Hello there, @brentw!

Haha, is this question really for you? Anyway, I don't know who you are and how old you are so just in case you haven't reached puberty yet @brentw, here is what I know of personally. Different individuals have different age as to when they reach the age of puberty. In fact, there are people I know of personally who start puberty as early as 9. However, I know that there are also who start even earlier than that. I don’t want to start a gossip here but I have read I think twice already that there are many cases in which children are able to bear children. I don’t know if they are able to reach their puberty age already or how they call their cases but as puberty is being defined, it is the stage of development when individuals are sexually mature and are ready for reproduction. Well I myself started puberty at the age of 13. I could still remember how painful it was to grow a woman’s breast and it was more painful to have the first menstruation or what is called menarche. Well that’s what I personally experienced I know other women have different experiences, too.

-quote-
Puberty affects boys and girls differently.
• In females:
o The first sign of puberty is usually breast development.
o Other signs are the growth of hair in the pubic area and armpits, and acne.
o Menstruation (or a period) usually happens last.
• In males:
o Puberty usually begins with the testicles and penis getting bigger.
o Then hair grows in the pubic area and armpits.
o Muscles grow, the voice deepens, and acne and facial hair develop as puberty continues.
-end of quote-
http://www.nichd.nih.gov/health/topics/puberty.cfm

Puberty can start anywhere from ages 8-13 in females and 10-15 in males. Puberty only hurts because of growing pains and also it hurts in women when they start their menstrual cycles and have their cramps and periods. Puberty should want to be started because it shows that your body is maturing and that you are becoming a grown up and can start to look for a partner in order to have offspring.

“For boys, the hormones travel through the blood and tell the testes (say: tes-teez), the two egg-shaped glands in the scrotum (the sac that hangs under the penis), to begin making testosterone (say: tess-tahs-tuh-rone) and sperm. Testosterone is the hormone that causes most of the changes in a boy's body during puberty, and men need sperm to be able to reproduce (be the father of a baby).”

“In girls, these hormones target the two ovaries (say: o-vuh-reez), which contain eggs that have been in the girl's body since she was born. The hormones cause the ovaries to start making another hormone, called estrogen. Together, these hormones prepare a girl's body to start her periods and be able to become pregnant someday.”

Puberty ends when everything stops growing. This means that in females that their breasts stop growing and that their height no longer changes. For males, this means that their penis does not grow anymore. Also, their height does not change anymore. Puberty usually ends at around 17-19 for girls and 18-21 for boys.