The Teen Stress Epidemic

It's tough to be a North American teenage girl yet the majority of teens in North America have the luxuries of going to school, owning a cellphone and living in a middle class house. So shouldn't they be happy? Dr. Leonard Sax, a Ph.D psychologist, medical doctor and writer, has found through research in Canada and the U.S that "today's teens and tweens look confident on the outside but have a dangerously fragile sense of self". Dr. Sax has addressed in Macleans magazine that teen girls struggle with anxiety, present themselves as fake and are harming their bodies.

Anxiety has now become the norm among teenage girls. Common stresses for most girls are looking hot, getting into the best university or being popular. The TV show "Gossip Girl, which is about anxious teens trying to present a sexual persona," and many other shows and celebrities are idolized by teens. Teen girls are continually trying to perfect themselves to look like and have the the same lives as the characters in the media instead of focusing on their own identity. "Girls are loosing what psychologists used to call middle childhood" and replacing this stage with the stress of becoming the perfect adult.

Teen girls spend endless amounts of time obsessing over their appearance. This not only includes their physical appearance but also their social, athletic or academic status. According to Dr. Sax, there are "girls presenting themselves as a brand, trying to create a public persona, [and] polishing an image of themselves that's all surface". This leaves their sense of self undeveloped. Anorexia is only a minority but it's common for teen girls to obsess over their weight. Being anorexic is then considered an achievement to teen girls and they "believe it's a lifestyle choice, not a pathology".

In order to cope with the stress of being perfect many girls resort to harmful addictions. It is found "that more than one in five girls [are] cutting and/or burning [themselves] with matches [and] more than one in four high school girls [are] binge drinking". What's even more surprising is that the teen who is the top student or athlete is more likely to be cutting or binge drinking. This is because they "haven't been living, they've been performing". Cutting and drinking is real and it relieves anxiety.

The issues of anxiety, fake identities and self-harm have become too common to be brushed aside. Dr. Sax's main ideas should be widely acknowledged by parents and teenagers. Most teen girls don't even realize the emptiness of their identity because they are too occupied with creating a fake life. The harmful cycle of teen stress will never end unless teens become aware of it.

Fakebook

What!? You don't have facebook? If you have ever been asked this question then you are part of a very rare species in a computer savvy society. You are frowned upon, considered unsocial and old fashion. Get with the times. Your grandma is even on it. So you ask the question, what's so great about facebook?
Why be the person you truly are? That's just boring and embarrassing. If you find it to much work to have a social life facebook will be your friend. Facebook will always be there to hold your hand in times when you are too insecure to talk to someone face-to-face. It is a face book after all. You can sit all day with your eyeballs plastered to a computer screen and your butt drooping over a chair and come across as being athletic, popular or any better version of yourself. Photoshop is available to tighten, tone and customize your face. Some profile pictures couldn't possibly be human with skin tones that don't even exist. But who cares. You don't have to face reality.
Don't forget to update your status. Just another way to prove how busy you are. I'm brushing my teeth, I'm going to a party that you weren't invited to, I just had an amazing weekend with my best friend. The world needs to know your every thought, action and achievement. You won't seem annoying but completely amazing. You can creep on your friend's picture's, conversations, relationships and more. You have the knowledge of a person's life without ever meeting them. The glorious gifts of technology.
Having conversations has never been so easy and fast. You can compose private messages, use the online chat or even better go public! Post your most serious and personal conversations for anyone to comment and ridicule. Best of all, facebook is completely free! Free to steal your personal privacy that the world can conveniently access. So go ahead and become the person you always wanted to be with facebook.

A Public Enemy

"We should invade their countries, kill their leaders and convert them to Christianity." This opinion was expressed by Ann Coulter, an American social and political commentator. Not only is this statement offensive but it is ironic toward Christianity's beliefs that Ann claims she follows. In North America, freedom of speech is greatly appreciated, but does this right have limitations? Ann Coulter has addressed this concern.
Ann Coulter is known for her snappy, sarcastic and often inaccurate arguments and remarks towards topics on war, the democrates or specific races. She is one of the leading political writers of our age and is a syndicated columnist, best-selling author and regularly appears on the media. Her first appearance on MSNBC as a legal correspondent lost her the job after expressing that "[p]eople like you caused us to lose the war". This insult was told to a disabled Vietnam war veteran. She displayed her hatred toward the Democrats when she stated that "the backbone to the democratic party is a typical fat, implacable welfare recipient". Many times she has voiced her hatred towards Arabs. For example Coulter expressed, "Jihad monkey talks tough; jihad monkey takes the consequences". During her University tour in Canada at the University of Western Ontario, Coulter told a Muslim student to "take a camel". This was in response to the student's question on Coulter's opinion that Muslims should not be allowed to use airports.
Before her speech in Canada, Coulter was warned in a letter from the University of Ottawa that there are laws that limit Canadian freedom of speech and charges can be made against her. Section 1 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms states that "the rights and freedoms set out in it subject only to such reasonable limits prescribed by law as can be demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society". Therefore, Ann can legally express her opinions in Canada but possibly can be charged.
Should she be charged? Ann knows how to make a point and address a concern but has achieved her spotlight by going to the extremes. There is a difference between voicing an opinion and discriminating or demonstrating hate. Ann should be put in her place by restricting her public presence. She should also be forced to apologize and publicly state her incorrect opinions under the force of the criminal court.

Lickety-Split

I was out for my morning jog soaking up the sunshine. There wasn't a cloud in the sky and the park was as clean as a whistle. I felt just peachy keen running along the path when suddenly, out of the blue, I heard a cry of terror.
"My baby! Someone help me! She's too young to die!"
A pink baby buggy was going faster than a speeding bullet down the hill. It was plain as day, I had to be the one to save this baby. I was in top physical condition and was as strong as a bull, as fit as a fiddle. Just look at those lazy people, strolling along without a care in the world. I was a runner. It was do or die. In a flash, I took of like a shot after the helpless buggy. I was getting closer and closer and my mission felt as easy as pie until I noticed the rocks up ahead. My stomach was in knots and my legs felt as slow as molasses. The clock was ticking, I could almost reach the handle... Boom! The buggy hit the rocks like a brick wall, catapulting the baby into the bright blue sky. It was definitely not a Kodak moment. Time stopped to what felt like eternity. The baby is toast! I will never catch her in a thousand years! I'm as dead as dead can be! I reached my arms out and easy peasy, I caught the baby with a face as cute as a button.

A Second Chance

Without warning, someone will experience an unfortunate day prone for disaster. The cause of this misfortune is unknown, but what is believed is that it cannot be controlled. The day must be lived by the individual from dawn to dusk. However, could there be a power exerted to change these circumstances?
It was the start of another ordinary day. The sharp screech of the bell tore through my spaced out state of mind. As I make my way down the congested hallways, traveling at a pace similar to a city highway at rush hour, I begin to hear rising bursts of laughter behind me. In curiosity, I casually turn around and discover that I am the reason for their humour. I flee toward the nearest bathroom. I have brown paint all over my butt! I chronologically reflect through the series of events in my day, ...leave house, arrive at bus stop, sit on bench...Sit on bench! The bench must have recently been painted! Luckily I have a sweater in my locker.
I arrive at chemistry class awkwardly late. The class is preparing for a lab and everyone has selected partners. "The lab must be completed with no more than two per group", my teacher coldly snaps. What is her problem? I tell myself. I observe the activities of the classroom and try to figure out how to begin. After connecting some test tubes and beakers I feel some what confident to start pouring the chemicals. Drip, Drip, Drip. Why is my project turning purple? Ka-boom! Purple, scorching hot liquids explode into my unprepared face! In a state of shock I stumble forward, guided by my teacher. I panic while imagining my face falling off. I don't want to be a deformed circus freak! A heavy downpour of water drenches my entire body. Instantly, my eyes snap open allowing me to see a crowd forming around me. This cannot be happening to me! I want to start over, I NEED to start over! I feel overwhelmed with anger. Just then, an overpowering force drives up through my body, enthralling every square inch of my existence. Below me a morbid black hole with a pulsating transparent surface forms beneath me. The opening begins to grow, duplicating it's speed each second as it devours all matter in front of it. Instantly I'm back in time, at my locker surrounded by the previous normal surroundings of the busy hallway.
From that point on I have grown to realize my power of time transport and greatly appreciate it's rewards. I can now re-live present, past and future events so I can have a second chance to mend my mistakes. I also have the power to travel to the future so I can prepare myself and even humanity from devastating days.