Rites for Passage: A Key to Reinforcing Identity among Adolescents

In this essay, I argue that rites of passage shall be of significance and aid to young people. I have already seen that the provision of the rites of passage to youth can impact their sense of identity. Why did I say so? When I asked my students, one time, about their favorite moments in school, I learned that what strikes most to students are the events. They did not give answers related to classroom discussions. Instead, they gave answers such as field trips, awarding ceremonies, Father and Son Camping, etc.  

I conclude that it is because those rites help crystallize their personal identities. I mean that they shape their worldviews. They are memorable to them since they play an indispensable role toward the development of their individual and cultural identities, necessary to appreciate and be proud of themselves. Furthermore, since adolescence is the stage in which young people explore themselves and their roles, providing rites of passage play an important role in establishing their sense of identity.

Field trips can make them realize that they are part of a bigger and wider world. A trip in zoo can boost the caretaking role of a youth to animals and plants. Visiting a barangay and participating in community festivals can make them realize that they are citizens and part of a neighborhood. Father and Son camping aid a youth to understand his role as a son. Attending a church, celebrating a mass, receiving the Eucharist are rites in which a youth can integrate to himself his role as a Catholic. Awarding ceremonies and academic competitions may enhance the role of a student in a youth. 

As they begin to mature, they want to learn the different hats they wear, the roles they play in the family, community, etc. Providing them rites of passage in which they can participate in can assist them in appreciating their roots, culture, and history. It is a tool to amplify their sense of belongingness and is a means to induct them to the way of life. Through rites of passage, youth can comprehend their uniqueness and similarities in comparison to other youth. 

Hence, parents, teachers, and elders should provide a positive social environment in which cultural strengths are celebrated. Through this way, the process of serious reflection of identity development among youth can be facilitated. Learning and refining their roles through the rites of passage can be an avenue to make them answer the existential questions they have in such stage.

A caveat should be put in this case. When a youth is overwhelmed with various roles and he or she fails to integrate their roles into themselves, parents and elders should view it as normal. It is an organic stage in their lives dubbed as role confusion. In such stage, what therefore elders should do is to help them clarify their thinking, to be encouraging, and to guide them as they walk through in such phase in life.