Straight Talk For Teens By Teens

All enduring cultures know that nothing is ever as important as nurturing and paying attention to our youth.

Over 45 teen panelists from 11 states contribute to Straight Talk for Teens by Teens. They are good kids, troubled kids, rich, poor, bold, shy. Ordinary, extraordinary, everyday kids.

Some of the panelists are from stable, functional families. Some know what it’s like to be at the top of a sport or discipline. Others have been through divorce and foster homes or know what it’s like to struggle with race, money, chronic illness, bullying, sexism and all the other challenges facing modern youth.

A few panelists know how it feels to be sexually abused. Some panelists have attempted suicide, a tragedy particularly prevalent among teenagers. An uncanny number have been touched by death, having lost a parent, sibling, or close friend. Some panelists battle with anger, mental illness, depression, cutting, and promiscuity. Many more struggle with food and body image.

Reflecting society, when it comes to drugs and alcohol, some panelists have kept themselves clean while others battle heart-wrenching addictions.

Up-close, the panelists are individuals who want to make a difference in their world by sharing it with you.

The panel is constantly changing and growing. If you are between the ages of 12 and 24 and are interesting in being a panelist, click the “write to Straight Talk” tab on the home page and tell me why.

At this time, only panelists 18 years and older have photos on the website.

Ashley, 20
I am originally from the small town of Auburn, CA. After graduating from high school in 2005, I took time off and lived in Truckee for a winter. I absolutely love the mountains. Then I moved to Maui for a year to go to massage school. I am now going to Cuesta College in San Luis Obispo, CA and I’m not sure what I want to do next. I love to travel to see new places. I am interested in people, animals, photography, music and the healing arts. I try to live life everyday to the fullest! A couple quotes I like: “Someday I hope you get the chance to live like you were dying.” — Tim McGraw and “The greatest thing you’ll ever learn is just to love and to be loved in return.” from the movie Moulin Rouge

Beau, 18
I believe that everything in life has a purpose and if it doesn’t seem like that, or my faith staggers, I make it have a purpose. Many people go through life looking for the meaning of life, but I think the meaning of life is to live it and learn lessons. Know your self and be true to that. I recently found a quote that I have been referring to and living by: “We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty.” - Maya Angelou

Brittney, 19
“We are what we think.
All that we are arises with our thoughts.
With our thoughts we make the world”
- Dhammapada.

Farren, 21
I am a junior at San Francisco State University, majoring in liberal studies and minoring in speech and communication, as well as finance. I enjoy spending time with my family and fiance Scot, who is studying architecture at Cal Poly.

Geoff, 22
U.C. Berkeley Student in Rhetoric
Interests: People, Philosophy, Politics, Film, Critical Theory, Board-games
Quote to Live by:
“In everyday life the lives of others are neither here nor there; they drift between their own inexpressiveness and my inaccuracy in responding to them. Sincerity is not the issue. Or rather, sincerity is nothing without the desire and courage for accuracy.” - Stanley Cavell, The Claim of Reason

Johannes, 21
Hello, Johannes here. Yes, the Johannes Torey is referring to a few homies down. I like sushi and Maui. I like Lennon, he is cool like water. I live in Springfield, Missouri, where I attend Missouri State University. When I am not studying, I am running my legs off and kicking balls for the men’s soccer team. “Proud to be a Bear.” I hail from Sacramento, where I was knighted as a Waldorfian in June, 2005. I believe in gnomes and all of their dubiousness. If you ever get a chance, learn to drive a motorcycle — fast. One day, I hope to return to the country of my blood, Argentina. You wouldn’t believe the food! Cheap land, too. Tengo algo de consejo para vos. Música es el idioma de la vida, el amor, y el alma. ¡Suerte a vos!

Kendal, 21
I’m living in Arcata, CA, attending Humboldt State University. I’m majoring in Child Development and thinking of either Early Childhood Education or Child & Family Services. I work in Alaska during the summers on a commercial seiner fishing salmon for my dad. I’m an optimist and I tend to see the silver lining in almost everything. I love: naps, bonfires, reading, going out with people, my boyfriend, my family, walking in the forest, and making good memories with good people.

Kenneth, 19
I am a fearless student in my final semester of high school, I enjoy working on cars and do not use the term “grease monkey” as a pejorative. I look forward to attending a four year collegiate institution of the California State University variety this fall and I hope to major in marketing and business. I would like to end on a quote. It comes from the renowned race car driver, Ricky Bobby; “I wanna go fast!”

Laura, 22
A college sophomore who enjoys reading, arguing, and traveling to unusual places, Laura believes that Oscar Wilde was correct in asserting that “consistency is the last refuge of the unimaginative.” She is being imaginative with her choice of studies at the moment, and thus is currently between colleges.

Lennon, 21
I’m this cool dude who likes to speculate on life and why the hell we put so much importance in it. “It’s what you do in life that defines you” is complete bull. You are however you define yourself. What you do in life is just how other people define you, which people will tell you means very little. A great quote that really defines how i think is from Another Roadside Attraction by Tom Robbins, spoken by the character Amanda,

“Although the surface of our earth is two-thirds water, we call ourselves earthlings, not waterlings. Our blood is closer to sea water than our bones to soil, but that’s no matter. The sea is the cradle we all rocked out of, but it’s to dust that we go. From the time that water invented us, we began to seek out dirt. The further we separate ourselves from the dirt, the further we separate ourselves from ourselves. Alienation is a disease of the unsoiled.”

Nicole, 18
I am, at this point living in Humboldt, and enjoying it greatly! I went to Waldorf schools forever, and it was an exhilarating experience for the most part. I love traveling, and I hope to do much more of it when I graduate. In the words of Ferris Bueller,

“Life moves pretty fast, if you don’t stop and look around once and a while, you could miss it.”

Peter, 21
When not sailing the high seas, Peter enjoys the daily hazards of life as a college student out on his own, reading a good book, and lacrosse (whatever that is). He graduated Placer High School in 2005 and is currently completing his General Ed. courses at Sierra College. He is a linguistics major. Some day, he should like to find himself in Spain.

Torey, 22
I am a 22-year-old female currently residing in Springfield, Missouri. I have traveled afar with my lovely Johannes. I am in a Dental Hygiene program that kicks my butt and devours my time. I like bottled water, recycling, sun on my skin, toes in sand, tangible photos, nice pens and gummi fruit snacks. I like to work on adjusting my perspective every day because that is when it is necessary.