Why Can't It Be Easier

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I can see how girls struggle in school once they reach adolescence. There are so many factors throughout our teenage years that affect us and in essence interfere with our educational experience, whether it is dealing with the complexity of puberty to the simplicity of picking out a prom dress.
Throughout my teenage years I definitely went through many changes and looking back it was impossible not to let certain factors affect my educational experience. As if things were not bad enough for a a teenage girl, imagine your parents deciding to move countries!!! Yeah, that happened. Not only did I have to deal with the usual teenage girl problems but on top of it I had to adapt to a new country, language, and society. In Colombia I had attended an all girl school all of my life, I had never really had any interaction with boys (other than my dad and brothers). I must admit that it took me a couple of years to get comfortable to the fact of sharing a classroom with boys. I definitely saw this factor affect my educational experience, boys made me nervous and I would find myself shying away from answering questions in fear of being made fun of by them.
In "Girls, Schooling, and the Discourse of Self-Change: Negotiating Meanings of the High School Prom” , I was able to relate to Keiko and Anna's stories because my "nation" and cultural difference has definitely influenced my development. I constantly feel the pressure of being the best I can be, to repay my parents for the sacrifice they did for me to provide me with a better future.

Comments

Kristen said…
Did you see a difference between the way girls treated you in Colombia and the way they treated you here?
September 15, 2009 at 2:55 PM
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