As puberty hits, there are going to be
a number of mental changes as well. Although you have already been
shifting your thoughts somewhat, the mental changes are going to hit
like a tsunami, and you never know what will trigger them. A lot of
these changes will be emotional, and are due in part to hormone
issues. You are also going to start looking beyond yourself a bit; a
few years ago you supported the team because you could get an award
or because snitching could get you beaten up, but now you act as a
team for mutual survival or because you support the team in general.
In short, you are thinking on entirely
different levels than you used to.
This means that you are thinking about
medium range plans rather than just short term, and this needs to be
noted. A nine-year-old's planning asks three questions: "Does it
hurt?", "Can I get away with it?", and "Will it
be fun?" He is looking for the first to be "no" and
the others to be "yes." An adolescent starts asking, "Will
the consequences will be worth it?" In other words, if you get a
broken arm, will it be worth falling off a building? Thoughts of
glory and girls no doubt makes it worth it, and so it's acceptable.
Threats of death or confinement, however, are more useful; even as
immortal as you may feel, you want to be able to do things, and they
both put definite restrictions on what you can do.
You are also starting to think about
life after school and what you want to do. Skateboarding is fun, but
there is a debate over how good you really are. There are a number of
issues under debate, especially as the reality of some childhood
dreams begin to sink in, and you begin to start training for some
future job.
As a young kid you wanted things NOW.
You are now willing to accept THEN, and that's a major shift. So, now
we get to explore your altered perceptions.
