Jean Jacket: A Reflection on Adolescence

Unkempt hair cut by my mother.

A dark jean jacket I felt lucky to have received

After all, I had wanted one for Christmas.

But not like this. Not dark blue.

Not like the sky on a night with no moon and no stars.

I wanted stone-washed, pale

bleached, almost white.

I rubbed it on the brick hearth to create the stone washed look

but it didn’t help, so it stayed

hidden in my closet – a gift

I wanted to be thankful for but felt

too ashamed to wear.

(This was a brief exercise as part of the mentor training for the Climbing Toward Confidence program. The facilitator read a passage from My Sisters’ Voices: Teenage Girls of Color Speak Out and asked us to reflect on our own adolescence.)

What's your story of adolescence?