Growing up can be really difficult sometimes (just ask any adult)! It seems like changes are happening all the time and all at once! Maybe you’ve just moved across town and started a new school. Perhaps you had a fight with a parent, friend, or worse… a frenemy. Maybe you recently changed your style and are wondering if it’s really “you”.
When something is really bugging you or perhaps you've reached a hurdle, it can be helpful to ask for a second opinion from someone you trust: a parent, teacher, your best friend, etc. Sometimes, however, it can be difficult to find the right words to express how you’re feeling about a particular situation, especially if the feelings include shame and/or embarrassment (“I forgot to study for my exam and I failed it… How am I going to tell my parents?”), so we’ve created a free printable that makes asking for advice a little bit easier!
Here’s how to use it:
- Starting with the section called “here's the issue”, write down as concisely as possible what the issue is. Examples of issues: “I don’t have enough money to go see Beyoncé in concert with my friends” or “I’m struggling with math and it makes me feel stupid.”
- In the section called “Here’s How I Might Fix It”, think of different ways you could solve your problem. Maybe there are a couple. Maybe there aren’t any (that you can think of, anyway). Maybe the only solutions you can come up with involve winning the lottery and moving to Mars. Hey. That’s okay.
- In the section called “This Makes Me Feel”, you can circle as many or as few emojis that represent how this issue and/or the process of figuring out a solution makes you feel.
- Now, the fun part! After you’ve filled out the top three boxes, you can give this form to the person whose opinion you want. They’ll read through what you’ve written and can use the “What Would You Do?” portion to write down their thoughts and/or any advice they think could be helpful.
- Once they’ve finished, you can go over the page together or on your own.