Different cultures and individual families have different views regarding gender identity.  It is not our role to moralize on these matters, but we will maintain that you are who you are and those beliefs can be either supportive or dissuasive regarding gender identity.  You will be faced with new challenges during your early teen years.  Choose your advisors wisely. Your parents were young once too. It may seem awkward, but they can help too if you will listen.

Peer judgment become exceedingly important regarding how you see and judge yourself.  This may contribute to conflicts with your parents and/or it might be a journey that you are able to navigate relatively peacefully together.   Please try to remember – and it can be hard – your parents’ role is to provide guidance and discipline – and try to protect you from the unscrupulous influences that may or may not be acting in your best interest.  Again, internal family dynamics are personal and beyond our scope of involvement.       

As far as sports and competition – you still cannot drive and you may or may not have a job.  Accordingly, you still need a supportive champion in your life getting you to and from practices and games/competitive events.  Also, you are yet facing really significant conflicting distractions. dating, working and other interests not related to sports’/competitive activities.   

Your body has grown and strengthened – if you’ve been participating in competitive activities, you are are probably a lot better at them skill wise and you know more about how to play them better too.  In fact, you may be faced with an important cross roads as a competitors – do you treat your participation as a socially enjoyable life experiences or do you hunker down and try to become an advanced, elite competitor.  Have we said it before?  ONLY YOU KNOW HOW YOU FEEL.

There are innumerable reasons why both males and females go one way or another at their own, personal cross road.  Is it a lifelong decision?  Possibly – but, more than likely, you can step-off the path you chose later too.  Sometimes the opportunity just isn’t there and/or you change your mind.

Since our scope is with mental/behavioral health and the avoidance of self-harm; let us just say this…

BREATHE DEEP.  There may be good reasons to get serious or not to get serious about competition.  If you are too hard on yourself (a perfectionist) and/or you are pursuing sports/competition for the wrong reasons (for others), the associated stresses can contribute to great life dissatisfaction and unhappiness.  

DON’T GO THERE – Talk and share your feeling with trusted confidants and advisors that are vested in your well being.  You may feel isolated and alone – hormones can contribute to these false feelings – but you are not alone.  Please believe this.  If you decide to pursue advanced/elite competition for the right reasons, then go for it, but remain cognizant that pursuit invites the possibility of failure – often, from external, unfair, uncontrollable factors.   Hey, you were just a kid yesterday …keep it light, don’t get heavy yet …that comes later.  Talk, maintain your self esteem – you are you and that is special!