What I Didn’t Know Then, 2023.

Fraught with many highs, lows, and physical and emotional changes, is the phenomena called adolescence. Each experience is unique, an experience that nobody can adequately prepare for. For women, identity, peer pressure, body image, family and society all play a role in how this time is navigated. My own teenage years, and many others who i have spoken to, were difficult and hit with a force our younger selves didn’t see coming. We were blissfully unaware, and soft, unmarred by all the external and internal factors that would test us and influence our personal development. I have often wondered, “If only I knew then what I know now?” How may my younger self have coped with what she encountered?

This lead to a number of conversations with women about their own teenage years - some friends, some strangers - as a way of understanding how these early experiences have shaped them into the adults they are now. While each person is in a different stage along their journey, there is an obvious strength and courage that becomes apparent from their stories. These stories are worth honouring, not only for what they demonstrate about each person’s character but more importantly for the ability to unify women through a common experience. There is a tendency to feel isolated and ashamed for the challenges one goes through, but there is also power and reassurance in knowing you are not alone. To see your own experiences reflected in others provides the space to slowly understand and accept of oneself.