Surviving the Teen Years

Maturing from a teen into a young adult is a period of intense exploration of your individual beliefs and goals in life. For many teens, it is a time of excitement yet turmoil; everything is rapidly changing around you and you struggle to keep your feet on the ground. Surviving your teen years is possible with perseverance and a positive outlook on life. High school is a critical period in which you are establishing patterns now that will dictate how you will deal with life planning. It is very important to the success of your future goals to set up habits such as, effective time management and organizational skills, that will keep you from losing sight of your goals. Even if you haven't identified any goals yet, cultivating great habits early on will assist you when you finally have decided upon your aspirations. High school should be viewed as a training ground for real life. Treat assignments and obligations as an actual job (even though you won't be getting paid!) by meeting deadlines and keeping your promises. You will find yourself experiencing great satisfaction from completing tasks that are required and you will also be viewed as dependable and responsible by adults in your life - future employers love these qualities. Keep in mind that everything you do while in high school affects your future. If you fail to maintain satisfactory grades, you probably won't be accepted into that top-notch training program you were eyeing. Or, if you neglected to learn some of the material from high school, you risk having to relearn that information further down the line when you need it to maintain a job. Your actions have consequences; however, you can determine if the consequences will have a negative or positive effect on the quality of your life by being conscious of the decisions you make. Find an adult that you admire and use that person as a mentor for valuable advice and positive feedback. No one is advocating a boring life that is void of fun and games. You should certainly be enjoying the opportunities to experience life with peers because these experiences can also teach you important lessons about yourself and life. The most critical thing to remember is that you must aim for a balance between getting the most out of your education while making time to have a little fun. Isn't your future worth it?