EPISODE 8 • CHAPTER SEVEN | MORE THAN JUST GROWING PAINS

🍒 Chapter 7: More Than Just Growing Pains

We’re moving out of childhood now — into the messy, medical, and emotional realities of growing up.

This chapter moves fully into adolescence — the awkward, painful, funny, and transformative years where bodies, identities, and relationships all seem to change at once. Cece reflects on her “glow-up,” middle-school bullying, and the complicated realities of growing up female in a culture obsessed with appearance.

Cece enters adolescence — physically, emotionally, and medically. She describes puberty, body changes, early bullying, cheerleading, dance, and the start of significant health struggles. The chapter also introduces early depression, painful medical issues, and her first job — where she experiences grooming by an older coworker before her mother intervenes.

What begins as humorous commentary on puberty gradually deepens into a more serious exploration of early mental health struggles, chronic health issues, and medical experiences that shaped her teenage years.

The chapter also introduces the first brushes with inappropriate adult attention in the workplace, hinting at patterns that will matter later in the story. By the end, Cece pauses on the edge of high school — self-aware, resilient, and ready to talk about relationships, identity, and what comes next.

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⚠️ Potential triggers featured in this episode may include, but are not limited to: • Body shaming / bullying related to breast size • Puberty and sexual development • Medical procedures and bodily discomfort • Depression and mental health struggles • Grooming by an older coworker • Reproductive health issues (PCOS, birth control) • Menstruation / urine testing discussion • Workplace power imbalance with a minor

No graphic sexual content is included, but themes of inappropriate adult behavior toward a minor are present.