been close friends since we started college, we even joined greek life together. One day we got dinner, and our conversation turned deep. Susy admitted something to me that she had never told anyone … Continue reading Are Cameron’s Struggles Still Relevant? →