Growing Up Kristina Bjornson

High school is a time of confusion for almost everyone. At times it seems that nothing is clear or simple. There is confusion about who you are, what your personal moral code should be, why life can sometimes be so hard, and what your future could hold. While I have struggled with these questions at different points of my life, what has been most perplexing to me has not been about me. Most of my questions have instead been about understanding others.

Throughout life everyone works with, talks with, argues with, befriends, and makes enemies with other people. High school is the first time when these relationships and patterns start to register with us as we mature into adults. It is a time when we learn how relationships and interactions with other people can either work well or break down. As we meet and observe others in high school, we start to notice the diversity in other people, the differences in their opinions and beliefs, and the varied ways in which they choose to approach life’s challenges.

The biggest question I grapple with is why people do the things they do. Through both positive and negative experiences in relationships, I often wonder what has prompted their actions and how they came to be the way they are....