This is where the waiting comes in.  I can’t stand waiting for the dreadful letter to come to my mailbox.  I want it to come now!  The anticipation of that letter and the joy it may bring may be even more exciting than my first day of school.

But it’s not here yet.    I will wait for however long it will take to get my high school letter.

Babysitting can seem like the worst task my mother can give me because, of course, it prevent me from going out and enjoying myself.  But I would do anything for my little bundle of joy because her laughter always cheers me up.

Jarely is one of the few people I know I will miss when I go away to college in nine months.  I know it is going to be hard to enjoy myself when I won’t see her for a long time - even weeks at a time.  Even though I will be away from her, I know it’s something I need to do for myself.  I need my liberty from my parents – especially my dad.  ☺

When I was younger, I wasn’t like the average kid who would run around and just play ”tag” or “duck, duck goose”.  And when parents would ask kids what they wanted to become when the got older, they would say a doctor, police officer, or firefighter.  Nooo, not me.  I was different!  Ever since I was 7, I knew what I wanted to do when I got older.   I was CONVINCED that I would become it when I grew up, and became a teenager.

Well, the time is here and it’s not as simple as I thought it would be.  You just don’t wake up and become a successful doctor, lawyer, or in my case broadcast journalist.  It takes practice, determination, strength, and did I mention determination?  Throughout my high school years, I have been preparing for life after graduation by taking several necessary steps to be successful – getting good grades, staying active in school activities, and doing my very best on the ACT.

Now I have just seven months before I graduate and enter the real world.  Kind of scary!  All that’s on my mind is college, college, and more college.  What will it be like?  Will I have fun?  Will I get home-sick?  How hard are the classes?  Those are the constant thoughts running through my head everyday.  From the endless college applications to the agonizing wait of approval from that college, it’s stressful.

Sometimes, I just wish I could stay young forever!

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Also, stress comes from parents who want you to do the best you can.  Some pressure their kids to over work themselves.  Though not on purpose, my parents tend to do this sometimes because they want what’s best.  Finding a job is complicated.  Even more so with the bad economy.  This adds to the stress because you know that you need a job in order to save up money for college.

All the stress from senior year is relieved by hanging out with your boyfriend and friends after a long day in school.  After all, senior year is precious and the memories will last a life time. So have fun and don’t let all the stress get to you!

“Hey, don’t drink my soda! You’re gonna give me Swine Flu,” a girl says this with a smirk to her friend, who in return laughs at this not-so-funny remark. Similarly, a boy makes fun of the absence of his cold-ridden friend, “Nah, man, he’s not ditching. Kid’s got the Swine [laughs].”

This scene is all too common in high schools around the country. Outranking the “That’s what she said” tagline, Swine flu has become the new, hip punch line of crude jokes that packs more than a punch: death. Already 36 people have fallen to this disease statewide, and yet, teens still use references to it in daily speech like it’s the hottest commodity. (That sort of disrespect really testifies to what they say about our generation…) Sadly, I can’t claim innocence; I’ve done it, too—but I am a teen, after all.

What makes it so alluring to talk about Swine Flu in such tactless terms? Is it really that funny, that entertaining? Or, do we do it out of fear, because we’re scared of it? Could it be our attempt to make it less real, less threatening? For example, do you hear teens talking about H1N1? No—you don’t, and that’s because Swine Flu’s more proper name makes it seem more serious, which it is. And despite our attempts to convince ourselves otherwise, Swine Flu—H1N1, call it whatever you’d like—is not some imaginary, storybook dark magic that inflicts evil on the evil people of the world; it’s tangible, it’s real, and it’s here. I advise you to shut your mouth, wash your hands, and understand that Swine Flu is a real disease with real consequences. So, out of respect for the people who have unfortunately been affected, stop the jokes and come up with something that actually deserves a laugh.