the beard and pubic hair, a more rapid enlargement of the testicles and reproductive organs, and an acceleration in the growth of the body generally.
In the girl the breasts and the pelvis assume the adult female characteristics, and the processes of ovulation and menstruation begin. Internal changes also make themselves felt in numerous ways, signifying the unfoldment of the sexually mature individual.
Psychologically, adolescence in both sexes is characterized by moods and a cycle of changing impulses. There are enthusiasms and depressions, periods of optimism and pessimism, tranquillity and restlessness, alternating with each other, that are more pronounced than at any other period of life. In the high-strung youth, after a transitory depression, the unrest may become feverish; all activities are performed with alacrity, and if there be an obstacle, it is a spur and not a deterrent. Fatigue is for the time forgotten in the second-wind of dauntless energy. If the youth is in love, he is now hopeful and confident, and perhaps impatient of waiting in the development of his romance.
At times this is a very trying period of transition, with a dominating sense of pessimism. It prompts some youths to rash and impulsive acts, to compensate for their feeling of inadequacy. Others are inclined to solitude and introspection, depending upon the temperament of the individual. Another type, less common, may find it a somewhat pleasing and sweet melancholia—a continuous day-dream, living in an unreal world, a rather sorrowfully exquisite mirage.
The adolescent youth in his most sensitive moments is often discouraged by the great chasm between his ambitions and his powers of attainment. His wishes and ambitions are definite enough, but his efforts seem futile and vain, or
