Essay/Term paper: Teenage experiences

Essay, term paper, research paper:  School Essays

Essay/ Teenage Experiences
06/10/96


As a teenage girl in Cairo, Egypt is locked away in her home, studying madly for a upcoming high school exam. A teenage boy rushes down the fields of Brazil handling a soccer ball and his future. Another teenage boy in Rajasthan, dessert in Northwestern India is guided seven times around a sacred fire as a custom to cultural marriages. Some teenage experiences are different and some are the same. These are the factors that could affect the teen's culture, geography, goals and parents expectations. By reading this essay you can interrupt different and same teen experiences. Also you maybe able to understand other teens around the world better by learning of their experiences in life.

Different teenage cultures will affect them differently. In some parts of India culture is law and you must respect that if you leave in those regions. "Tradition is law in most villages." (Small wedding, 1996) This quote is reference to my argument. In Bajasthan dessert in Northwestern India, boys are married at 10 to girls at the age of 7. These arranged marriage ceremonies are a custom to their culture. When they reach their teenage years they may not have mush education and not a lot of hope of reaching their highest goals. This may happen because they will be confide to their marriage and paying respect to their elders. This boy experiences traditional culture and the other culture is modern. Modern culture incorporated with economy has made child marriage irrelevant to those who have the background of modern culture.
Teenage boys in Brazil are customed to soccer because of their geography. Boys here will not be worrying about marriage until they are in their 30's. They will be more concerned about getting to every young Brazilian's teenage fantasy, being a soccer star with fame and fortune. Soccer is very important in Brazil to everyone and mostly to all teenage soccer players. " Sports are important in Brazil, especially soccer." (Turning 16, 1991) This quote was in the video recording of Turning 16 which shows that the geography of Brazil is based on soccer. Most soccer players will not reach their highest goal of becoming a professional soccer player but those who are in strict organizations will have an education to fall back onto. Those teens that do become a professional soccer player will live their life of marriage and kids after they finish playing soccer. This experience and the early marriage experience are totally different because one teen lives in a closed area of tradition and the other lives a life of fame and world recognition. Also one teen will experience marriage early and the other will not experience marriage until his dreams of being a soccer player is over.
All teenagers have goals in life from reaching fame, to being a star or achieving high marks in school. A teenage girl named Aman lives in Cairo, Egypt studying long hours at home preparing for upcoming exams at her high school. Exams are very important to her and the rest of her classmates in her school. "There is a obsession to pass high school in Cairo, Egypt." (Turning 16, 1991) This quote explains why most teenage students study long hours and sometimes not let out of the house. An experience that all teenagers go through is that they have goals in life. The boy who lived in India might have had the goal of reaching the point of his marriage. Teenage boys in Brazil have the dream of becoming a professional soccer player. Aman has the dream of scoring high in her studies and getting into a good university or college. All of these teenagers have hopes and goals for their future. Also teens have a common experience of having parental expectations. Teens have parental expectations because all parent's teens want there kids to have a happy future and a prosperous life. The parents of the boy who lived in India might have had the expectation of having their son becoming married and living happily with his new spouse. The parents of the Brazilian teenage soccer players may have wanted their son/daughter to reach professional soccer playing. So that when the son/daughter reaches high wages in pro- soccer he can come back and support his own family money wise. Aman's parents would have wanted her to reach high grades and get into university. Then from university get married and if necessary a job that requires education. These teens may not have the same parental expectation but parental expectation is among what they experience.
After reading the following, you may have a good idea of how culture, geography and expectations affect teenage experiences. There were three different standardize of teens that were introduced into your understanding of pubescent experiences. By understanding more about teens. You could have a larger insight on adolescents. Some teens are different and some are the same. So that means that we all experience some things together and some different out of our control. So when you read articles about other teens around the world maybe you should stop and think before you say to yourself gross, ewe, freaks and other miscellaneous comments about what they must go through and their goals. Because maybe they will read a article about Canadians and they will say the same. Gross, ewe, freaks………….. …gratifying, interesting ,insight.


Andrew, Cindy. 1996 " A small wedding" The Globe and Mail. 1 June, 1996.
" Cairo, Egypt." 1991. Turning 16. Videotape. Toronto: YTV
"Brazil." 1991. Turning 16. Videotape. Toronto: YTV