Inside the Teenage Mind. A Kreattiv Project by Esplora, Arts Council Malta and the St Nicholas College, Secondary School – Dingli

Teenagers think differently to grownups – they are more likely to take risks, be sleepy, misread emotions, give in to peer pressure and lack self-control. They commonly also go through adolescent egocentrism This is when teens and older tweens belief that others are highly attentive to their behaviour and appearance. That is, egocentric adolescents believe that all eyes are on them all the time. Adolescent egocentrism gives rise to two related beliefs seen in the late tween and teen years: the “imaginary audience” and the “personal fable.”

The project delved into this notion with the teenagers that we worked with. The artist met with the students and together brainstormed some of the things that people their age go through and what affects them on a day to day basis. We talked to them about these ‘voices’ inside their head and ‘the imaginary audience’ that they build, and from their daily experiences, a performance was built. The children were given the chance to explore the narrative of the performance with the artistic director and the school Guidance Teacher, Ms Anthea Darmanin and together developed the performance, from beginning to end. The artist was there to facilitate the students through it, giving them ownership. Ownership enhances self-esteem and strengthens a sense of responsibility. Grover (2015) published a book about the negative voices inside the teenage brain.

This project aimed to hold several workshops among the creatives (one of whom is also a psychologist by profession), Dingli school teenage students, a programme developer from Esplora and the relevant Dingli school teachers (PSCD, Guidance & Biology teacher, Art Teacher and Design and Technology teacher to truly have the whole performance being owned by students including creativity and set design) to truly understand what goes on in the teenage mind.

These workshops were a safe environment where teenagers would be able to express how they feel, their troubles and the way they perceive the concept of ‘self’ in relation to others and society. Sean Grove, also a psychotherapist by profession, in his research indicated that: If a teenager could tell us how to help him/her, this is what he/she would say:

1. Give me space. Don’t come to my room, corner me, or make demands. I don’t have any answers. When you push me or yell at me, I feel worse. I need to be alone. I need space.
2. Don’t yell at me. The noise in my head is so loud sometimes that I can barely hear my own thoughts. I can’t stand it. When you yell, I feel worse about myself. I feel unloved. I feel like I am your biggest disappointment.
3. Take my electronics away. I can’t put my phone down; I try, but I just can’t. I know it’s devouring all my time, but I can’t help myself; I can’t stop checking it. I need your help. I need you to set limits on technology. Please. I will fight you, but it’s what I need. Don’t try to reason with me: Just do it.
4. Bring me someplace quiet. I say I don’t want anything to do with you. But if you could bring me somewhere quiet, somewhere we could walk together and not argue, somewhere I can feel the sun and listen to the wind in the trees, somewhere I can breathe and forget about everything that’s bothering me, I think I would like that. Even if we don’t speak, I will feel comforted. article continues after advertisement
5. Stop spoiling me. Stop giving me everything I want. The more you give me, the more I resent you. I want to earn things. It helps me feel grown up. I want to learn how to save money, spend money, share money. And I’m never going to learn that if you keep giving it to me. I hate being dependent on you; please help me become independent.
6. Find me someone to talk to. I need someone to look up to who isn’t you. I need an adult to admire, someone I want to be like, a person who believes in me, who pushes me, and who understands me. A mentor, a counsellor, a therapist…anyone who can give me hope when I have too little for myself.
7. Tell me that you love me. I pretend not to care. But I really need to hear you say the words, ‘I love you.’ Because right now, I don’t love me. Even though I’m making your life hell, I still need to feel loved. Especially by you.

The above concepts were all explored through workshops and the narrative emerging from such workshops was translated to a performance together with Pamela Kerr, a creative practitioner and artistic director