Oh, the insecurities of youth! “Will I be popular?” “Can I play basketball as well as the other boys?” “Will the others let me hang out with them?” “Will boys like me?” “Will girls like me?” “Am I as strong/smart/good-looking/funny as the cool kids?”
Most kids and teens endure these doubts about themselves. It’s a normal part of growing up. This coming-of-age emotional agony was described as early as 1774 in Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s novel The Sorrows of Young Werther. In this novel, young Werther’s sorrow over unrequited love eventually becomes so unbearable that he leaves his hometown. Next, he is greatly embarrassed when he encounters a gathering of aristocrats. They ask him to leave since he is not a nobleman. Rejected by a girl and now rejected by aristocrats—the exquisite agony! What’s a boy to do?
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