July 21st, 2010
This girl does NOT want to be at fat camp.
There is a new show called “Huge” on ABC Family. It’s about overweight teens going to a fat camp. There is one girl especially who would rather not be there. She loves how she looks and doesn’t want to change just because the media shows all those skinny girls. I haven’t watched the show but it looks very powerful. I have never seen a TV show like this ever. You never see an overweight star of the show happy to be the way she is. You either see them down on themselves or a skinny star. The media is always putting the star as a skinny pretty girl. It obviously teaches young girls that being skinny and a certain pretty is what they have to be. With the show “Huge” it can and probably will change everything. Girls or boys will be able to relate to the show and maybe get their self confidence to rise. That is what it is supposed to be about – teens being secure to be who they want to be.
- Tatiana
July 20th, 2010
Help for LQBTQ youth
Learning from mistakes is one of the biggest lessons we’re taught growing up. It’s acceptable to err, so long as you use the experience to grow and make better decisions. Somehow, this simple, sensible view hasn’t translated to the global scale. Persecution based on arbitrary delineations- color, religion, ethnicity- has continued to occur year after year, century after century, for nearly all of our existence. One might be tempted to say that as civilization advances, such atrocities regress. But in fact, the treatment of LGBTQ throughout the world illustrates that such a view is ignorant and detrimental to the crusade against discrimination. By pretending that all things are alright, we can’t fix the things that aren’t. The National Runaway Switchboard is a big force behind the movement to help LGBTQ youth. By providing resources like counseling and shelters, specifically catered to this population group, NRS is working to specialize and deliver needed services. Calling NRS can give you, or anyone else, a person to talk to, a place to stay, and a plan for the future.
- Will
July 19th, 2010
Empty houses aren't always a good thing.
My parents left this weekend to go on the annual camping trip our family hosts. Since I’m working this year, I can’t attend – not a huge downer, actually. At least, it wasn’t at first, as I was free to leave dishes dirty, socks scattered, and A.C. ablaze. But really, once the euphoria of zero rules wears out, it’s kind of weird being alone. The quiet turns more eerie than relaxing, the filth less carefree than disgusting. This is just another reminder of how tough it must be for some people to be disconnected from their parents. I mean, besides the dependency most youth have on their mothers and fathers to provide for them, just being estranged from them must be really tough. I’m of the belief that what most consider normalcy is in fact really great fortune. A stable family life, rather than being trite, is an extraordinary thing to be a part of. Helping others try to achieve such stability, or finding solutions if they can’t, should be a major priority for those of us lucky enough to have found either already.
- Will
July 19th, 2010
nowhere to call home....
We never know how grateful we are until we lose or don’t have something. Some kids don’t even have a home to go after school. Homeless children are on the rise especially in places like the Ozarks. In a school district in the Ozarks there were between 350 and 400 reported homeless students. One reason for this is because lack of consistency in where the students attend school. Many homeless students decide to skip school or they are moved to a different shelter and keep moving from school to school. It can be hard for the students because they can feel like an outcast at each new school. The school district is trying to help by transporting the students and giving school supplies to them as well. The issue is that Ozarks isn’t the only city with a lot of homeless. Homeless teens and kids are everywhere and it is a rising issue that needs to be addressed. There is always a way to help.
- Tatiana
