Janelle Norman

	In their own words, 16-year-olds discuss the pressures of getting into college, dating, blogging and more 16 by 16 • Ari Rubin • Carlyle Manns • Caroline Cox-Orrell • Chelsey Knight • Janelle Norman • Meredith-Leigh Pleasants • Tia Whipple • Kelvin Bates • Lisa Bunn • Shukan Patel • Lina Li • Stephen Serene • Jullia Park • Patty Yau • Ana Baric • CJ Martino Getting A Head Start • The New World of Internships Those unpaid summer jobs are no longer for rich kids, college juniors—or even just for summer Multimedia • Sixteen Candles Inside a Sweet 16 Party

Being a teenager today is a lot different than it was in the past, so parents rarely identify with things that happen in our lives. For the most part, only teenagers understand the issues teens deal with. That’s one of the reasons why blogging is so popular; it gives us an outlet to express ourselves freely and openly with people our age who can relate to us. When I blog I can post journal entries and confessions for everyone to see.

Blogging gives me a lot of freedom. I can express myself without being embarrassed or worrying about what other people think. Other people my age do the same thing, and because we have the same struggles we can relate to each other. We are open and honest with each other, and therefore we are able to learn from our experiences. This communication is necessary because adolescence can be such a confusing time in our lives; blogging provides a way to alleviate some of that stress.

At age 16, teenagers are expected to become "not-quite-grown" grown-ups. Although we are not treated as adults, we are expected to do many of the things adults do. The period between ages 16 and 18 is like basic training for adulthood. It is a very crucial time in a young person’s life because many of the decisions we make now will impact the rest of our lives in some way, whether it has to do with friends, drugs, college, etc.

When I think and write about being 16, I have a lot of mixed feelings. I’m excited because I can drive, date, work and do a lot of the things that I was not allowed to do when I was younger. I also feel old because with that freedom comes more responsibility. High school has gone by so fast already and next year I’ll be an upperclassman. I’ll have to take a lot of standardized tests and college-level classes. In addition to the anxiety of the exams, there will be so much more pressure from teachers and my parents as well. I am somewhat apprehensive about turning 16 because I feel like I have even less time to make important decisions about my future.

In my opinion, the main reason why adolescence can be difficult is because it’s not easy to find a balance between childhood and adulthood. Since I will be able to do more adult things at 16, like drive and get a job, it makes it even more challenging to find a balance between the two, because part of me still wants to be a kid. I write about all of this in my blog. It's a good way for me to share these feelings with other people my age.

Janelle Norman is a sophomore at Chicago’s Walter Payton College Prep High School.

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