What is Transitioning?

Regardless of ethnicity, race, caste or religion or social position, every human will inevitably undergo or experience a series of essential transitions that may impact them in different ways as long as they live. The seemingly endless voyage towards recognising women’s right to vote is one such example of a transition. The process where women changed or moved from not being able to vote to now having the right to vote is called transitioning.

Although, in some Muslim countries, women still cannot vote, leave the house without their husbands’ permission, drive cars, or appear publicly without their veils. Many other countries around the world, however, have made tremendous strides over the past 70 years to recognise women’s rights as human rights. Today, we have women who have climbed the leadership ladders to become presidents, vice presidents and prime ministers of nations. Many others have assumed high political positions, such as supreme court judges or set the record as the first woman in space. They, among many others, have paved the way and helped us transition to where we are today.

Nevertheless, the transition process is not only limited to the milestones that have gotten women to where they are now. It can take several forms. Some are non-permanent steps, such as choosing a new name, changing a gender, travelling to a foreign country, and wearing different clothes and hairstyles. In contrast, others are permanent steps such as undergoing puberty. It is clear that everybody, including countries, transitions or experiences changes in circumstances. However, not all transitions look the same. To manoeuvre our transitions as young women, it is crucial to identify the kind of transition we face and how we perceive the change that is happening to us. This will help us to understand better how we feel and make a plan to manage it.

According to Train International (2019), there are four categories we can situate transitions in:

· Anticipated Transitions

· Unanticipated Transitions

· Nonevent Transitions

· Sleeper Transitions.

Anticipated Transitions are changes or events we expect to occur. They include defining events such as writing the WASSCE examination, graduating from high school, getting your period for the first time, starting your tertiary education, entering the workforce, falling in love, getting married and having a baby. We may have probably experienced a few of these changes already. Overall, finding the support and encouragement we need in these transitions is often less challenging because they are usually considered favourable conditions.

Unanticipated Transitions are events or changes that happen that are not predicted. As I write this today, the world remains in the grips of a global pandemic and an accompanying economic crisis, with more than two million people dead, hearts shattered, businesses closed down, and millions of people out of work. Till today, no one ever predicted that mandatory wearing of masks would become a thing or how the upsurge of the coronavirus could possibly create a T-roll shortage. Ironically, many masked people in the streets were perceived as robbers or viewed suspiciously but today wearing a mask is not only a necessity but a new norm.

Again, we may have some friends who took their studies very seriously, aced their subjects and were viewed as having a bright future yet, they ended up as drug addicts. Another example, perhaps the most unexpected of all, was an Afro — Asian woman who was elected into office as the Vice President of the United States of America. Some of these were never anticipated.

Nonevent Transitions are those changes or events we expect to occur, but they do not. Most of these stem out from unrealised goals or not experiencing what we think could happen. We can place them in the “what could have been” or “how it could have been” category. We tend to develop these expectations because our culture communicates them, our families and friends value them, or we have personally determined that they are important indicators of success or normalcy. For instance, we have friends who thought they would ace their WASSCE yet scored not an “A”, or friends who thought they would have their dream houses by 25 and be married with two kids while running a big business but are still single and broke. Nonevent transitions often result from goals and dream not met nor realised.

Sleeper Transitions happens slowly, and we may not even realise they are occurring. They might involve gradually becoming addicted to alcohol, social media or drugs or a health issue that deteriorate over time, a slow decline of interest and fading of a significant relationship, falling in love or outgrowing academic challenges over time. Another such example is the newly won freedom and rights by women around the world. This freedom was not an overnight success. Instead, it took centuries of movements and a series of hard-fought protests, culminating by adopting the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948. This period ushered women worldwide into a new age where women casting their votes was allowed.

These transitions are primarily tricky and very hard to identify sometimes because they happen little by little until we wake up one day and realise things are not as they once were. They have the potential to move us into a better place in our lives once we realise they are happening. They motivate us to find help, end a bad relationship, or actively look for more challenging opportunities.

As young women, we must identify the transition we are facing to better grasp or be in touch with how we feel and make a swift plan to cope with this transition. We will discuss how high school students can manage transitions in future posts and the tools needed to help them deal with them successfully.