I Want To Be Me But I Don't Know Who I Am: A Guidebook for Teens and Young Adults (Volume 1)

I WANT TO BE ME BUT I DON’T KNOW WHO I AM A Guide Book for Teens and Young Adults "I Want To Be Me But I Don’t Know Who I Am" were the words uttered by a young teen who was struggling with choices. Yet, they resonate with most teens and adults I have shared them with. This work began as an Identity Workshop given to teens in shelters and high schools when it was discovered that youths lacked self-awareness and the power to make conscious choices. When engaged in a gentle manner, the teens were surprisingly responsive to thinking about their life and motivated to comprehend their behavior and assume autonomy. Dr. Boskovitz, known as Dr. B. in this book, aims to engage all teens with a kind, conversational and respectful tone. There is no lecturing. Her approach helps build self-confidence in teens as it promotes awareness of self, of choices, and of possibilities available to them. The book also promotes privacy and the development of good personal boundaries – a skill so many teens need. She encourages them to engage in problem-solving and constructive self-management, offering information about normal development, essential skills, available help, as she guides teens on their path to personal success. She strives to assuage doubts and discouragement and promotes a positive attitude in teens and young adults. Dr. Boskovitz designed the Identity and Behavior Scales, to engage teens easily in their own self-examination. With these measures, teens experience greater awareness and understanding of their personal history; they can also identify wishes for their future and set short and long-term goals. Teens are encouraged to download the scales from the book’s website and to use them regularly to note progress or decline. Teens are also carefully guided through their decision-making process with the carefully demonstrated use of Decision Trees. Teens can use the trees to review previous decisions and their outcomes and to evaluate their current challenges and choices. This gives teens a much-needed glimpse into the future. The decision trees are also extremely useful in making lifestyle decisions and anticipating compatibility with the teens’ needs and goals, so that those important decisions are not made on the fly. This book’s author endorses the right of every human being to respect and to seeking a good life; it encourages teens to seek to attain personal goals that they find worthy of their efforts. Teens are promised that if they work their way through the guide book, they can learn to understand themselves and their behavior, discover their strengths, develop new life skills, identify and choose their direction, get help and overcome obstacles, I Want To Be Me But I Don’t Know Who I Am is an easy read, even for teens who don’t like to read! The larger print is welcoming and the book is dotted with numerous inserts to illustrate points being made. The book is written at the 7th grade level and addresses all teens and young adults, regardless of their level of sophistication. It will shortly be followed by a 5th grade reading level edition, geared to Young Teens and Pre-Teens. When accompanied by the teacher’s manual and student workbooks that are being readied, this book will be available to be taught in Junior High and High School health education classes -- where teachers and counselors would guide teens in their process. However, all teens could benefit from reading this book. In addition, young adults, in and out of college, also often feel the need for help with self-awareness, healthy choice making, and autonomy development.