Thirteen: The Age of AdolescenceAdolescence is the stage of life when you are no longer a child, but not yet an adult. There is still much to explore, learn and conquer. In the film Thirteen, the main character, Tracy Freeland, is just entering adolescence. While trying to overcome Erikson's theory of identity and role confusion, Tracy is affected by many influences, including family and friends, that hinder her development. Many concepts from what we learned in class can be applied to this character, from identity development to depression to adolescent sexuality and much more. In this movie, Tracy is a great example of a teenager and a lot of what I learned this year can be applied to her character. “Fitting in” is a concept that we often find in adolescence. Teenagers will sometimes do just about anything to have friends or appear "cool." This is exactly what happens to Tracy in this movie. At the beginning of the film, Tracy is a good, simple girl, and her purity changes when she befriends the most popular girl in school, Evie Zamora. Evie is very rebellious. She does not have a strong authority figure in her life (Levy-Hinte, London and Hardwicke, 2003). The young and sweet Tracy will soon be completely transformed. Evie has clearly been a bad influence on Tracy from the beginning, as seen when she influences Tracy to steal something the first time they date (Levy-Hinte, et al., 2003). Theft is illegal and considered a minor crime and turns Tracy into a delinquent (Berk, 2011). The development of Tracy's identity is heavily influenced by her new friendship with Evie from this point on. Evie is so popular, but she makes some really bad choices and Tracy follows her lead because she wants...... middle of paper ...... with this theory developing, Tracy must decide what is really important in his life and move in the right direction. She still has a lot to do. Tracy Freeland in Thirteen is the epitome of a person going through the adolescent stage. All the environments you grow up in affect and help shape the person you become. In Tracy's case, her identity was shaped by her choices with her new friends and how she chose to explore this new world. We can see throughout this film how easily teenagers are influenced by those around them when deciding the type of person they want to be as adults.ReferencesBerk, LE (2011). Exploring the Development of Lifespan (2nd ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon. Levy-Hinte, J. (producer), London, M. (producer) and Hardwicke, C. (director). (2003). Thirteen [Cinematographic film]. United States: films for work.