Essay: Effects of Body Language in Teenager’s Life

Language Studies / Samples March 28, 2011

Sample Essay

Words 1,432

To develop a mini case study I conducted an interview with a high school student to understand the effects of body language in a teenager’s life. Due to peer pressure, teenagers often conform to what their peers say by agreeing verbally but their body language often indicates what their inner emotional state it. The particular teenager I interviewed was a sophomore high school struggling to remain popular amongst her friends. She felt that her physical appearance was the most important factor in how she it in with a particular clique.

Although her mom was against it she got a body piercing because according to her friends belly rings were ‘totally cool.’ During middle school she barely had any friends. The summer before freshmen year she met a girl who had just moved to town and they instantly clicked. Little did she know that soon she would be a totally different person. Her rebellious friend influenced her to wear shorter skirts, deeper necked shirts, do her hair a particular way and trained her for efficiently using the art of coquetry. These kinds of behaviors are typical of high school and many kids go through these transformations. The observation here though is how the young girl transformed over the summer by simply changing her wardrobe, wearing a little more makeup, enhancing her ‘cool factor’ by getting a body piercing and acting in a more forward manner with the boys. She shared the fact that although she had more friends now, she was still an introvert. She said she is naturally a quiet person and doesn’t use words to express herself. This was apparent both before her transformation and after it. Before, if she would ever feel lonely or was going through something, instead of saying anything she would pour out her feelings through her cries and fill dried dams with water. Instead of saying how much she hated something she would simply suffice with a role of her eyes.