“Last day home” and “It’s been real guys, see you at Christmas!” Slowly everyone from my grade is making the journey to their new respective homes for the year: college. I am about to “embark on the next chapter of my life” along with all of the other people I graduated with three months ago. Corny clichés aside, this is the first time many people are living away from home. 

The fact that my parents didn’t like Meena, my girlfriend senior year, wasn’t so bad. They knew better than to make a big deal of their disapproval or tell a teenager whom to date. The problem arrived, however, when my mom came home early from work one day and caught Meena and me taking our lunch break at home...in my bed.... After she sternly commanded: "get your butt to class," I made record time getting dressed and to the school building. 

When it comes to dating, my mom and step dad are what some (me) might call over-protective, and what others (other parents) would call responsible guardians. In my opinion, I agree with the second statement, and I really appreciate how they act if I’m dating someone. Sure, my step dad will toss in an overload of terrible jokes to awkwardly break the ice, and my mom might talk too much because she’s interested in how the boy will treat me, but for the most part, they are excellent parents when it comes to this issue.

“We are your biggest fans, Shelby.” “We’ll always love you.” “You’ll always be our little girl.” “Shel, if you’re happy, we’re happy.”

The Talk! Everyone’s heard about it whether it be through word of mouth or through real experience. Everyone’s experience with it was and will be different depending on the person and their parents. I like to think that my experience was the craziest of them all but I’m sure it has happened to others before me.

Yes! I am a Latina. Yes, I am 16 years old. And yes I am NOT pregnant! I am aware of all the stereotypes and all the criticism people say about Latinos, and that brings me to my first reason.  I know I won’t be a teen mom because I want to prove people wrong. Hearing all those judgments and being looked down upon is my motivation. I want to prove I can be somebody, because I believe that we can get out of this situation. We are strong people.  

Do you ever feel like your parents don’t take your relationship seriously? Like they make it seem as though just because you’re young, you couldn’t possibly have any real feeling for your boyfriend or girlfriend or, gasp, maybe even be in love? You’re not alone. A few months back I had the chance to chat up members of the Youth Leadership Team and many of them told me how frustrating it is when their parents don’t get it. That even though they’re young, the ups and downs of being in a relationship are just as real—and sometimes as painful—as adult relationships.

“Put your coat on.”  “Look both ways before crossing the street.”  “Don’t chew with your mouth open.”  There a million things that our mothers tell us throughout our lives in an effort to protect and make us wise beyond our years. We kids, especially as teenagers, tend to roll our eyes and nod our heads while planning to not wear coats, run into four lanes of traffic, and chew with our mouths open even though we know it’s gross.

We’ve all seen posts about “The awkward moment when…”. They’re all over Twitter, Facebook, and Tumblr. Some of them are hilarious and some are more shocking. What about the awkward moments that really matter? For example: The moment when a son asks his dad where he can get a condom. The moment a daughter asks her mom what would happen if she got pregnant in high school. The moment a teen asks about what to do if they’re in a bad relationship.  These are really important questions that your parents will undoubtedly have an answer for. Most teens say that parents are their biggest influences on what they think about sex, love, and relationships, so at some point you’re probably gonna have a problem that you need to talk to them about.