Stress

Stress! Not enough and life is dull and boring. Too much and you feel like you're going to jump off the deep end. I asked a group of teenagers what they do when they're too stressed out for comfort. Here are some of their suggestions: Exercise. Nothing beats a good workout to let off steam. Michelle likes to run. "It's free, I can do it anywhere, and when I'm done I always feel better." Basketball, aerobics, biking, swimming and walking are also popular. According to Jack, nothing beats karate. "I take all my frustration out on the punching bag. I punch it, kick it, and yell. It gets the anger out.

My first day of high school was probably the worst day of my life. My parents were forcing me to attend a prep school 45 minutes from my home. Out of a class of 110 incoming freshmen, I knew no one. Not a single person. I had spent the last eight years in a class with 30 kids; I had not had to make a new friend at school since the first grade. I don't think I have ever felt as lonely as I did that day, before or since. So of course I entered school that first day with a massive chip on my shoulder.

Pressure. It's a combination of events and factors, a sort of vicious cycle. All the adults are running around trying to create the lives they've always dreamed of. As we progress, we tend to become more materialistic, selfish and greedy, and we forget the joy of simple living. We all want something for nothing, so we look for better ways, faster ways, whatever, to go higher, earn more, buy more. We don't realize that meanwhile we're actually tiring ourselves out mentally and physically.

I need ten hands or two bodies or another leg or something or somebody to help me get through all of this. Mrs. Nodiff gave us a report on the effects of democratic policy on the urban dweller in the former Soviet Republic. Like I care. And I have to do a report in English on the psychology of Stephen Dedalus in Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man.

The night before the first day of school, I couldn't sleep. I was too busy worrying. First of all, I worried about what I was going to wear. I wanted to wear something nice, something that set the tone for the year, something that made me feel good.

What is it like your first year of high school? Do the teachers go easy on you or are they pretty strict? Do kids pick on the freshmen a lot? A Let me tell you, everyone getting ready to enter high school worries about this one! It's a brand new experience, so it can bring anticipation and anxiety. To be honest, the way things will go differs from school to school. The best way to find out is ask someone who's gone to the school you will be going to.