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Adolescent Developmental Psychology
Bad health habits and extreme behaviour have adverse effects on an adolescent’s life. Therefore, it is essential to help teens to avoid the extreme consequences of depression. In particular, some teenagers face the challenge of misfit, primarily due to circumstances, personality traits or by choice. These individuals require educational programs to find a way to beat their social awkwardness. The stories of dear Edward and Fangirl are an example of an educational program to support teenagers in battling their social awkwardness.
Dear Edward is a Novel that describes how a 12-year-old boy (Edward) survives an aeroplane crash. He is the sole survivor of the plane crash that killed all other 191 passengers. The story captures national attention, but Edward struggles to find a place of himself in the world without his family. He cannot fit in because he feels that a piece of him was left in the plane. The cause of his misfit is the complete loss of his family. However, there is a girl called Shay, who lives next door to Edward’s Aunt and Uncle. She is the only one who speaks to Edward with complete understanding. Everyone else tried to keep Edward happy in a little terrarium of ordinary life, but this girl understood his oddness. She provides an atmosphere for Edward to rebuild his life. Through Shay, Edward was able to deal with his misfit psychological issues.
Similarly, the book Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell describes the story of a girl who was a social misfit. This book tells a story about two twins who grew up in the world of internet fandom. Cath is a successful fanfiction author on the ‘Simon snow archive’. Cathy grew up to be an introverted individual having grown up without a mother. She is overly attached to her sister, Wren, who serves the role of both her best friend and the only link to her social life. However, this changes when they join the university and make a decision not to share rooms. Being separated from her only source of social support and comfort, she must face the life of a freshman, dealing with an impolite roommate and her roommate’s feverish boyfriend who cannot leave her alone.
Furthermore, she has to deal with anxiety issues. She results in writing because writing helps her escape the torture. Just like Edward in Dear Edward, she is another social misfit. She finds a friend, Nick, whom she meets for writing sessions. Despite this, she is miserable, and she almost gives up on her studies. Her roommate, Reagan and Reagan’s friend, decide to help her to get out of her cocoon. Cath decides to continue to learn and cope. She reunites with her sister in the hospital and while there, her mother who abandoned them reappears.
Young adults/teenagers must read these stories to acquire knowledge on how to handle the challenge of a misfit in society. Many teenagers face this challenge, especially in schools due to their personality traits, physical appearance, circumstances or by choice. Every teenage boy or girl can relate to the themes explored on Cathy’s journey. By reading Cath’s story, teenagers will be able to boost their confidence and to learn skills on how to relate with other individuals. In addition to that, every teenager should read the story of Dear Edward. By reading Edwards story, teenagers will understand that it is not only them who undergo these challenges. They will learn skills of relating with the right people who will help them to be socially fit and comfortable.
REFERENCES
Buchmann, Marlis, and Annekatrin Steinhoff. “Social inequality, life course transitions, and adolescent development: Introduction to the special issue.” (2017): 2083-2090.
Malti, Tina, et al. “Toward dynamic adaptation of psychological interventions for child and adolescent development and mental health.” Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology 45.6 (2016): 827-836.