Image modified by Tawanda Hubbard

Advocacy and opposition in adolescence can be as beautiful as the branches of this bonsai tree. Like the bonsai tree, an adolescent develops and goes through changes within the context of family and community. Just as each leaf and branch is carefully attended to and shaped, so are the abilities and talents of the adolescent attended to and shaped with the support and mentoring of family and community. Just as the bonsai tree needs to be uprooted and placed in new containers from time to time, families and communities must create new spaces and experiences for adolescents to grow, have a voice, take risks, spread their wings, fail and recover, and reach new heights.