Back to School: Game Plan

I know, I know – I haven’t updated in a while. Sorry about that. I’ve been prepping for the new school year – I have 16 days left before I am officially a college student. (Sorry if that’s confusing – college where I’m from is the 2 years of school, before we’re sucked into university). I know that most people are dreading September, but I like to think of it as a brand new start. I view summer holidays as the time to take a step back and see how I can improve different aspects of my life, so that when I’m thrown back into the cage full of animals and evil zookeepers they call school, I don’t go completely insane. I know that most people don’t really see it this way though – like most of my friends think I’m nuts – but that’s why I’ve decided that today’s blog post will be about anticipating and getting ready for school.

If you’re anything like me, you tell yourself at the beginning of the first term that you’ll do your homework as soon as you get it and won’t leave it till the last minute. You promise your parents As and try to make a good impression on your teachers. Unfortunately, that dies out before the first month is over, because things didn’t go according to plan. There are parties to attend, a certain cutie that has your head spinning and you’re so damn tired! Makes sense. Sometimes teachers have no idea how much work they’re really bombarding us with. If we’re lucky, some of them will extend deadlines and rearrange a bit, but usually, we just have to make do.

So, this year, I will be doing the IB Diploma Programme, and I am on a scholarship so I have to maintain a certain grade average if I want to keep it. This of course means that I can’t play the same tune again, and end up a blurry-eyed zombie by Christmas. Which is why I have devised a plan that I want to share with you, if you’re in a similar sort of boat or just want to get organised.

PUTTING TIME IN ITS PLACE

I bought myself a macbook recently and I have been playing around with iCal, which in case you’ve never heard of it, is a calendar app that has many calendars ( like I have one for all my school subjects ) that you can choose to view all together, or, for example, you can look only at English homework that needs doing. When I get my schedule for classes, I am going to integrate that as well, so that at one glance, I can see everything I need to do or places I need to be in a day ( or week, or month – they have many viewing options ).

I have made 2 Calendar groups; Home and School, which consist of several calendars each:

• Home has Birthdays, Chores, Health ( exercise routines, mostly ), Social ( parties, outings with friends, family functions etc. ) and Novel writing. I also have calendars for personal things and stuff I want to do with or for my boyfriend. When there is so much to do, sometimes, important people or things in our lives take a back seat and I really don’t want that to happen to me or my relationship.
• School has a separate calendar for all my subjects and extra-curricular activities, as well as a Miscellaneous section that would include meetings with my coordinator and filing school notes away.

The Shrink, who is a pro at managing everything, including the minutes on a clock, told me that the best way to ensure that I do not overwork myself is to break up tasks into stages. For example, if I have to write a 1000 word essay by next Monday for English and write up 2 lab reports for Bio by this Friday, not to mention my coursework that my supervisor wants to check on every couple of weeks, I can’t do all these things the day before they’re due (tempting as it is).

I had thought about working in terms of words, meaning I could write 250 words every day so that I’d be done with English in 4 days, but The Shrink says that is not effective. It is very hard to leave work incomplete, especially if you’re very into it and then find that you need to move onto a different subject. A more efficient way, she suggests, is to break up each task into Research, Outlining, Drafting and Final Draft. These can all be done on separate days, and for the best results, do the Final piece of work after leaving the draft for a few days, and working on other things. This is a great idea, if you ask me, because you get to look back at your work with fresh eyes, and find any holes in the logic or flow of your draft. And the best part is that with slight variations, this method can be applied to every kind of task.

SOCIAL LIFE

All work and no plays makes us grumpy, and when we’re grumpy, we tend to resent getting up for school in the mornings and feel sluggish to do homework. So don’t put your social life on hold – make time for friends and dates and parties. But be smart about it – don’t stay out until it’s too late, until your parents are ready to call the cops and your teachers receive work with drool on it. It really depends on your priorities, at the end of the day. Good grades or a good time?

Then again, it doesn’t have to be all black and white. You can form study groups ( and actually study! ) with your friends, so you have a good time and learn as well. Of course friends are usually more of a distraction, so some ground rules do need to be set. If there is someone who isn’t really there to learn and disrupts a lot, maybe it would be best to chat about it with them one on one, or ask them politely to join you for a less academic meeting. Another idea would be to study in the school library or classroom, if you’re allowed, after school, so that the ‘discipline’ feeling is still in the air. After that, go out for a bite to eat and enjoy yourselves!

EQUIP YOURSELF

If you are a stationary nut, like me, you probably go all out on school supplies. But this time round, I decided to go the extra mile and see what I needed to work well, other than the basic supplies, and the list surprised me. Here it is, in case you want to compare it with yours.

The basics:

1. Large pencil case, to store all shapes and sizes of stationary
2. Pens that are all the same type would be easiest to look for
3. Pencils – I prefer mechanical, but if you take art, they’re probably banned
4. Long ruler, short ruler – plastic should be the last resort
5. Eraser and tipex
6. Scissors
7. Highlighters (mild highlighters are best, because they don’t go through the page like some)
8. Tab stickers, for marking important pages in textbooks etc.
9. Binder & plastic tabs
10. Notebooks & test pad paper
11. Sharpies – you never know when you’re going to need to make a poster
12. Stapler
13. Hole puncher – for those nasty handouts that need filing
14. Scientific calculator
15. Geometry set

Extra Mile:

You need to be organised at home as well as at school.

1. Clean your desk. I mean that. A cluttered table means a cluttered mind.
2. Desk drawer oragniser – so that time is never wasted looking for supplies
3. 3 shelf paper tray: paper that needs filing, work that needs completing and work that is completed which needs to be submitted.
4. Paper clips
5. Plastic folders to put into binder
6. Storage boxes or files for old notes
7. Evernote. Seriously. Get the app. It’s my miracle worker.

See? School doesn’t have to be too scary, when you’re prepared. Always remember that it’s a new chance to prove yourself, to make new friends and to do well – a new start. That is always a good thing. Good luck!

Ole Folks

You know what I really hate? Parents fighting. I think we all do. Today I was helping my mother with the groceries and I saw a couple with a daughter who was maybe just a couple of years younger than me. Her parents were fighting in what they thought were hushed tones, stopping in the middle of the aisles to face each other and hiss swear words. The poor girl looked like she wanted to vanish into the pickle jar she was putting into the trolley. She seemed to be the only one concerned with the task at hand, and seemed to be ticking things of their shopping list on her own, parents in tow.

Old as they are, parents [aka parentheses] can really be childish sometimes. They are the people who are always telling us not to argue and not to squabble with our siblings, but when they go at it, they spare nobody. It’s a funny thing actually – they’ve been through much more than we have, behave differently and occasionally seem like they are part of a different species. But there are moments when all their adult-made manners and walls come crashing down, and they seem as helpless as we feel on many days. It isn’t easy to empathise with though, is it? You feel like strangling them, or at least leaving the house, but you know it’s not always that easy. You might be lucky though. Some parents do their fighting alone in a room with the door locked, hoping that we don’t hear. If you’re the kid of that kind, congratulations. Of course there is still that thick tension you have to deal with for a bit, but you got it easy. Trust me.

If however, your folks are the type who find reasons to yell at each other at the dining table, while walking to the dining table, stomping away from the dining table… and the list goes on… they sometimes bring you and your brothers and sisters into it. Even if you were pretending you couldn’t hear them over the clanking of forks against china. Mum might ask, “should I take that from him?” referring to dad, or dad might say, “how do you expect me to deal with this woman?” expecting you to give an answer you don’t have.

It’s not fun to have to pick sides, because suddenly the argument grows into a full fledged domestic war zone, with forts made of cushions on either end of the living room. Sound familiar? Yes well, it’s happened to the best of us. So whadda we do? I think the best way to go about it is to first of all know that you don’t have to pick a side. I’m serious. You can just say, “I don’t want to get involved,” politely and go into another room. If you do feel that one of your parents is wrong though, you might feel that it is important to tell them. That is fair. You have the right, especially if they ask. Go about it gently though because even after mum and dad have made up, the one you didn’t side will not have forgotten that you were against them when they ‘needed’ you.

If you genuinely do favour one parent over the other, then in the long term, things could get rough between you and them. We all have our reasons for picking a certain side, just as they do with you and your siblings, whether or not they admit it. Of course it’s important that our reasoning is good enough, because you do have to live with their anger afterwards. If you do want to tell one of them that they are wrong, be gentle and also ask the parent you are closer to to lower their voice maybe and try to be a little more understanding. Chances are, they won’t be happy with you at that moment, but they’ll admire your objectivity and maturity about the whole situation later on.

If you find it hard to handle their arguments, and feel totally lost, here is a tip for you: don’t think of them as your parents for a little while. That doesn’t mean of course that you can yell and swear at them. I know that in the USA it is sometimes okay to tell your parents to be quiet or shut up, but in my culture that’s totally unacceptable. I’d get grounded, probably. Anyway, baring in mind that they deserve respect as your parents, you can still think of them as just any two people. Pretend you are older for a moment, and try to see if how you would react in the position they are in, with your husband or wife. If you think that whatever they’re fighting about can be resolved in a better way, say so.

I think the thing about understanding older people is this – they are just like us. They were once our age too, and the only difference is that now, they’ve been in the ‘real world’ i.e. no more teachers and Fs, but hardcore stuff that school can’t teach us. Have you ever hit a certain age and thought, “wow, I don’t feel any different than before,” even though you were sure you would have? That’s sort of what happens with them, if you ask me. A lot of things change around us as we get older – and to a certain extent, we do change, but that is usually to adapt. Mostly, we’re going to become teenagers in sagging body parts, with bigger shoes to fill and dreams that sometimes have to tuck away into drawers, so that there is space for other things.

So forgive them if sometimes, they want to be as bratty as your little brother, or they are as clueless as you are when writing a history essay. Try to help when you can, and if you don’t want to or don’t know how, you can always take a step back and let them sort it out. Don’t worry, if all goes well, you’ll be back to playing Happy Family in no time.

Rush Hour Love

Do you remember when you were nine years old and held hands with that sweetheart from next door? Maybe you played ‘House’ and thought you’d marry that person one day, and live happily ever after like your mummy and daddy. It’s a nice thought, but things don’t usually work out that way. That was probably a long time before you discovered the birds and the bees and saw the opposite ( or same ) gender in a different light.

Now that you’re all grown up though, you probably have an idea of the kind of person you want to be with and what you want out of the relationship. So you have a ‘type’, like anybody else. What happens when you meet that person of your ‘type’ and realise that they’re everything you look for and more? You fall for them! Okay, sometimes it takes you by surprise and you can’t believe the person who has begun sneaking into the cracks of your dreams, but usually, you’ll figure it out along the way. And maybe, if you’re lucky, this person feels the same way too. You start spending more time together, text during the evenings and sit together in class.

It’s a wonderful feeling.

So you’re wondering where I am going with this, right? Okay. Let me ask you something: how many times have you felt this way in your life? The maximum number you should answer - according to my source The Shrink - is 3 times. That’s generally for the average 17 or 18 year old. Now here is another question – how many people have you dated? Most of the teens I know (16 to 17 years old) have dated 5 – 10 people. If this is like you, we may need to look into this a bit.

CATEGORIES YOU MAY FALL INTO

1. I have been in many relationships, but have only ever truly loved one or two of these people.

This happens a lot, and sometimes, even if your reason is not love, a relationship seems like a good idea at the time. Sadly, these are the sorts that don’t last and can give you a bad reputation. When one of my friends start gushing about their new boyfriend, I can estimate roughly how long it will last and how long it will take before she moves onto her next. When we were younger, the average length of being with one guy would be about 2 - 3 months, and now it lasts about 6 – 8 months. That is way too short.

2. I have been in many relationships and loved all these people.

I am going to break the news to you now, I’m sorry. Brace yourself…

This is not being in love. These are people you have been infatuated with or maybe loved platonically at some point or another. Falling in love is not so common and much, much more complicated than you might think. It’s okay though, if this is the case. Maybe you did love one or two of these people, or maybe you will fall for someone soon.

3. I have been in many relationships and have not loved any of these people.

Ask yourself why you entered relationships where you did not love the person you were with. Did you hope that you would eventually love them? Did you do it because you felt pressured so you seemed cool? Did you do it because you liked them and felt that it would be fun to be with them? Did you do it to make someone else jealous? Did you do it because of a dare? ( Do I need to ask anymore questions or are you getting the picture?! )

I’m not going to tell you how to run your life. If it works for you, and you’re happy, then fine, I am happy for you. But if you’re wondering what more there is to love and dating, and you’re thinking, ‘am I doing this right?’ I hope I’m shining some light on this whole grey area for you. I’ve told you before that I am 16 years old, so I don’t have more experience than most of you, but I’ll tell you what it means to me to call someone my boyfriend.

• We have to love and respect each other. Respect is so important. This is the person you want to share your most special moments with – shouldn’t they be worthy of you? Shouldn’t they deserve all that love and time you make for them? Shouldn’t they appreciate you and respect you for the awesome person that you are?
• We have to make time for each other and consider the other a priority in our lives.
  
• We have to be able to trust each other with our secrets.
  
• I should know him at least for a few months before I can give him the title of ‘boyfriend’. Just because he’s cute and gets an A in math does not mean that he is a nice guy. There is time – no need to rush.
• We are in it for the long-haul. Tell me why people get into relationships knowing that it is going to end in a couple of months? Isn’t that a little depressing? I mean, I get that we’re young, but isn’t it doomed to fail if you plan for failure? At least give the future a thought; it couldn’t hurt. TIP: Ask yourself if you can see the two of you married someday? Living together maybe?
• He does not pressure me into anything I am not ready for. The lovely Lady WOH told me that this does not just apply for sex. Really. This goes for anything, even a first kiss. If you ain’t ready, you ain’t gonna be pushed. You’ve probably heard this before, but I’m going to say it again because this isn’t something you can forget after the exam. This is for life - it only happens once. Make it count. This might be a little strange for some people, but for me, dancing with someone is very special. ( I mean proper hand in hand, hand on shoulder, hand on waist thing – the whole works. )  So I would never dance the first dance with a guy who is not special to me in some way. That’s just how I feel and nobody else could possibly convince me to dance with them.
• He treats me like a lady. No I don’t mean opening doors and tucking in my seat! A good boyfriend or girlfriend cares about what you say more than how you look, and your conversations shouldn’t revolve around sex. If their nickname for you is ‘sexy’ and never anything more loving like, ‘darling,’ or ‘honey,’ then maybe you should check what your relationship is based on – love or lust. If they’re not serious about you, then joke’s on them. You can do soo much better.

Okay, now I have a question for you: Do you know why all these things are so important? As a whole, I mean. Why do people stress on ‘waiting for the right moment,’ and ‘making it last’? Do you know why it’s not okay to just have some fun and make out with any random person at a party? Or have a fling with someone because everyone else is doing it?

…It’s because, this, like most things it seems, comes with a price.

THE CONSEQUENCES 

[ yes, you probably hate me right now - but you're going to read it anyway, right? ]

• You can get diseases through contact of saliva and sex. Remember that Bio lesson from all those weeks ago where your teacher mumbled their way through this part of the class? ( Or was it you who tuned them out? ) Yes, well some diseases are deadly. HIV/AIDS kills slowly and there is no cure for it. If you do want to go all the way, use protection.
  
• You could become a teenage parent. Glee, anybody? Quinn lost all respect people had for her because of one tiny little mistake. And when you get pregnant or get someone pregnant, you are tied to that person forever, whether or not you keep the baby. Nothing will ever change that. If you do keep the baby of course ( I am against abortion 1000% ) they become your topmost priority and that can prevent you from doing many things you wanted to do. You’d have to worry about adult things you thought you would not have to worry about for years. I say it again; if you do go there, use protection.
• You could be considered a slut or playboy. Ending one relationship and moving onto the next quickly makes people wonder if you take dating seriously, and that could label you as cheap. Even if everyone’s doing it and it’s considered ‘cool,’ it really isn’t. Back in Year 8 there was only one couple who stayed together for more than a year in my school and when they broke up, it was as if everybody realised what a shame it was to lose that. It was after that point that people began taking their relationships more seriously. Coincidence or not?
• You only have one First Time. Lady WOH says that if you give it all up to someone you don’t care enough about, you’ll feel the effects of it when you truly fall in love. Then you might regret not having waited for the right person and moment and would wish you could do it all over. Sadly, we can’t go back in time. So all we can do is try to make the right decision now.
• The person you’re with could hurt you. This is why it is important to know someone well before you consider dating them. Personally, I have only fallen for a guy who I consider one of my best friends. If he asks for a picture of you in your underwear or naked, the answer should be NO for many, many reasons. What if he shows his friends? If she asks you about your deepest, darkest secrets and tells people because you made her angry one day? It could happen.

Well there you have it – the awesome and awful things that come with falling in love. I hope that if you didn’t know it before, you get the importance of choosing the right person to date and handling it right when you do get that person. Now the only thing I have left to say now is, good luck! You’re going to need it.

Toss it!

Ashleyy123 has posted a question in the Your Questions page, and this is what she said…

I have a question about my room. My mom keeps saying that I need to clean it up, but I like having my stuff around me. It’s a pain to have to open my cabinet every time I want to get something I use like everyday. Any advice?

Thanks Ashley for the question! I can definitely relate because until the beginning of summer, I loved chilling in my messy room. I had to clean it up though because my mum said that was the only way she was letting me redecorate my room. That did not sound like a very good deal to me, but sometimes mothers really do know what they’re talking about. I don’t know what exactly you have in your room, but in my case, I had a bunch of things (from decor to clothes) that I had long since outgrown stashed away in cupboards and in my closet. They really needed to go.

If things are difficult to find on shelves and in cabinets, it could be because there is too much clutter. This is what  you need to do…

• Get yourself 2 bin liners and one empty basket. Things that you can do without and that can go to charity, put in one bag. Make sure they are in good condition, though. Papers that can be recycled go into the basket (I must have saved at least 3 trees by the time I’d stacked my old exercise books!)  and whatever is left goes in the last bin liner.
• Ask yourself these questions – do you really need all those things? Are they a little old and dusty? When was the last time you used or wore that? Decide and dump your things in the right section.
• NOTE: if you have some childhood keepsakes, ask your parents if they will store it for you somewhere.

If your room is [ now ] filled with only things you need, see what you can keep away and what you prefer to have at easy access. My favourite thing is to use baskets. They can be as plain or as colourful as you like, but of course, they should match the theme of your room. Storage boxes work too, but then there is all that business of lifting and putting lids back which someone lazy like me, cannot be bothered to do. Have a few categories of things you take out everyday, and label them if you need to.

The baskets can go on a shelf or along the wall on the floor, which means things are still neat but they’re right there if you need them. Compromise for you and your parents.

Hair? Where? There?!

This post is in response to Brit’s (13) question, about what girls should do with the hair on their arms and legs. [ Guys, there are some tips for you too, don't worry. ]

Comment:

Hey, justbuttons…

I’m 13 and not really close with my parents. I dont get to ask them questions abt personal things so I was wondering if you could help me out. I’m kind of hairy and people have been making fun, and I feel really embarrassed abt it. Lots of my friends are shaving their legs but I don’t know how or what to do. Is shaving okay to do? Is there any better way of getting rid of hair?

Thanks a lot.

Let’s face it – we let celebrities and magazines decide how we should look, and that makes us very self-conscious, because we compare ourselves to them. Even if you have no interest, you are judged by those people who do care about trends. No, it is not fair, but life’s not really fair; the best we can do is learn how to get through it. Yes, I know – those models on the covers of our favourite mags make it seem so effortless and that can be a lot of pressure on us teens. I’m going to let you in on a secret about people though - nobody has it that easy. (Not even that hottie in class everyone wants a piece of!) I’m going to go ballerina-girl on you here and tell you, that like in the ballet, the secret to success is to make everything you do look like you could do it in your sleep. Life is exactly like that. It’s about the image of yourself you can put in other people’s heads.

So relax. Read on and you’ll find out how to have flawless, smooth skin too, without looking like you tried. You can hold your head high in front of your friends, and don’t worry – they won’t remember that you once had hairy legs.

You basically got 5 options:

1. Shaving- most popular, cheap, but least effective. Hair that is shaved is like cutting – it grows back quickly, meaning you’ll have to shave often. And like your dad’s stubble, you’ll feel that roughness on your skin. Yes, it looks good, but it feels awful. If you feel it necessary, get a close-shave razor so that there are no grey ‘stains’ on your skin, particularly in the armpit area.Guys, shave your face clean unless you’re 18 or older, especially if you’re short or have a young face. Only older guys can really pull off the rugged, stubbly look.
2. Waxing- where I live, this method is cheap, but I know it is not an option for those of you in western countries. If you can afford it though, it’s painful and you have to wait for it to grow back to a certain (obvious) length before you can do it again. However, your skin is baby smooth and it lasts a few weeks, at least. Side effects include pimples and rashes – rub an ice cube on where you feel sore and use a moisturising body lotion everyday.Boys – this is a personal plea here: don’t wax your chests, please. It is not cool. Manly men are hairy, and that’s all I’m saying on the subject.
3. Laser treatment – this is like an investment. It’s expensive but you only have to do it a couple of times before it is permanent. It hurts more than shaving, but less than waxing. Ask your mothers, ladies. You can live without worrying if hair is peaking out under your sleeves. The Shrink, highly recommends this for older teens. If you’re under 15, the laser might be too harsh for you and hurt more than it should.
4. Electrolysis – this, in my opinion, is a ridiculously long process, but it works. A needle injects electrical current into every hair follicle, and never allows it to grow back. It takes multiple sessions though and is very costly, and painful.
5. Removal Creams - I commend the person who thought of this. Pretty good, but some brands might not suit you, and can leave your skin itchy and pink. It only takes a few minutes though and if you can find a product that suits your skin, congratulations. Not that expensive an option, either. Try the brand Nair.

Thank-you Brit for your comment on the Your Questions page. I hope this has helped you and anyone else who has been suffering from Hairy-itis!

Sunny Days Ahead

When the last school bell rang, do you remember practically running out of the classroom doors? I know my friends and I did. We thought, “Yes! Summer has arrived!” It took a whole year but we’re finally back at this wonderful season, which includes freedom from school, beaches and partying. Or is it really? If you’re like me, you start the summer off with a bunch of project ideas that you never end up getting around to. And then summer = boredom after a few weeks. I got up late today, sat at my computer and browsed the net for useless things. That does not sound like a good summer at all, does it?

That’s why I’ve decided to compile a list of things that I had wanted to do, and things I still think about doing but keep procrastinating. So here are some tips on productive things you (and I) can do during the holidays!

1. Get a summer work out plan; make a timetable and stick to it. Magazines like Seventeen give a lot of fun, cardio exercises for girls. Guys, you can do what my brother, 14, did and buy a set of dumbells to build his muscles up with. Remember that for the best results, you need to eat a lot of meat.

2. If there is something you have been thinking about doing for a few months now, or years even, go for it! Now is your chance. I’ve been dreaming of writing a book for ages now, but I pushed that thought away to study for exams. Now that I’ve finished secondary school, I have lots of time before college begins to spend on it. It occupies my time and makes me feel like I am doing something productive, that I love.

3. Is there a certain subject in school you suck at? Come on, you can admit it. We all have that one class we dread every Monday morning (math, hehe). So why don’t you set aside one hour every day to practice that topic, from Monday to Friday. If that feels like too much, then do it 3 times a week, but no more than for an hour. When you go back to school, you will see the difference and won’t need to stress yourself about it.

4. Summer cleaning! Yes, it sounds painful, but think about it this way – throwing out your old stuff means making space for the new! My mum promised me a load of new school supplies (I am a bit of a stationary nut) if I cleaned up my desk that I hadn’t seen the wood of for months now. A win-win situation.

5. Wardrobe update time. You don’t want to go back to school with the same ole outfits again do you? Take some afternoons off and spend on some essentials that can be mixed and matched, so that you never come off as repetitive.

For guys, think a couple of pairs of jeans, khakis, tees and button-downs. Oh, and a good watch and belt for everyday wearing makes you look smart and cool at the same time. Take it from a girl who isn’t going to play mind tricks with you (I save that for my BF!) – guys who take the trouble to look good have way more appeal. If a guy doesn’t take the trouble to take care of himself, he’s not going to convince a girl that he can take care of her, right?

And girls, plain tank tops can be accessorised with just about anything over them. The layered look is in right now. As for the lower half, a skirt (keep it modest!), tights, shorts and jeans can be blended with almost any top. You can look at magazines like Teen Vogue if you like, but if you ask me, the colour combos are totally unflattering, and plain copy-cat. Make sure that you like what you wear, because as long as you can carry it off well, you don’t need trends.

All set then? Go enjoy your summer while you still have the chance!

JustButtons? WTH is that?

Don’t worry, there’s no long intro that would bore you lot to tears. Plain and simple, this blog is for teens, by a teen, to help you get through the many trials we face getting older. Because, let’s face it guys (and girls!), there are tons - and sometimes we have questions too embarrassing to ask anyone we know.  A quick Google search or WikiHow post usually does the trick, but not everyone knows what they’re talking about, right?

Plus, I’m not some middle-aged greying woman who’s preaching from ‘back when I was young’. Nope. I’m a 16-year-old girl who has troubles just like everyone else. We got parent problems, annoying younger siblings, traditions we are forced to follow, not to mention falling in love. And what do we do about hair that shouldn’t be there? What about all those mountains on our face, they call ‘pimples’? Why can’t we do it if everyone else is? And why are we being treated like little kids when we’re all grown up?

I’ll help you deal with all these situations, and I promise not to steer you in the wrong direction. Two of the coolest adults I have ever met are going to give their input as well; both of them well qualified with the ‘Degree of Life’. We have The Lady with the Orange Hair, who is as bright and wild as her colouring. She’s been there and done that – twice! And on the other side of the coin, we have The Shrink, who is exactly that – a wildly successful psychologist, as well as a goodie-goodie by nature. These are the people I go to when I have a problem, and though they’re complete opposites, together they give me the most practical advice in dealing with obnoxious life problems.

So don’t feel shy about posting questions and asking for advice. That’s what I’m here for!