Puberty and you.

See, i remember being in school, being taught about puberty and what happens etc etc etc.

Yet, what they told me... half of it never happend, so i wanted to tell you all about my experiance and hopefully, you might be able to understand more what is going to happen to you (or could happen).

The voice changes.

It's true. Your voice will change and this does not depend upon your sex or anything. As your body changes, your vocal chords change too, as a result most people find that your voice will go deeper.

For me, my voice change happend over a few weeks. During this time simple things like a sneeze, would mean i had no voice for like, 2 days or something. I found it hard to have control over my voice when it was working, i would often go from my normal voice, to a low tone voice and then back to my normal voice, while trying to say things. It wasn't that much of a trauma, i was only like 13 at the time and i didn't really talk much for the most of the time, so yeah, that bit was fine.

You grow extra hair.

See, i was told about this but didn't expect it as much. I had always had hair on my arms, so where else did the hair grow? Well, the main bit everyone knows is around your sexual organs and around your anus too. It comes in different colours and is nothing to be ashamed of. While the hair is growing though, you can expect the area's to be slightly itchy and warm, but once the hairs grow to abit longer where theyre not as firm, then you should be ok.

It's also about this time youre going to notice hair in other area's, like armpits, face, chest, legs, feet, hands etc. All of this is perfectly normal and you have nothing to worry about.

Your weight may change.

Ever heard of people talking about "Puppy fat"? Well, thats a term they use to talk about weight gained while going through puberty. It's to be expected and again, nothing to worry over. As long as you are still eating healthily and exercising enough, you'll have nothing to worry about, but, speak to your doctor if you have any problems about this or are about to cut something out of your diet, in the name of weight loss.

You will see people in a new light.

This bit is VERY true, i had some bad experiances during my puberty time. My brain had gotten into the way of thinking that if someone did something nice for me, like hold a door open, then it meant they wanted a relationship, it was weird, i already knew by 13 that i was gay, but i had just changed schools and so people were being nice to me, to welcome me to the school, like holding doors open, spending time with me, showing me around etc.

The fact is, you may end up getting confused about this, but again, it happens to everyone at one point or another, Its just important to remember that you don't have to go through all this alone. Some schools will offer a therapist type person, for you to go and talk to.... DO IT!!! These people are in contact with kids every day, they know more about puberty than the rest of us AND more importantly, they've heard it all before.

This is also around the time that people say your sexual apitite and sexuality can change. Now for me, sexuality didn't change at all, i was sure of who i was in that light, but my attitude towards sex did change. I wanted it all the time. Luckily, i'd already been taught about masturbation and so could keep a better control of my hormones etc.

What is VERY important to remember is that you don't HAVE to have sex at this age. You'll only find out later in life that some people actually like to be someones first encounter. Sex can be a taboo subject with some people, so be careful of who you talk to about it to save embarasment, but your parents or guardians, teachers (out of the class room) and doctors are normally the people you can talk to and be given the best advice possable, don't be afraid to mention it to them if you need to talk about sex.

Now, if you are going to experiment, USE PROTECTION!!! No matter who your sexual partner is, if youre sleeping with a person of the same sex, ok, you're not going to create a baby, but you can still catch STI's and STD's, so guys, put a coat on it, girls, put a coat in it! Don't do something which could change your life forever.

Your body gives off new smells.

Trust me, theyre not always nice either!

Your sweat glands are going to be changing over this time in your life, so start looking at deoderants etc, it's never nice sitting next to a person who smells awful, the general opinion of them people is that they don't wash and are not very clean people. But you don't have to be one of them people! Just make sure you do wash yourself and using deoderants before getting all hot and sweaty, means you'll be smelling nice for the day ahead.

The spots may get you.

All seen the pictures of the spotty troubled teenager? Well, you may not be that bad, but your skin will also change at this time of your life too, often breaking out in spots that are just hard to get rid of. Now im not going to advise you on how to get rid of spots, all's i can say is if you wash yourself properly, youre less likely to get spots and when you do have them, they won't last that long.

Handy tip : Toothpaste it! Yes! When you have a spot that has a yellow head on the end of it, put a small amount of toothpaste on it and within a few hours, it should have gone down abit. I often do this still!!!

Your interests may change.

For years, i went through life wanting to have a new career every day, something would interest me and i'd enjoy it, then i'd want to do it for life, but then the next day i wanted something completely different.

It's kind of messed up then that during this time in your life, the education system makes you choose things which can change your life, like what you want to study, do you want to go on to futher education at all? What career do you want? etc. All this at a time when you're trying to learn about your new self.

As far as school and education goes, try and do well at what you can. You will be exptected to make these choices, but think ahead to the future, what DO you want to do in the future? What can you see yourself doing?

Take it from me, while at the time in school, you think your exam results are not that interesting, nor will they be needed that much in your future. Your life can and indeed will change. Things will happen in life and you will get the thoughts eventually of "What if i'd have done better at school". Keep your options open and just do well at what you can.


Finally, i will add on this message.

We ALL go through puberty, it's a time when our bodys change and we find our true self. However, if you ever need anyone to talk to about these changes, then try people like your parents, your doctor, your teacher etc. Normally if they can't help you themselves, they'll know someone who can. So don't suffer in silence, someone can and will help if you ask for help.