Just Five More Minutes...

"Just five more minutes..." 
As a teenager, I find myself saying this or something similar while on social media. You get on just to check your messages and end up staying on for hours, time you could spend actually hanging out with friends, doing homework, or even chores your parents told you to do before you got on. 

Can't seem to kick twitter to the curb? Here are some things that help me.

Do what you need to before you get on.

If you have a lot of homework or maybe just need to feed your dog, do it first. Chances are you'll get wrapped up in something and forget about it until you have barely enough time to get everything done. Putting the more important things first pays off in the long run because you will (or should) end up spending more time on it, raising your grades, having a happier pet, and above all, happier parents. This all still takes determination. Since looking at your science book longer won't necessarily give you better grades, you have to work at it.

 Set a time limit.

It's just what it sounds like. Set a time you need to get off or ask someone to set a time for you. The benefit of having someone else set one is when the time comes, they can kick you off.

 Get off when you need to, not in five minutes.

Most of the times that I find myself saying this, I have said it four times already. When I get off, I'm disgusted by the time I wasted. So when you catch yourself saying this, (that is, if you do) put the phone or laptop down and get to work/sleep/life. 

 Don't get on.

Seems easy enough, right? Wrong. If you have a lot of stuff to do, but a laundry list of social medias is calling your name, don't log on. To silence the social medias, you could give your electronics to your parents (turning them off doesn't seem to work for me when all you have to do is turn them back on), go to the library and study, or there are websites that you can use to block you off of social media for a while.

 I hope you find one or more of these helped you. Chances are you already know of these methods but being reminded of them can help too. Let me know of any other methods you use, or if this helped you!

Teens Making a Difference

Part of our problem as teens is that we are caught up in ourselves. Having a few troubles: friends, 

parents, money, bullies, peer pressure?

I have found it helpful to focus on other people’s troubles instead of my own when I feel like things are getting tough. As teens, we can make a difference by volunteering and serving others. 

The possibilities are endless. A teen named Katie Stagliano is a fine example of a teen focusing on others. She has developed a program called Katie's Krops which provides grants to help teens up to age sixteen start vegetable gardens across the United States to help fight hunger. Find your own way to focus on others and get your friends to join you in this effort.

According to Youth Helping America, on average, teens volunteer about 29 hours a year. By volunteering, we can take the focus off of ourselves, learn new skills, and bring joy to others. As teens we can make a difference! So next time you’re having some struggles of your own, notice the needs of others and you’ll soon find yourself feeling better. 

~Jag

Another Twist on Respect

http://www.gocomics.com/luann/2013/09/19#.Uu0fSwstI3g.blogger

With TV and media showing you all sorts of different things, it is sometimes hard to decide where to draw lines, especially in the area of clothing. Here are a few simple things to keep in mind when you open your closet.

1)                  Modesty is respecting yourself and the people around you through your fashion choices. When we exercise modesty, we help other people feel comfortable. Have you ever been in a situation when you were seeing a little too much of something? I have. For the whole conversation I felt embarrassed for myself and the person I was supposed to be talking to. Unfortunately I was so distracted I don’t remember much of what was said. Some people who dress inappropriately you are using their bodies to get attention or to fit in. Is this the kind of attention we really want?

2)                  If you don't feel comfortable wearing something, don't. Once I wore a shirt that I thought was too low. I spent all day trying to pull it up and didn't enjoy myself at all. Wear stuff you’re comfortable with.

3)                  What if it seems everyone else it wearing styles you think lack modesty? That's a tricky one. If I feel like I am the only one dressing modestly, I try to get some perspective. Is everyone really wearing something inappropriate? You might be surprised how many unobtrusive people are dressed modestly. We tend to notice the inappropriate things because they stick out. If you break the trend you might start a whole new fashion. Finally, I've noticed that my good friends don't mind if what I wear isn't “vogue.” If your friends need you to wear certain things to be your friends, you might need to consider what your friendship is based upon. Here is another idea, try getting to know some of the less dominant people without others influence. Invite someone you don't know too well over to your house and get to know their character, not their clothing. You might be surprised at what you discover.

4)                  Dress for the occasion. Certain occasions (such as a wedding) require more than jeans and a t-shirt, even if they are completely modest. When choosing what you’re going to wear think of what you will be doing. Will you be standing a lot? If so, uncomfortable shoes might not work. If you’re sitting on a stage do you really want the audience looking up your skirt? Covering those knocking knees might put everyone more at ease.

            You may have noticed that I didn't give you any solid rules for clothing such as no skinny jeans or skirts to your knees. The crazy thing about fashion is that the “rules” vary from culture to culture. There are many guidelines that are helpful, but I think that if you understand why you dress the way you do and how it affects you and others, you will make wise choices on what to wear.

It's Never Enough

What is the one thing that all of us, if we were honest, want more of?

Dough. Bank. Green. Bread. Cash.

Money.

Everyone wants more money. From the richest of the rich to the poorest of the poor, no matter your age, race, gender, or religion, you want more money. Even your parents want you to have more money. Because money makes things happen. The only problem is...

You have to earn it. And that means taking a job.

And that's a great thing. My job is one of the greatest aspects of my life. Sure it can be a drag, but hey, I'm making bank!

Except... I'm not. Because quite frankly, money breeds more problems than it fixes.

An example: I make roughly 450 bucks a month, and I work about 15-20 hours a week. When I first got my job, I was ecstatic because I was loaded! I ate out all the time. I was ready to go for a night out with the crew. I was ready to take a young lady out to dinner.  Except I didn't have a car at the time, so I could do whatever I wanted...

As long as my Mom could get me there.

So, I got my license and my Dad lent me an old car.

Now, I spend all my money filling up for gas, so I can run errands for my Mom, drive my sister to work, and occasionally I get to go to the movies with the crew.. Also, I am now trying to save money so I can get a better car, so I can save on gas so I can keep more of my money.

Did I lose you there?

My overall point is simple: Money isn't always the answer. Money isn't happiness. In fact, money is really just a means to an end. The solution to troubles is to find the best end. And work for it.

You want to buy clothes? You want to have a car? You want to take that girl out?

Work for it. Yeah, a job is hard to come by and can be frustrating. But you will learn something about life. And lots of other things. So hang tight.

Meanwhile I will just be paying back my Mom the $130 bucks I owe her for my new car battery.

Studying, Notice “Dying” at the End!

One of the most common struggles any teen will have in school is studying. Lots of teens, including me, struggle with it. Throughout the first term of the school year, I have struggled in a few subjects such as English, history, and science. After a while I got really tired of the grades I was getting. I talked to my parents about it, (Yeah, I was THAT desperate!) They came up with a solution: compose a schedule of my week and write in all of my classes for it. Then they said to set aside one hour for each subject that I struggled in, and study the text book. So I read it one paragraph at a time, and summarized what each paragraph said in one sentence. Then I read it through one more time normally. 

After a week, I noticed a significant difference in my grades. In my classes I realized that I understood more of what the teacher was talking about. It took away a bit of my free time, but it was well worth it to see my grades change dramatically.

If you try it, please tell me how it went. Or maybe you could leave other suggestions for the other people reading.

Thanks,

Randy L. Martin

Parents: The Never Ending Battle... Or Is It?

Lets face it - parents can be a drag.

I mean yeah you love 'em, but so often it seems like they just don't get that you're not twelve years old anymore. You've changed since then. You've grown up. In fact, some of you may even look more "grown up" than your parents. Maybe one of your parents was never really there for you. Or maybe you have awesome parents, but you still feel like an isolated little kid. But no matter what the case, one thing is clearly true-

Whether you like it or not, your parents are basically in charge of you. And sometimes that sucks.

Yes, they do pay for everything, and they have taken care of you for your entire life, but do they have to run your life as well? Do they have to always be looking over your shoulder, making sure you don't screw up? Everybody makes mistakes sometimes, but why is it they only freak out when you make the mistake? You don't yell at them when they screw their lives up. But time after time, they go to ridiculous measures to make sure you're still breathing. And we all ask the same question: WHY?

The Answer: BECAUSE YOUR PARENTS LOVE YOU.

Yeah. That's why.

I didn't get this til I was 17. I was soon to be getting my driver's licence, and out of nowhere I get a call from my Dad. Some kid who worked for him on the farm, about 16, was hit and killed by a drunk driver. I had met him a couple of times, and worked with him. I was a little shaken up. Next time I saw my Dad, he hugged me, and even cried. Now, my Dad almost never cries. The man has way too much pride for that. In fact, it always seems like my Dad tries to avoid the actual "parenting" part of parenting (my parents are divorced, you see). But hearing about a kid my age getting killed shook even him to the core. Because they don't want that to be us. They've lived a lot more life than us. They've seen kids our age drink, overdose, commit suicide, get pregnant, go through break ups, fail midterms, have mental breakdowns, got to prison, never graduate, get depression, lose friendships, have their dreams crushed before their eyes, and even go off to war and die for their country. And, quite selfishly, they don't want to have to watch your casket be placed in a hole and be covered with dirt.

So really all I can say is this- love and respect your parents. No, they are not always right, and yes, they do make many mistakes. But that last thing you want to do is ruin the longest relationship you've had with another human being over something stupid. Because it's a lot harder to build that back up. In fact, you may never build it back up.

And if the relationship is already bad, don't do anything to make it worse. Your parents are who they are whether or not that's good or bad. You can't change them, but you don't have to make the same mistakes. 

So muscle through, no matter what. The best of life comes after you graduate anyways.
-JD