Question

why is it a struggle for teenagers to show their true selves?

Answer 1

In my opinion, it's because they refuse to be vulnerable. It is the stage where children want to be accepted by others. They want to feel there is somewhere and someone they can go to in times of problems. They want to be accepted. Others even go as far as to pretend as people they are not, just for the sake of acceptance. They fill their lives with lies, so that other people can not distinguish the lies and the truths about them.

does that help?